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Tour Support Q&A

You know you’d like to help others, and you know you can definitely use this stream of income – but you’re not sure how it works… Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about partnering with a charity to receive Tour Support:

  1. How do I qualify for tour support?
  2. Will partnering with a charity "fit" with what I'm already doing onstage?
  3. How much time is involved in doing this?
  4. How much would I be paid and how often?
  5. Why would a charity want to pay me for doing this?
  6. I'm still not sure – is it really OK to take money from a charity?
  7. What kind of response can I expect from the audience?
  8. Is there training available to help me maximize this opportunity?
  9. Will the charity help us with bookings?
  10. Will we get to travel overseas to see the charity at work?
  11. How do we know these charities operate with integrity and the funds collected are used for what they say?
  1. How do I qualify for tour support?

    To make this kind of partnership work, the charity you are representing needs to be something that is appropriate for you, your music, and your audience. You also need to be in front of enough people on a regular basis (usually 25-30 dates per year) so that it is cost effective for the charity. We look at each artist on an individual basis, so go ahead and fill out a Tour Support Inquiry Form and see!

  2. Will partnering with a charity "fit" with what I'm already doing onstage?

    It absolutely can! Don't worry about the "hows" and working it into your show. It's really very simple and can be as creative and unique as you are. (We can help you with ideas and details to help you make it work.)

  3. How much time is involved in doing this?

    In a way, there really isn't much extra time involved at all. First, there are the few minutes during your show that you will share with your audience about the charity and ask them to come check it out at your merch table. Secondly, you'll be at your table after the show anyway selling merch – you'll simply receive people's donations there at the same time. And finally, there's the 10-15 minutes or so you'll take after the show to drop the donations into a postage-paid envelope to send to the charity.

  4. How much would I be paid and how often?

    About two weeks after you mail in the donations you received after your show, you will receive a check from the charity for an agreed upon amount (typically $75-$100 per sponsorship).

  5. Why would a charity want to pay me for doing this?

    Charities have found that donors who come to them through an artist will statistically remain a donor longer and be more consistent with their giving than other donors because of their loyalty to the artist. For this reason, the donors that an artist acquires are more valuable to the charity and so they are willing to pay you a set fee for finding them.

  6. I'm still not sure – is it really OK to take money from a charity?

    Over the years, Tom has helped many artists overcome the feeling that taking money from charities is wrong. They think it’s OK to take money from Coca-Cola, Budweiser, or Nike, but not from a charity. However, these charities have budgets for marketing, and they’re always looking for ways to get in front of new people. They recognize artists spend time, money, and energy to get their gigs and develop audiences, and they are willing to pay you for access to your audiences. If they were going to put an ad in a magazine or a commercial on TV, they’d have to pay for that – so these dollars are well spent and produce results!

  7. What kind of response can I expect from the audience?

    First of all, you can expect to have more credibility as an artist because of your relationship with the charity. And as far as donations, you will likely have 1-2% of your audience respond immediately to your appeal when you first start doing this. As you continue to improve your appeal through our training, you might expect to see a response rate of 2-5% and more!

  8. Is there training available to help me maximize this opportunity?

    Yes, absolutely. We have a Tour Support liaison representing each of the charities we work with. They are willing and eager to help you be successful in your partnership with a charity. In addition, as soon as you have signed up with a charity, you will have FREE access to all our Tour Support Training videos & articles. Tom's teaching resources will help you create a great appeal! In addition, once you have begun to hone your appeal and are producing sponsorships on a regular basis, you will have the opportunity for a phone call with Tom or potentially even a few hours in person with him to work on your appeal!

  9. Will the charity help us with bookings?

    No, that's not part of what they can do for you. However, if you are a member of our Backstage Pass area (which you can receive at a reduced rate because of your charity partnership), the articles and videos there will help you understand more about the booking process and how to be the most effective at it.

  10. Will we get to travel overseas to see the charity at work?

    As your relationship with the charity continues, and they see the growing results of their partnership with you, they will very likely send you into the field to witness their work firsthand. Seeing the charity at work will give you stories to share with your audience and usually increases their response to your appeal for the charity.

  11. How do we know these charities operate with integrity and the funds collected are used for what they say?

    Tom Jackson has vetted EVERY charity we represent and is confident they maintain accountable standards. All of them have sustained a long history of effectively helping those less fortunate around the world. We simply wouldn't work with a charity that didn't operate with integrity!

It’s really what we call a “win-win-win” — the children impacted through monthly donations received from your audience win, the additional funds you’ll receive give you a win, and your audience will win by being given the opportunity to change their own lives through their gifts to the unfortunate around the world.

See our charity partners

If you still have more questions, please fill out our Tour Support Inquiry Form…

“No man has learned to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Length without breadth is like a self-contained tributary having no outward flow to the ocean. Stagnant, still, and stale, it lacks both life and freshness. In order to live creatively and meaningfully our self-concern must be wedded to other concerns.” Martin Luther King, Jr.