In the Washington DC area, the Folklore Society of Greater Washington sets up house concerts (as well as our other hall concert series, and all the other things we do.) For house concerts, the performer usually gets no financial guarantee, but takes home 100% of the gate. (Our hall series concerts offer guarantees against a percentage of the net, but even well-known performers will sometimes take their chances for the advantages of the larger percentages and the intimacy of a house concert, particularly if it's a weeknight or a free night while they're traveling in between bigger gigs.) We will usually offer to put the performer up at a member's home and offer hospitality for a day or so if they wish. We match up hosts with performers they'd like to host. We phrase our admission as a "suggested donation" or "suggested minimum donation," and don't turn people away. The admission money is collected in a basket or hat or bowl or whatever, but nobody sits behind it enforcing payment. On some occasions there's a pot-luck dinner beforehand or there's a jam session following, if that's the sort of thing the performer enjoys and asks for.

--Charlie Baum