Am I Getting Ahead of Myself?

[JF1993]

Here's my situation, I just got my first lor for Christmas last year. I have a folder of sequences I've created for Christmas, and almost none for Halloween. I really want to get some rgb pixels to line my tombstones and make arches for Christmas. The thing is I'm starting college next week so I'm really leery about spending big bucks, but I really really want to add rgbs to my show. So I guess the million dollar question is should I just put off buying the rbg pixels until next year? I have more than enough money saved up and then some, but I don't want to run into a senario where I'll run low on funds.

I've seen where people have had donation buckets for charities, but would it be out of line to set up a donation box for my college expenses or the cost of new lights and equipment?

Edited August 8, 2012 by JF1993

[digdeepfundraising]

i would wait til next year my own opinion is that im doing my show for charity and the money raised will go to charity if i kept any of it for myself for collage or more lights i would feel bad as lights or collage is not a charity

[Guest wbottomley]

Here's my situation, I just got my first lor for Christmas last year. I have a folder of sequences I've created for Christmas, and almost none for Halloween. I really want to get some rgb pixels to line my tombstones and make arches for Christmas. The thing is I'm starting college next week so I'm really leery about spending big bucks, but I really really want to add rgbs to my show. So I guess the million dollar question is should I just put off buying the rbg pixels until next year? I have more than enough money saved up and then some, but I don't want to run into a senario where I'll run low on funds.

I've seen where people have had donation buckets for charities, but would it be out of line to set up a donation box for my college expenses or the cost of new lights and equipment?

First, you bought an LOR.... what? Controller, Color Ribbon, Pixels, etc?

Second, It's a hobby that you alone fund, not the community. If have a hunch you'll need extra money for college, then Christmas lights can wait.

[GaryM]

I've seen where people have had donation buckets for charities, but would it be out of line to set up a donation box for my college expenses or the cost of new lights and equipment?

You're joking, right? Asking people to pay for your college tuition, which, i assume, has nothing to do with your light show, or, asking people to pay for you to put on the light show.

Setting aside the issues I've read about regarding how accepting money for performance gets all complex regarding music rights, but more importantly, if you have to choose between a college education and Christmas lights, only one of those are likely to ever pay the mortgage or put food on the table.

I can relate to your frustration...but you'll have plenty of time later on for hobbies like this.

[Surfing4Dough]

... if you have to choose between a college education and Christmas lights, only one of those are likely to ever pay the mortgage or put food on the table.

So are you saying that he should also ask for food donations and contributions towards his mortgage?

Dave Severns collected 1,000,000 pounds of food over the course of his display. That would probably feed a college student (and maybe a few classmates) through his whole college career. Not a bad idea I suppose.

A sign like this could be used:

Maybe can find some additional ideas here:

[Orville]

Here's my situation, I just got my first lor for Christmas last year. I have a folder of sequences I've created for Christmas, and almost none for Halloween. I really want to get some rgb pixels to line my tombstones and make arches for Christmas. The thing is I'm starting college next week so I'm really leery about spending big bucks, but I really really want to add rgbs to my show. So I guess the million dollar question is should I just put off buying the rbg pixels until next year? I have more than enough money saved up and then some, but I don't want to run into a senario where I'll run low on funds.

I've seen where people have had donation buckets for charities, but would it be out of line to set up a donation box for my college expenses or the cost of new lights and equipment?

I'm just going to give you an answer and my opinion on your last statement, that I bolded and colored red above from your comments.

If you're NOT using music in your display, you might, said "might", just get away with that.

However, if you are using music, then you will have to buy a license from each recording companies music you represent. This was gone over on the old forum and "The Demented Elf" got us some very good info from both ASCAP and BMI about charities and using music in our shows WITHOUT a license. Hopefully someone here has the link to that former thread from the old forum, I know it's still here, but don't recall the link to it off-hand. So hopefully someone will post that link so you can read it.

A charity is fine, but if you are doing this for "personal gain", which is what you would be doing asking for donations to support YOUR personal college fund, or purchase lights and/or equipment, that would, in fact, require you to pursue a license, as now your display has become a "paid event", if this were for a normal charity where 100% of the proceeds you gather go elsewhere and NOT DIRECTLY to you, you would not need said perfomance license.

So in a nutshell, I wouldn't do it, it could lead to a lot of legal troubles for you down the road, especially with the recording industries and possibly even from the artist of the song{s} you'd use in your display.

You'll be much better off just buying items when you can out of your own pocket, paying for your own college {or getting student loans/pell grants to help with those college expenses, that's what my wife did}.

But I would DEFINITELY NOT be asking, or setting up any type of personal fund raiser for yourself, it's just going to come back to bite you, and may end up costing you a lot more money. Which I'm sure you really don't want to put out, just to have an animated musical display.

Again, if just animating and no music, you can try it, but I wouldn't count on getting much on a personal donation type setting.

Not saying anyone here would do anything like this or that, but just letting folks know what can happen if you happen to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

So the following comments are what happened to someone that tried to claim they were taking donations for a charity and really was keeping all proceeds for their own personal use.

We had a guy in my city, it's been quite a few years now, but he touted he was taking donations for charity {he was not doing a lightshow like LOR, just a very large static display}, he got busted, and local authorities found out he WAS NOT using any of the money for charity at all, that he was using those "charitable donations" to pay his power bill, put gas in his cars and pay other bills, not .01¢ of what he collected even went to charity. He got away with it for quite a few years, but he finally got investigated and ended up with quite a few years jail time. I think he got a year for every year he had the display and his "bogus" charity in operation. It was even in all our local newspapers at the time about his "scam!" But I don't recall how long he actually got in jail time, as this was, again, some time ago. And with todays technology, you could get caught even faster than this idiot did.

So with our type displays, you don't ever want to try and deceive anyone, there are those that may try this, but you eventually get caught and the price, well, is it really worth taking that kind of risk?

I wouldn't, and wouldn't think so.

I'm only citing this, because some folks may think they could make it sound like they are supporting a charity of some type, when, in reality, they set it up for personal gain and use, which is, I would think, illegal from what happened to the fellow in the story above.

Again, I am not saying anyone here would do anything like this, or that, but just letting folks know what can happen if you happen to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

Just my opinion, but you asked.

[JF1993]

It was just a thought, and a bad one at that. Remember I'm still new at this so I'm just trying to get an idea of what works, and what doesn't. Thanks for the advice... I don't think you'll find a donation box at my display this year or anytime soon. As for the whole college thing, yes I know that education is my main priority and the lights should come second. I wanted to apologize on behalf of anyone who was offended while reading this post, and I hope you can forgive me for even considering this crazy idea. Anyway have great holiday season.

[shfr26]

It was just a thought, and a bad one at that. Remember I'm still new at this so I'm just trying to get an idea of what works, and what doesn't. Thanks for the advice... I don't think you'll find a donation box at my display this year or anytime soon. As for the whole college thing, yes I know that education is my main priority and the lights should come second. I wanted to apologize on behalf of anyone who was offended while reading this post, and I hope you can forgive me for even considering this crazy idea. Anyway have great holiday season.

Thats what we are here for, to point you in the right direction and if need be, give you a swift kick in the butt to make sure you don't get in trouble. Happy lighting!

[Guest Don Gillespie]

Thats what we are here for, to point you in the right direction and if need be, give you a swift kick in the butt to make sure you don't get in trouble. Happy lighting!

oh oh let me kick him pleeeeeeeeeeeeease LOL

have fun with your lights for all the years I have had a display I have never put out a donation box

[Steven]

If you're NOT using music in your display, you might, said "might", just get away with that.

A few years ago, I visited this static display in Rohnert Park and found a donation box with a sign that said: "Please help pay the electric bill."

[Orville]

A few years ago, I visited this static display in Rohnert Park and found a donation box with a sign that said: "Please help pay the electric bill."

Steven, we have a guy here in my area that does a fantastic static display, his entire house, yard and just about every nook and cranny has some kind of light in it, he has something like a couple of "wishing wells" set up for donations and he does quite plainly state that it is to help with the cost of his power bill. He even has a sign that shows how much power he uses and costs of how much he has paid in past and aproximate costs of the current display.

But he's not doing an animated musical display like we do, but he does have Christmas music playing softly outside, but it can only be heard if you're almost right next to the house, can't hear it from the sidewalk or road, nor he doesn't use an FM transmitter..

So that should be okay, he's been doing it for years, he also hires local law enforcement for traffic flow closer to Christmas. His display is extremely popular here because you get out and walk through the entire area.

My reference to personal gain is basically geared more toward someone that may say they are doing it for some type of charity, but in reality were using it for their own criteria, actually deceiving those that may put a "donation" in the box, well or pot, whatever the case may be, thinking it's going somewhere it isn't.

BTW: I know the guy very well and he tells me he doesn't usually even come close to breaking even with what donations he does get, but a little is better than nothing at all.

[Orville]

It was just a thought, and a bad one at that. Remember I'm still new at this so I'm just trying to get an idea of what works, and what doesn't. Thanks for the advice... I don't think you'll find a donation box at my display this year or anytime soon. As for the whole college thing, yes I know that education is my main priority and the lights should come second. I wanted to apologize on behalf of anyone who was offended while reading this post, and I hope you can forgive me for even considering this crazy idea. Anyway have great holiday season.

No offense taken on my part. Like others have stated, just trying to give you advice on what you can and possibly don't want to do in doing displays animated to music and lights.

Hate to see anyone get into trouble because they may not have been aware of something and then could lose more than just their LOR equipment and lights over something that could have been avoided.

Good Luck with your display and have fun with it.