It’s common knowledge that the earnings you raise from a fundraising event must exceed the cost of organizing the same event. If it is your first time planning a fundraising event, you need to estimate how much will your core supporters contribute, as they are likely to be the most generous contributors.
Here are some tips that will come in handy:
Figure Out The Income
Design an event that generates income in many ways. For instance, if you are staging a rummage sale, also think about selling baked goods. Auction events should include ticket sales and auction sales.
The most common sources of income include:
- Table sales
- Individual ticket sales
- Sponsor, benefactor, and patron donations
- Food and beverage sales
- Advertising sales
- Sale of goods and services
Expenses
Unless one of your sponsors has agreed to cover all expenses, your event will cost money to plan. The categories that will cost money include:
- Promotion and advertising, which include invitations, posters, postage, and photography
- Insurance: for instance, you need liability insurance in case a person gets hurt and shipping insurance to cover the donated items.
- Décor such as flowers, chairs, and tables
- Office expenses: mailing list, website managements, and letter writing
- Location and venue: portable toilets, space rental, and tents
According to the owner of Sweet Services online candy store, always let vendors know that your organization is exempt from tax to get the best prices. No matter how careful you are in planning, some unexpected costs will make you exceed your budget. To avoid nasty budget surprises, keep the following tips in mind:
- If you have received a wine donation, you need to find out whether the caterer will charge corkage fees for serving and opening the bottle.
- Make sure the preparation and service charges are added to the catering budget
- If you need more meals at the last minute, find out whether your caterer will charge you extra. If you ordered a meal and guests did not finish eating, you might still have to pay for it, so you need to look at the caterer’s policy.
- If you bought wine and it has not been opened, find out whether the store is willing to take it back.
If you find that you cannot raise enough money during the event, consider using online fundraising platforms such as Plumfund and ABC Fundraising for additional donations. That way, you will have more money coming in than the event can bring.
If you want to be more specific when creating a budget for your fundraiser, here are some things that you should do:
- Create a list of items that you need – you should write down all the items you will need for the event. For instance, you can write down foods, toiletries, and chairs because they are must-haves.
- Research the items on your budget – find out how much the items on your budget cost and look for the cheapest alternatives.
- Add up the estimated cost of all these items to end up with a rough expenses estimate. This figure will allow you to plan everything accordingly without overspending.
- Plan for unexpected expenses – nobody plans for unexpected expenses, they just occur. Therefore, pad your budget with unexpected expenses in mind to avoid nasty surprises much later.
- Fill in the actual cost once the event is over. This will allow you to see how much disparity, if any, there is between your estimate and the actual cost.
