[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;8227027]
That accounting lesson appears incomplete. The non-profit can certainly pay a day fee to the property owner to compensate them for that use. And it can pay a salary to the property owner if she is acting as show managers. She only has to donate her time and donate her property if she wants to - there’s no reason a non-profit can’t pay salaries & rent.[/QUOTE]
Yes: not-for-profit does not mean that all labor is unpaid. A not-for-profit can (must!) cover operating costs and that can include salaries for multiple people. Leaving out the salaries paid to Red Cross board members (yes, I have issues with the Red Cross), the Boston Symphony Orchestra is a 501©3. That means that musicians get paid, first chair and soloists get more, and conductors and guest artists like an Itzhak Perlman or Yo Yo Ma get even more. Not to mention all the people who organize not only the concerts and the rehearsals and travel, plus maintenance and improvements to the venue and associated staff/contractors.
Unlike eventing, however, is the BSO recruiting volunteers to be ushers to lower ticket prices? Do they go, eh, we can save money by not having a first-rate conductor? For all the issues this forum has raised about safety, do we not want to pay for the costs associated with that? Do we not think that those costs have increased over the years? Also, for me, part of the joy and horror of a recognized event is being judged by a rated dressage judge. Yes, I think that we should PAY these professionals the going rate.
And, again, there are associated costs to creating an event that go beyond what actually occurs during the competition. They include land maintenance and improvement and/or a venue fee; taxes; insurance (recognized events are covered by the USEA, I think, but they may find it wise to have supplemental insurance); mowing, fence building and moving, personnel, post-event clean-up, and who knows what else.
Some events ARE run as non-profits (they have 501©3 status – Fox Valley, Millbrook, Plantation (all 7), Roebke’s Run, and Stuart are those that I found via Google).
Meanwhile, all the horse parks, GMHA, etc, are non-profit VENUES. Doubtless, they charge events a fee for land use, etc, because they have to maintain/improve the property, not to mention taxes, what-have-you.
As far as organizers qualifying as professionals/making a living off organizing: individual venues seem to each have their own organizer. In some cases, that’s the person who is running the facility (e.g., Riga Meadows in CT, which hosts a CT and a HT). (Neither the event, nor the barn it takes place at, is run as a 501©3.) In other cases, the event itself is a 501©3 (e.g., Millbrook). Again, same organizer year-to-year, and the event (1 event/year) is hosted on private land. And then there are venues like the Horse Park of NJ which is a 501©3 venue. While it hosts 4 recognized events per year, including Jersey Fresh, the events themselves don’t seem to be run as not-for-profits. Those 4 events also have a single organizer.
But whether the organizer is responsible for 1 or 4 (or in Plantation Field’s case, 7) events a year; whether or not the organizer is paid for the work they do; it is unlikely that the organizer is doing this as a full-time job. In fact, I know that the organizer at Riga Meadows teaches lessons year round and runs a boarding facility. The organizer for the Horse Park of NJ events is also a dressage judge and trainer.
Via forethought, or tradition, or expertise of a particular individual, some events may be heavier on competitor “swag,” but at the end of the day, I’m fine with swag being placed at the end of a long list of items that the organizer and company have to deal with. (OTOH, I agree that treating volunteers well is something that should be a priority.)
To sum up: consider volunteering to do that which is important to you (if it’s something that’s not happening at events you attend, or even if it is), especially if in order to happen AT the show it needs to be organized PRE-show. And if you don’t like something about an event you attended, whether as a competitor or volunteer, share that (politely but in a detailed fashion) via the feedback form.
http://useventing.com/news/2015-usea-event-evaluation-form
and that’s going to be a hard sell, waiting for the last division of the day to be over.