Luthiers for a Cause Project Announcement

Thanks, everyone, for all the supportive comments. It has been a labor of love for me, Patchen and Corrie to organize. We are really humbled to have such great luthiers donating their time -- their most valuable asset -- to this effort.

We still have a lot to figure out and we will probably ping this group for some input along the way. Personally, I like the idea of having a raffle for one of the ukes but we need to make sure that the economics work for the benefit of The Ukulele Kids Club. For example, if we could sell 100 tickets at $50/each, that might work. How many could we sell if we priced them at $25/each? How many if we priced at $100/each? You get the idea.

The other thing we want to keep in mind is this not a competition. They will be "just" different voicings and aesthetics. To that end, it might be great if the instruments were all sold for the same amount so there is less tendency for comparison.

Lots to noodle! Fortunately, we have some time to figure that part out as we have lots of things we still need to do first.

Regarding when the ukes will be done, we are still working those details but it will be later this year. Possibly early October time frame. We then want to use showcase the ukes suitably before they are sold.

Again, thanks for all the support!
 
Eddie, this is great to see more support for The Ukulele Kids Club. The CC Strummers are regular contributors to The UKC in conjunction with UCLA/Mattel Children's Wing at UCLA Medical Center. I'm sure some in the group would be interested in the auction and raffle, I'll announce it at a rehearsal when you have everything in place.

A number of us have performed for the kids, the third time just last Wednesday, and have presented 6 ukes to kids so far, with 15 more coming this week through our most recent donation.

(Any thoughts on another meetup of L.A. UU members? This seems like a good reason.)
 
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This is very admirable and a big thank you to all involved. It makes me very proud to be part of the ukulele community. You are doing a great thing here in helping children
 
What an awesome way to support a special program. I look forward to seeing how these ukes come out!
 
Great project for a great cause. Just had a wild and crazy idea. Wouldn't it be great if, before these instruments get into the hands of private collectors, a nationwide concert tour could be organized for 2018. If these ukes could be featured along with some of the most talented, nationally recognized performers, I know every performance would be a sell-out. I know, I know, the logistics would be staggering. But the net proceeds for this project might well be staggering as well. Anyway, kudos for all that already have and will contributed.
 
This is an amazing project; I just surfed over to Facebook and got a gander at some of that wood... whoa.

This project is genius. I doubt anything will ever put to rest debates around the mysterious alchemy of wood and builder, but what a joy to see such accomplished people at work, raising money for such a wonderful cause. Great people doing great things!
 
lfoo6952 said:
Eddie: have you determined how the ukuleles will be sold? Initially you mentioned they might be auctioned off, then you also mentioned having a raffle for the right to buy. Which will it be?
Click to expand...

We are still working through how to sell them. Our primary goal is raise as much money as possible for UKC. We also like the idea of making them accessible. Those things are seemingly at odds to each other. But perhaps if we sold raffle tix at $50/each for one of the ukes, and sold, say, up to 200 of them, that would yield more than selling the uke outright and make it more accessible. If we did a raffle, maybe the winner gets pick of the litter and then the rest area sold by other means.

- Sell at fixed price, set by each luthier
- Sell at same price
- Auction the entire collection as a set (likely few bidders, but as a set they could bring more than they would sold individually)
- Auction individually
- Raffle
- Some combination of the above

We welcome ideas/suggestions!
 
Since you're asking for suggestions, here are mine (for what they're worth :D):

- the best solution is in my opinion an individual auction for all instruments. If you want to avoid to create a "price competition" between luthiers it's always possible to keep all bids above the entry price known by bidders only.
- The total raised amount could be displayed on a big counter instead of individual prices for each uke. In addition, it should be easy to make a donation to add to the total amount without buying anything. Facebook is a fantastic way to share and get people involved even if they're not uke players.
- I personally don't like the idea of selling the collection as a set, because it means the instruments won't be played. If someone wants to buy them all it's still possible to do it through the individual auctions anyway. In addition it's likely that with more bidders the total price would get higher even if the same person get them all.

We'll see some of the finest ukes ever built using exclusive tonewoods and hardware, I think it's going to bring a lot of attention... and hopefully a lot of money for the UKC!
Fantastic project, my gut feeling is that you'll make even more happy kids than you expect!

I've started to save for November :p
 
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Eddie this is an interesting dilemma because as you say the goal it to raise as much money as possible for Ukulele Kids Club. With HMS being involved I would think having each ukulele auctuoned off individually would work very well. Possibly set the starting bid price the same for each builders instrument and let interest of each one drive the final price.

As a side note Jay Lichty has a fabulous pictorial slide show on the build in progress of his instrument. Go to his website and click on "whats on the bench". If everyone of the builders did something like this it would help create even more excitement.
 
Eddie, I like the raffle idea. Tixs at $50 would give just about everyone a shot
 
@ToF: I share your concerns about selling to a single collector. This was more attractive before HMS came on board as were concerned with how to sell them ;-) We have a page on Facebook to help generate awareness (https://www.facebook.com/luthiersforacause/).

@DownUpDave: We've encouraged the luthiers to share partial images but to avoid, if possibly, full-on shots of their ukes (though some will be exhibited individually over the summer at shows) so in November we'll have the big unveiling of all the ukes together.

@stevejfc: Thanks, we'll work with everyone involved over the next few weeks to lock down the details on they'll be sold.


Keep the input coming, gang. We really appreciate it!

P.S. The effort to source tees, hats/beanies and microfiber cloths with the project logo has begun. We'll post details on how to pre-order in the next few weeks!
 
What a truly outstanding project for such a worthy cause!
I am staunch believer in, and living proof of, the power of the uke to heal.

Everyone benefits from this. The kids for sure are the most important benefactors but also the uke community as a whole. Having 6 of the best luthiers in the world showcase their artistry using the same materials and sharing that with us is simply a brilliant platform to educate and delight all of us. I am so excited to see the differences visually and tonally.

And the eventual owners of these fine instruments - by auction, raffle or otherwise - will truly have unique instruments that speak to the generosity and creativity of all involved.

Bravo to all! Your efforts are truly humbling.
 
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