RVCC 2022 Winter Fundraiser

Save the Choir! Support Our Goal to Raise $50,000

Our goal this year is to raise $50,000 through personal donations and crowd-funding. We also hope to find a large donor, or a combination of large donors, to match that $50,000+, bringing our total fundraising needs to $100,000+.

Greetings to all RVCC Friends, Patrons, and Alumni,

I am so very thankful for your support of the Roanoke Valley Children’s choir. Many of you are long time patrons of the choir program and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Ways you can help right now!

• Make a one-time donation online - https://secure.givelively.org/donate/roanoke-valley-childrens-choir-inc/save-the-choir-support-our-goal-to-raise-50-000

• Make a cash/check donation through mail: Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir, 718 Joan Circle, Salem, VA 24153

• Set up a recurring donation amount that will support the choir each month. On the RVCC fundraiser webpage, choose the "monthly" donation option to set up an automatic recurring donation amount. This can be canceled at any time.

• Share the “Save the Choir” fundraiser link on Social Media via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or email. Copy and paste link to share - https://secure.givelively.org/donate/roanoke-valley-childrens-choir-inc/save-the-choir-support-our-goal-to-raise-50-000

• Create your own peer-to-peer fundraising page. You can make your own personal fundraising page with a smaller goal to share with the people in your own online community and help us reach our larger goal. Go to the “Save the Choir” fundraiser link and click the button, “I Want to Fundraise For This” (or go straight here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/roanoke-valley-childrens-choir-inc/save-the-choir-support-our-goal-to-raise-50-000/fundraisers/new). For example, you could create your own fundraiser page with the goal of $1,000 and share your personal experience about why this cause is meaningful to you. If 50 Alumni each fundraised $1,000, that would equal our $50,000 goal!

• Talk to a business or potential donor about sponsoring the children’s choir with a large gift. It works well to process large gifts via check, or through the “Paypal Giving Fund”, as there are no fees associated with it : paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1272720

• Check if your employer supports matching gifts. After donating to the RVCC, you can go through the process of submitting a matching gift request to your employer. In some instances, you can donate to the RVCC directly through your employer, and apply the employer’s matching gift when doing so. Search your employer’s policy and find an employer’s matching donation form using the search box below.

Nationwide Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Arts & Music Organizations

When the Covid-19 pandemic first started in 2020, my focus was to do everything possible to keep the music going and continue to provide the same valuable choral education to our students. We continued to strive for excellence through Zoom rehearsals, virtual concerts, and spectacular outdoor performances. I was so hopeful that once we “made it through” the pandemic everything could go “back to normal”. Now, as we emerge on the other side, the singing, the rehearsals, and the performances are finally getting “back to normal” as expected! Yet sadly, it’s clear that the long-term effects of Covid-19 are not over. 

Enrollment in the arts is down nationwide. Our RVCC chorister enrollment has dropped significantly. You can see from the numbers below how the numbers dropped off in 2020 and 2021, and how we have slowly started to re-build our enrollment this year in 2022. We introduced a new recruitment initiative that replaced the audition process for elementary students with a free singing class for newcomers. We also offered a $200 new member discount to all new students through music teacher recommendations. 45 new singers have joined the choir this year, with the majority in the Elementary age group. The best way to rebuild the RVCC program is from the bottom up; recruiting the young singers who will grow up within the choir to become the next generation! 

• 2018 = 248 total singers

• 2019 = 252 total singers

• 2020 = 161 total singers

• 2021 = 118 total singers

• 2022 = 136 total singers

Overall, the enrollment in the RVCC choirs is down by 46% in this rebuilding year.  We have always been a tuition-funded program. This sudden reduction in tuition-paying singers has put a significant financial strain on our organization.  

$50,000 Financial Deficit

As the founding director, I’ve spent 35 years of my life dedicated to slowly growing this choir program into the 250 member, highest quality music education program in the Roanoke Valley. Now, in my 36th year, we suddenly have half the amount of students, but are still striving to carry on the same choral program with the same level of excellence. It takes a nearly equivalent amount of staff, salary, music, and operating budget to run the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir whether we have 250 or 150 singers. With 100+ less students not paying the approx. $600 tuition, we now have more than a $50,000 deficit in our operating budget. This deficit will multiply each year if we continue to operate in our current state with this lesser amount of students paying tuition.

Two Options for the Future of the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir

1. Fundraise through donations to make up the difference in the budget and keep the choir program running at the same level of professionalism.

OR 

1. Scale back the program for next year with an even more dramatically cut budget and reduced staff while we wait for it to slowly re-grow itself as a self-supporting tuition funded program.

Additional Large Donor Needed

Do you have any leads for a source that could potentially make a sizable donation of $10,000, $20,000, or $50,000 to the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir with the goal of establishing a new scholarship foundation within our program starting next year? Securing a large, one-time donation for this extra funding would allow us to get AHEAD of our fundraising needs and secure a more financially stable future for the RVCC. This would also allow us to offer tuition scholarships to a large percentage of our choristers and enable more children to sing in the choir! Please contact RVCC Director, Kim Davidson (kimdavidson@childrenschoir.com), right away if you have any ideas that could help us secure this significant extra funding from a personal donor, corporate sponsor, or grant.

For large donations, it works well to process them via check or online through the “Paypal Giving Fund”, as there are no fees associated with it: paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1272720

Thank you!

The RVCC has the plans, expertise, staff, and organizational skills to proudly craft a choir program that is nationally recognized for excellence.  We’re growing children; the listeners, the leaders, the diligent, and the team players.  We offer an educational experience through music that is changing lives. I am so proud of our RVCC family and the way everyone has pulled together to help us during this challenging time.  The young singers, their families, our RVCC board, the RVCC staff and I are so very, very thankful for your past support. Thank you for supporting the arts. Thank you for encouraging the children. Thank you for listening and sharing. Thank you for being a part of the music. Thank you for being YOU!

This is my 36th year directing this choir. I love the children, the families, the music, and the legacy of this Roanoke tradition.  I need your help to keep us going as we rebuild.