A lack of funding is preventing the University of California Marching Band, or Cal Band, from purchasing necessary new instruments for its members.

Cal Band, one of the few remaining student-run bands in the country, was founded in 1891 and is one of the oldest college marching bands on the West Coast at 131 years old, according to its website. The band gets most of its funding from alumni and donors as campus does not provide enough funding to cover all of the costs, according to Samantha Kwan, vehicle manager and trip coordinator on the Cal Band Administrative Committee.

Director of Bands Matthew Sadowski noted donations and endowment funds currently cover 75% of the band’s operating expenses.

“We’re currently in need of more money because our organization is entirely student-run,” Kwan said in an email. “These sources of funding are not steady or constant.”

Sadowski added Cal Band is currently in need of new clarinets, alto and tenor saxophones, trumpets, mellophones, trombones, baritones and percussion instruments.

Although the band has cut costs and seen an increase in donations, there has still been a lack of funding for capital improvements to their equipment, Sadowski noted.

“Our current instruments have reached the end of their lifespan and don’t function at the level needed for the music we play,” Sadowski said in an email. “You can only repair an instrument so many times before it can’t be maintained any further.”

Cal Band currently uses an internal rental and repair service, Room Q, which resides inside of the Band Rehearsal Hall.

Here, student volunteers provide maintenance and learn how to repair common issues instruments may face, Room Q co-head Ioana Ana added.

“But there is only so much that students can do,” Ana said in an email. “Sometimes a little bit of duct tape and some rubber bands is the best that can be done, and (it is) nowhere near enough.”

While some Cal Band members have their own instruments, many rely on the band to supply instruments to them, Ana noted. These instruments are currently rented out to students for $45 a month. However, Cal Band hopes to be fee-free for its members, added Sadowski.

According to Ana, all of the percussionists, piccolo, mellophone, baritone and tuba players rely on the band’s inventory in order to participate. She added most of these Cal Band instruments do not function properly, with stuck slides, missing key pads and more, and are too old to be repaired.

Cal Band is currently seeking funds from any and all sources. Sadowski noted that campus support has changed very little since 2012, despite increasing costs.

“In spite of the fact that some things in Cal Band are held together by tape and glue, we do know how to make the best of things, and we still go out there and have a good time,” Ana said in the email. “We shouldn’t have to work against our circumstances, which is why we need new and better instruments to create a better and more equal experience to everyone in the band.”