Where business sponsorships actually go

Our students do the short-term fundraising work themselves. They raise money for their marching band season, their trip fees, the specific instrument or event in front of them. They are good at it because the goal is concrete and tied directly to them.

What students cannot raise on their own is the program's operating capital: the gap between what the county provides and what it actually costs to run a serious public-school music program. That gap covers instructional staff, instruments, production capacity, replacement cycles. It is the structural foundation that makes everything the students do possible.

Business sponsorships fill that gap. Your support is not replacing a student's trip fee. It is keeping the program operating at the level our students deserve.

Our long-term goal

I have been a band director for 20 years. By the time I retire in 2036, my goal is for every student in the Ashley band program to have the option of using a quality Yamaha instrument. Most of our school-owned inventory is older than the students playing it. Some of it is older than I am.

We are not trying to fundraise our way out of one bad season. We are trying to rebuild the inventory of a serious public-school music program over the next ten years, so the students who come after these ones inherit something stronger than what we inherited.

A $2,000 business sponsorship contributes meaningfully to that work in a way that family donations and group fundraisers cannot. Sponsorships scale. Bake sales do not.

Two ways to give

Sponsors can support the program through whichever path fits how you want to give. Both are needed every year, and both are honored.

Tier sponsorships support program operations: instructional staff, transportation, show production, uniforms, and the scholarships that keep students on the field when families cannot cover the full season cost. Tier sponsors receive visibility and recognition that scales with the level. The full benefits matrix is in this packet.

Adopt-an-Instrument is our capital track toward the 2036 vision. Gifts of $2,500 or more contribute to that year's instrument purchases. Donors who fully sponsor a single instrument receive a brass plaque on the case with their name in service for the life of the instrument. All Adopt-an-Instrument donors receive an annual photo packet of every instrument purchased that year, with students playing them, and attribution to the specific instrument or instruments their gift contributed toward.

We are most interested in long-term partners. The strongest sponsorships are not one-year transactions. They are relationships that grow with the program and grow your visibility in our community alongside it. Sponsors who commit to a 3-year tier partnership receive 10% off the annual rate.

Tax information

The AHS Band Boosters is a registered 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization. Federal Tax ID: 20-5605218. All contributions are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Next step

Review the attached materials. If you would like to talk through how a sponsorship would work for your business, please contact me directly.

Thank you for your consideration. The students at Ashley High School and I are grateful for the community that makes this program possible.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Parker
Director of Bands, Ashley High School
robert.parker@nhcs.net

Path 1 — Tier Sponsorship

Annual operations + student scholarships. A $2,000 sponsorship can put four students on the field who otherwise would not be there.

Multi-year: 3-year tier commitment saves 10% per year.

Path 2 — Adopt-an-Instrument

By 2036, our goal is for every student in the Ashley band program to have the option of using a quality Yamaha instrument. Gifts of $2,500 or more enter the year's instrument capital fund.

A complete instrument package includes

• The instrument (quality Yamaha, or named equivalent for instruments Yamaha does not make)
• Required accessories (mouthpiece, ligature, reeds, oils, mutes, case if not included)
• 5-year maintenance reserve sized at one-third of purchase price, based on a 15-year instrument lifecycle

Sole sponsor of a single instrument receives

• Brass plaque on the instrument case with your name, in service for the life of the instrument (typically 15 years)
• Named in the concert program's “Instruments Sponsored By” section every year the instrument is in use
• Listed on the permanent Instrument Donor Wall in the band room
• Annual Instrument Reveal photo packet with the student playing your sponsored instrument
• Personal thank-you note from Mr. Parker and from the student
• Invitation to the annual Sponsor Recognition Night (2 tickets)

Package menu

Prices are estimates and will be confirmed in writing before any sole-sponsor commitment is finalized. Concert tubas and percussion are excluded.