Today I was passing by this free orchestra event where for the most part it was some light entertainment for people who enjoy music and there were virtually no seats literally as people had to either sit on the ground, stand up or bring their own chair. This was a rather small event and the organizers were expressing how thankful they were to the sponsors helping to keep the event alive for everyone.
That got me thinking as this topic came up earlier this year on whether or not one should rely on sponsors or simply donations from people in general. This could also come in the form of selling some small items to raise money as well. I know sponsorship is a little more predictable as it is nice for someone to say they will just write you this giant cheque and you can then relax and start planning the budget. But I am wondering for the long-term if you relied on crowd funding then you have to develop a system to consistently get say revenue like a business which may be better. It doesn’t stop you from taking on sponsors too. But at least this way you can try and control your finances and it forces you to really know what people actually want.
Even entertainment companies usually try to rely on a lot of different revenue streams such as merchandising versus just sponsorship. It’s a good way to start, but always look for other streams of income.