Suggestions regarding "donation" please...........

megannie

About 15 kids from the local high school choir are going to sing one song at our wedding ceremony.

They do not charge a fee. Instead, the director asked me to make a donation of my choice. I told her I was clueless and asked her to please just charge me a fee, but she refused. So, as I said, I am clueless. The wedding is local, and they will probably be at the ceremony for about 10-15 minutes.

Any thoughts regarding what would be appropriate for thier "donation" would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

hgminor

1) Donate a set amount to the school and ask that it be put in the chorus' budget (you can ask that it be annonymous)

2) Pick a charity that works on music in schools.  In this economy, music classes are one of the first things being cut, so as the director I would be really happy if your donation helped keep music in schools!

3) Local animal shelter... more credible than donating to some big corporate animal charity.

Edit: I would say $150-200.  What did you originally have budgeted for ceremony music?

radleyboo

What would you ordinarily pay for a group or soloist perform at your weddng?  That seems like it would be an appropriate amount.  Another route you could go would be to find out if there is anything the choir needs: sheet music, snacks for a trip to a festival or competition, etc.  Sounds like it will be beautiful, what are they singing? 

megannie

My fiancee's favorite song is "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney. As a surprise, they  are going to sing it for our recessional. They are going to come in and sit with the guests during the ceremony......it is outdoors in a garden, and then after we are announced, they are going to stand up and start singing as we walk out. I think he'll love it! However, I have no clue how much to donate. We are on a budget, so I don't want to go overboard, yet I don't want to be cheap either. She said they have gotten donations from $50.00 and up.

radleyboo

Make a small donation that fits your budget, and then maybe send a thank-you note and some pizzas to a choir rehearsal (with the directors' permission, of course).  The program will appreciate the donation, however how small, and the kids will love the treat. 

Very cool, love Paul McCartney! 

jennylee813

I like the idea of giving them a treat/snack/something for an upcoming event. Our theatre group is getting a pizza party for one of their recent performances.

Otherwise, a donation to their program is a great idea, since most budgets are tapped out quickly. $50-100 would certainly be appropriate and appreciated. I'm not sure what the going rate for musicians is now, but a few years ago it was in that price range.

Good luck, and it sounds like a delightful surprise for your wedding!

nda8414

I love it! That's such a sweet idea!!! Give a donation that you can afford/what it's worth to you to have them there.

fperez7542

Definitely a small donation and a treat at rehearsal.  They would definitely love that!

OwningAHome1981

Does something like VH-1 save the music have a fund to donate to? That could be something to look into. And of course send a nice thank you note to the students. The pizza party is a nice option as well (check with the teacher to make sure it's ok before sending pizzas to the school).

Have a wonderful wedding!

misshart00

In Response to Re:Suggestions regarding :[QUOTE]I think some people are missing the point here. nbsp;She isn't looking for some random music related charity to donate to. nbsp;She is looking for how much to donate TO THE CHOIR. Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

This is what I was thinking too. I was really confused by some of the charities and especially the animal shelter one.

I agree with bartender. See if you can donate to their travel fund or something. And I definitely like the idea of sending them pizza one day.

TKzilla

OP said the choir has previously received donations of $50 and up. So maybe do a little research and see what it would've cost you to hire a "professional" musician for the ceremony and find an in-between point.

OwningAHome1981

If someone asks you to "donate" though, they can't really tell you where or how much. if the choral director was kind of generic with the word "donation" I don't that necessarily means donate to the choir... at least that wasn't how *I* interpreted it. Also the OP said a donation of her choice, so while it would be nice to donate to the choir, it doesn't appear to be that that is what the choral director was implying.

Jen4948

I'd research how much local groups would accept as a fee for doing something similar, and then offer that much as a "donation" up to a ceiling that fits in your budget.

Viczaesar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_suggestions-regarding-donation-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:7ce58795-bdc9-422d-9f68-9f4233ab1d96Post:52e47eea-33b8-4ecc-a0c8-1474c976c185">Re: Suggestions regarding "donation" please...........</a>:
[QUOTE]If someone asks you to "donate" though, they can't really tell you where or how much. if the choral director was kind of generic with the word "donation" I don't that necessarily means donate to the choir... at least that wasn't how *I* interpreted it. Also the OP said a donation of her choice, so while it would be nice to donate to the choir, it doesn't appear to be that that is what the choral director was implying.
Posted by OwningAHome1981[/QUOTE]
So if your pastor asked for a donation instead of charging a set fee you'd give $50 to a homeless shelter?  Talk about dense.

MuppetOverlord

I'd say at least $100 up to $200 based on what you can afford

MoonlightSilver

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_suggestions-regarding-donation-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:7ce58795-bdc9-422d-9f68-9f4233ab1d96Post:6b003693-92af-4608-92fb-e4311a40a8b7">Re: Suggestions regarding "donation" please...........</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Suggestions regarding "donation" please........... : So if your pastor asked for a donation instead of charging a set fee you'd give $50 to a homeless shelter?  Talk about dense.
Posted by Viczaesar[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>I think some of the posters are confused.I originally read the OP as the choir director asked the bride to make a donation in the choir's name to a charity of her choice.</div><div>
</div><div>Apparently, the OP is actually saying the choir director wants the bride to donate an amount of her choice to the choir. Right?</div><div>
</div><div>So OP, do what you can within your budget and the range the director told you.</div>

nda8414

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_suggestions-regarding-donation-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:7ce58795-bdc9-422d-9f68-9f4233ab1d96Post:6b003693-92af-4608-92fb-e4311a40a8b7">Re: Suggestions regarding "donation" please...........</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Suggestions regarding "donation" please........... : So if your pastor asked for a donation instead of charging a set fee you'd give $50 to a homeless shelter?  Talk about dense.
Posted by Viczaesar[/QUOTE]

I agree, it's pretty clear that the choir director is saying, you choose how much you donate...you choose $1, you choose $50, you choose $100, etc.

megannie

To clarify, yes.....the choir director suggested I make a donation to the Choir.. I have been thinking about $150.00. That's $10.00 per person for one song. Does that sound sufficient?Then we will see about providing a pizza party or something fun for the kids afterwards.

And in answer to other posters, we don't have any other musicians. Our ceremony will consist of instrumental music only besides this song, and the DJ is providing that as part of her services, so I had no information to go on.

Thanks to all who have responded. I really appreciate your input.