Cost Transparency

One of the things that drove us to create the Twin Cities Ceili Club was the lack of visibility around how monies collected at dances would be used. As such, here is what it takes to run TCCC and the weekly dances:

Administrative Costs:
twincitiesceiliclub.org Domain: $20/yr
Website + Google Workspace: $340/yr (will be cheaper once we are tax-exempt)
General Liability Insurance: $60/yr
Socials + WhatsApp + Email list: Free!

Per Dance Costs:
Hall Rental: $35/hr + $70 if over 35 people
Bands: Variable, but typically $150-250

Tl;DR:
TCCC costs $420/yr + ~$250 per dance

How is TCCC funding itself?
Currently, Alex is covering the administrative costs and the hall rental fee. Alex has the hall rental paid through the end of 2026.

Going forward, we are looking into setting up a nonprofit, which would make it easier for people to donate money towards dancing and let us apply for grants. While TCCC isn’t looking to generate a profit, it would be great to have a pool of funds we can use to hire bands and guarantee them a base pay (e.g. $150-200) plus whatever tips they get. We are still trying to figure out the best way to facilitate a TCCC operations fund fueled by donations, as well as encourage band tipping. One approach we discussed was cash donations first go to paying the rental cost, then the overage is distributed to the band/TCCC operating fund.

If you have ideas/opinions, let us know!

What does this mean for the dancers?
This post isn’t meant to guilt trip anyone into contributing more than they want to or are able to; TCCC is a stable position for the time being! All we ask is for you to tell/bring your friends and keep dancing! If you can throw some dollars our way, it’s always appreciated