Colin, your comments are welcome anytime. Nothing taken on a personal level, thanks.

Every organization needs to plan for Devil's Advocates! The perception that songwriting contests are scams is an interesting perspective. I was just having a conversation with one of my Board members last week, and he was discussing the concept of 'contest' and how that might actually turn people off. Interesting. We need to put some additional thought into this. I will point out, in order to participate in our contest, we requested a $10 donation. The donation was an option, not a requirement. If we could have attracted 500 excellent compositions and not generated a single dime, that would have been a major success in my book. The primary objective of our Proof of Concept Project was not to generate thousands of dollars. The objective was to test our conceptual and operational models, and point to a project that was successfully completed. As such, we are still in the middle of analyzing what we need to change and do in order to move the project forward to a successful end.

I understand that some nonprofits may be defined as scams. I do not think I would agree that 'many' are scams and would need to see what the statistics are on such a premise. There are rigid requirements in place regarding what needs to occur in order to qualify and maintain nonprofit status. I believe achieving a 501(C)(3) status is a higher level of insurance against scamming, as annual filings with the state and federal government have some solid tracking mechanisms in place that help with discerning if an organization is being unscrupulous in it's operations. Still, your point is well taken and if the perception is widely held, it adds an additional layer of uphill climbing for us to negotiate.

I am sorry to hear on first glimpse you find our mission to not be one based on ethics, well-meaning and integrity. I invite you to track our progress over the years to see how we develop and what we achieve. Your thoughts have been truly valuable.

Best wishes,
Bill