‘Thank You’ to our Friends – and How to Join Them!
The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone and hit amateur singing particularly. So a huge ‘thank you’ to all our current Friends who have continued to support the choir through this very difficult period – it is with great excitement that the Joyful Company of Singers returns to rehearsing in person and performing again in public for our 2021/22 Season and beyond.
The best way to help us return even more strongly from the pandemic is to become a Friend – if you are not already one!
Friends support us both with donations and as audience members. Friends also support our Youth Fund which provides a bursary for a young conductor to work with us and be coached by our founder-director, Peter Broadbent, one of Britain’s leading choral conductors.
The Friends Scheme
We are now offering improved benefits in the Friends Scheme to all who donate regularly a minimum £5 monthly/£60 annually per person – larger amounts are most welcome, of course!
Friends will receive all these benefits:
Concert Tickets
- 10% discount on unlimited tickets to all JCS own-promotion events
- Any discount that can be negotiated for JCS concerts promoted by others
- 25% discount on our streamed concerts, as and when these are programmed
Invitations
- to pre-concert ‘Meet the Musicians’ talks and complimentary Friends’ receptions at all JCS own-promotions (talks will be open to all audience members)
- to take part in JCS ‘Come and Sing’ days at discounted rates
- to travel with the choir on tours (though at your own expense, we have to say!)
There will be a Friends table at all our own concerts, and you will be sent a periodic newsletter and – coming soon – access to a new password-protected Friends page on the JCS website which will include choir news and JCS copyright audio recordings.
Recordings
- A free copy of our ‘Sing Joyfully’ CD on becoming a Friend
- Coming soon – free access to JCS audio files on a new Friends website page
- Discounts on new JCS CDs and archive CDs from our stocks
How to join
If you would like to become a Friend, please follow Steps 1 to 3 below.
Step 1. Please complete the online registration form below
*If you have any issues completing this form, please email friends@jcos.co.uk for help
*You should now receive a confirmatory email. EITHER proceed via this email OR continue to STEP 2 below:
Step 2. Make a regular donation
According to your chosen payment option above, please donate:
- EITHER online via our Just Giving webpage, selecting £5 or more per person per month
- OR by creating an annual or monthly Standing Order – we will send you our Standing Order form
- OR by BACS transfer – we will send you our account details.
NB – Please donate £5 or more per person per month/£60 or more per person per year. Existing Friends donating £60 or more annually by Standing Order do not need to re-register.
Making the most of your support
In most cases, Friends’ donations and any other gifts to JCS from UK taxpayers are eligible for Gift Aid, as we are a registered charity (Number 1057257). A Gift Aid declaration is available through a ‘tick box’ on our Just Giving page or at Step 3 below if your chosen payment option is BACS or Standing Order.
Gift Aid means that we can claim back from the Government 25p for every £1 donated. Higher rate taxpayers can claim the donation as a charitable contribution to offset against tax in their tax returns.
Step 3. Please download and complete the linked Friends Gift Aid Form
Either as a Word document or as an editable Adobe pdf , then save it and and return it by email to friends@jcos.co.uk