Hey Daryl:

My pleasure.

Another caveat that came up for me (as a magician) just the other day is being invited to perform pro bono at a fundraiser when you are trying to sell shows.  Draw some clear guidelines such as only doing a certain percentage of your annual gross in pro bono work each year.  Once you reach that percentage of your annual gross, do no more pro bono gigs until the next year.

Establish a waiting list of potential charaties to work for, because once you gain the rep as a pro that does pro bono work you will need to give organizations a good reason to not work for them so that you don't turn off potential business.  You can add organizations to the bottom of your list and then work them up over time.

Another way to do this is to pick one or two charities you like and work only for them.  Tell requesting organizations that you would consider their group, but only for well advertised events and with a written plan and invitation from them.  If they aren't advertising their event well and can't provide a written plan and invitation then they are probably wasting both your time and theirs.

Beware of groups that call themselves charities that want free entertainment for non-charitable events.  Let's face it, there are many organizations that do some charitable work, but most of their activities are social and not charitable.  Tell these groups that you will do their annual banquet for your regular fee and then work their charity fund raiser for no fee wirting off your expenses for doing so from the banquet fee.  This can also be a tax deduction and they may actually forget to call to take you up on the fund raiser offer.

Finally, consider working up a benefit package for such groups where you make something for expenses (including millage and hotel and meals if you have to travel) and let them keep what would have been the balance of your fee.

The idea is to get some PR, goodwill and performance time if you need it (pro bono work can be a great opportunity to work up new material) without your phone ringing off the hook and it costing you out of pocket just to get there and not developing a rep as a mean person who won't do charity work.

Oh yeah, the event in question I turned down mainly because I'm just getting over a cold and have no business working outside today especially with rain possible (I tend to be damaged by rain like Scupt or Coat! just kidding).  On the other hand, they didn't call with enough lead time to plan ahead and the event has not been well publicized.  I called some local magicians who aren't pros and work events for free anyway and the local Shrine Funsters, so hopefully one of those groups covered the event.  I also gave the sponsor my contact info (they called me at my day job) and general fees for future reference.  If she calls back with a potential gig (she claimed to be a professional event promoter, but the lack of planning made me think otherwise) I'll only work for her with a signed contract and advance.  That sounds cold, but then that's show biz!

I hope I'm not giving TMI here, but I've been caught in the free charitable event trap in the past and it's very discouraging as well as costly in business lost (one group wanted me to provide a multi-performer 3.5 hour show when they were paying a local band $1200 for the Saturday night dance!) and expenses.

Later,

Marty