Friends and Patrons

Support the Society and enjoy preferential treatment by becoming a Friend or Patron

The majority of arts based charities depend on voluntary financial support.  Our singing members pay an annual subscription which roughly covers our overheads but the income from the sale of tickets is rarely enough to cover the cost of hiring the concert hall and paying for the orchestra and soloists. 

Becoming a Friend or Patron helps us to close the gap and at the same time guarantees a preferential choice of a “best seat in the house” for our Autumn, Christmas and Spring concerts.  Friends and Patrons also receive periodic Newsletters, are invited to attend choir members’ social events and are eligible to have their names printed in concert programs.

Friends. Friends are currently asked to pay a minimum of £53 pa and receive all the benefits listed above.  This amounts to only a few pounds more than the cost of the best seat price for all three concerts but in most cases also allows the Society to claim a Gift Aid refund from HM Revenue and Customs.

Patrons.  Patrons are those supporters who feel they would like to donate a little more than the basic Friends subscription.  Silver Patrons are those who make a contribution between £100 and £200, whilst those contributing over £200 are classed as Gold Patrons.  Gold Patrons receive two free tickets rather than one.

Applications.  Applications to become a Friend or Patron can be accepted at any time by contacting:

Gerald Chew,
26 Delves Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5DR
Telephone: 01892 527958
or e-mail:

We do hope that anyone who regularly attends the Society’s concerts and values the contribution the Society makes to music in Tunbridge Wells, will consider becoming a Friend or Patron, or by simply making a donation.  The Society is a charity and donations can be treated as "gift aid"; details of our charity registration can be viewed here.

 

Sponsorship

 

Like most other arts and music societies we are anxious to obtain financial assistance and sponsorship from commercial organisations or private individuals. The task of covering our costs in producing choral concerts is practically impossible, with the production costs being so high. Even if we were to sell every seat in the concert hall, our chances of recovering our costs are slim, placing the burden upon the members to finance the activities.

Any opportunity to interest an outside source is taken. In the past, we have obtained financial help from Mazda Cars, Lloyds TSB and others, and most recently we were offered and gratefully accepted, sponsorship from English Courtyard, specialists in retirement housing, whose logo appeared in all our publicity material and who were given a page of coverage of their company in our programme and a promotional stand in the foyer of the Assembly Hall at the two concerts they sponsored.

We publicise our concerts widely both locally and further afield and now we have our own website, which is linked to the Beehive Courier website, we hope to reach a larger public. We are anxious to hear from anyone interested in sponsoring one or more of the three or four concerts which we give each season.

If you are, or anyone you know is interested, please get in touch with:
Gareth Looker - tel 01892 518122 or e-mail:

(Note that e-mail addresses are not automatically linked and need to be copied manually.)