Start with the Budget
Whether your organization’s event is a fund-raiser, loss-leader, or is planned to simply break even, each event should be treated as its own project. This means that each and every event should have a budget that includes both projected income and expenses. Income categories like donations, registration fees, and sponsorships, should be balanced against cost centers of venue rentals, food & beverage, and audio-visual equipment, with the result being a profit, loss, or nearly even, based on the organization's goals for the program.
When you are building a brand new event, building a zero-base budget will help you to think through every possible category of line item that goes along with your new event. Building the list of expenses first, and ensuring that you understand the fixed costs (venue fees, AV rental, insurance, marketing, advertising) and variable attendee costs (food & beverage, hotel rooms, swag), is the first step. This list of expenses, plus awareness of the revenue goals for your event, will allow you to set income expectations, along with sponsorship and registration costs.
While venues may provide discounts for non-profits, their contractual agreements may still require your organization to purchase or maintain certain levels of insurance, security, or staffing for events. Audio visual vendors have different thresholds for overtime rates and varying policies on per diems versus meals being provided for their crews. If possible, ask the vendors you are considering to outline these additional fees before signing a contract, or ensure that your budget has space to cover these additional charges as they arise.
It is critical to involve your stakeholders in building your list of line items. If the development team plans to sell a sponsorship which includes recording a series of educational sessions at your conference, you’ll also need to identify the costs associated with the deliverables, including the audio-visual and camera equipment and staffing required to record and edit the content. If your organization’s goal for the annual gala is to provide an elevated cocktail reception, rather than a seated dinner, you’ll want to discuss the potential difference in costs for action stations and passed hors d’oeuvres.
Once completed, a budget that has been developed with the organization’s event purpose, audience, and goals in mind becomes the guide for all other major decisions. It should connect event goals with budget priorities, and identify the items to splurge on, allowing you to create a memorable event.
To help you get started, we’ve shared our TBA budget template. What other event expenses does your program have? What worthwhile splurges has your organization made to create a memorable experience?
TBA Budget Template - Option 1 (attached to email)
TBA Budget Template - Option 2 (attached to email)
Cindy wants to look at/edit these
Only need to post one, but I wasn’t sure what I liked. So many of ours have been so thoroughly customized I’m not sure they’re useful without much more thorough/hands-on explanations.
