Subject:
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Re: BrickFest registration fees (was: LEGO Adult Fan Convention at Legoland California?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events, lugnet.events.brickfest
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Date:
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Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:41:16 GMT
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Highlighted:
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(details)
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128 times
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In lugnet.events, Kelly McKiernan wrote:
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Why? Still not following the logic. As an attendee, I paid my money and
received value, and my hobby is being furthered by positive public attention.
As a volunteer, I get warm fuzzies and the adoration of my peers for
participating in such a cool event. What else is there? I’m not trying to be
obtuse, but I still haven’t really seen any reason for financial disclosure
more compelling than, “Because I want to know” or (worse) “Because I’m
entitled to know.”
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“Because I’ll be more likely to help if I know”, “Because I’ll be more likely to
donate if I know”, “Because I’d be willing to pay more if I know”, “Because I’m
more likely to attend if I know”.
You’re absoutely right-- It’s a capitalist country, and you’re free to be
secretive and treat your clients like moronic sheep if you *want* to. It’s just
that we’re not all moronic sheep, so the more we know, the better we’ll be
(psychologically and volunteer-wise).
Let me give you an example.
I did a Lego Trivia Game Show for BrickFest 2004, and I wanted to have
butt-kicking prizes. I wanted it to *feel* like a real game show. I knew full
well that 1) I wouldn’t be giving them ALL away and 2) I might not get
reimbursed from BrickFest, because I bet they didn’t have crazy amounts of money
floating around.
So I contacted Christina early on, and tried to get some estimations on how much
was “reasonable” to get reimbursed for prizes by BrickFest. I never got a
specific budget or ballpark figure, so I went ahead and went nuts, figuring
“well, whatever they can reimburse me would be great, but if I have to pay for
it all out-of-pocket, I’m prepared for that.” So I went out and spent $865.58 on
prizes.
As it turned out, $307.75 worth of prizes were given away, and I felt a little
better about this number once I knew that the public day’s income was a lot
higher than they had expected. So I sent Christina the receipts I got, and again
told her pretty much “I realize I may have went over whatever you expect the
budget to be, so feel free to reimburse whatever percentage you feel is fair,
even if that’s $0”. Turns out I was fully reimbursed (phew!)
But later on, I found out that the “norm” (at least back then) was for event
coordinators (not sure about theme coordinators) typically volunteered prizes
out of their own wallets.
Now, let’s say that I wanted to do this Game Show again for 2007 (yes, I’m
strongly considering it). I’m a less likely to *give* prizes to BrickFest if I
know that the organizers are taking a share of the profits.
Essentially, I’m more willing to be generous and selfless if those around me are
doing the same thing. I would’ve been totally fine if BrickFest never reimbursed
me for the Game Show costs. BUT, if they hadn’t *AND* I found out that the
profits just went into the organizer’s pockets, I’d be kind of miffed, and
unlikely to do it again.
That said, there’s a fine line there right around “fair compensation”. As has
been stated by most in this thread, compensation for the organizers’ time is
welcome! Just as long as it doesn’t sacrifice the longevity of the event. And,
what’s more, if people know more, they’ll probably feel better about the event.
Now, I recognize that past BrickFests may not be able to divulge all the details
of their finances. It’s possible that GMU doesn’t want it known how cheaply we
were able to book the space (since others might use that as a precedent and
demand similar pricing). Same goes for other things like the Brick Engraver’s
costs, costs on Lego prizes, K8’s, etc, etc. But I think it would bolster the
community’s confidence in the event to know at least where money goes for a
BrickFest event, even if “how much” isn’t addressed.
Going forward (and backwards too, if possible, but no pressure), I must say I
would appreciate knowing things like that. And, you’re right, Kelly-- I’m not
entitled to that information, and BrickFest has the right to withhold it. And
yes, BrickFest has the right to insult and belittle all its attendees. It has
the right to treat us all like morons. BUT. It also has the right to be
forthright, honest, open, and respectful. And we, as a community, will likely
act accordingly.
DaveE
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