Sponsoring an Organ Concert? Check out the Ensuring Success Formula

Ensuring Success for an Organ Event = INVOLVING PEOPLE

• Is your organization’s budget limited?
• Do you want to sponsor meaningful events to showcase the organ?
• Is the membership of your organization small?
• Do you want to share great organ music with your community?
• Are the same small group of people trying to do all the work to sponsor an organ event?
• Is there a new organ in your community that your organization wants to feature?

Yes, the organ is a grand instrument and yes, it should be shared with the community.

A Successful Organ Event = Involving People
But how?
I.   How?  Invite another music organization to co-sponsor an organ event.
2011 is the Year of Collaboration among national music organizations –

• American Guild of Organists
• Music Teachers National Association
• American Choral Director’s Association
• Ask local chapters of these organizations to co-sponsor organ events.  Let them know what an exciting instrument the organ is.
  Ask these organizations to share mailing lists for event announcements.
  Ask these organizations to share in event publicity – each organization has their publicity network which may be different than your own.
  Involve members of collaborative organizations in event details – set-up, program preparation, ushering, ticket sales, receptions, and follow-up.

II. How?  Give local arts organizations and other community groups the opportunity to co-sponsor an organ event.

Many local arts organizations are looking for creative programming for their seasons and would welcome something “new” and different.

Think outside the box to include historical societies, retirement centers,
Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, schools

A person with much more experience than I said:
“If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”

III. How?  Use Social Media connections to bring the “community” into the fold

In the last two years Social Media has become a sure way to get in touch with a vast audience for projects you may have. The idea of “Community” is exceedingly alive. People get online to become part of a “Community.” This can be beneficial for what you want to accomplish.

Many of your members may have a Facebook account and would be able to broadcast planned organ events to their community of friends, ask for help, or find other groups that would be glad to be a part of the program.  In fact, you probably have a member that would set up a Facebook page for your chapter and announce and advertise organ events less expensively than other methods. Contact us for suggestions on how to make this phenomenon work for you.

IV.  How?  Ask for gift-in-kind donations (gifts of equipment, printed materials, supplies, hotel rooms, meals, Frequent Flyer miles) from

• individuals
• hotels
• restaurant
• printers
• paper suppliers
• caterers
• media rental centers

V.  How?  Ask for monetary gifts in exchange for an advertisement in the organ event program from

• music stores
• organ builders
• hotels
• restaurants
• churches
• arts organizations
• individuals

VI.  How?  Look for grants

from not only arts associations but businesses
Again, think outside the box.
(For example:  our local casino gives grants for arts projects!)

VII.  How?  Utilize the Concert With A Cause Model –  an organ event with a two-fold purpose in mind–sharing the organ with the public and supporting a local charity.

1.  Fund the organ event by involving as many people and organizations as possible. Advertise the organ event as a concert provided as a gift to the public but with any and all proceeds from either a suggested donation, freewill offering, or ticket sales going to a local charity such as Habitat for Humanity,

food banks,  shelters, or senior recreation programs.

2.  The organ event is now touching many lives in your community from donor to musician to music lover to charity supporter to charity recipient.

3.  Follow-up with advertising showing the sponsoring group donating a check to the local charity

4.  Read this article by Dr. Wayne Earnest, Dean of the Ocala, Florida AGO to learn more about how he uses (click here) Concerts With A Cause concept

VIII.  How?  Look for “angels” –
those people who donate anonymously
to support the arts = patrons of the arts

In Summary
Yes, the challenges for sponsoring a successful organ event are real.
But there are also real opportunities for success.
It is worth a try, isn’t it?
After all, the organ is the
“King of Instruments”
and as such
deserves to be known and loved by the world!

Questions?  Have ideas to share for sponsoring successful organ events?  Contact David Jordan, Pro-Motion Music’s Event Manager at david@promotionmusic.org or Dr. Jeannine Jordan,  jeannine@promotionmusic.org,  concert organist.

www.promotionmusic.org