Budgeting and Staffing a Fundraising Event

Make sure you have the cash and people to do your event right.

To translate your hopes for a successful fundraiser into reality, you will need:

• Money to cover costs
• Volunteers, with some staff oversight, to carry out the many tasks that will need to be done before and during the event

To run short on people or funds at best makes the whole project much more difficult for you, and at worst can damage both your finances and the reputation of your agency.

Read on for strategies to ensure that you have the financial and human resources in place for a successful event. 

Form an Event Committee

Unless you have hours and hours to devote to planning and execution, you'll need an event committee with an enthusiastic, energetic, and competent chairperson.

• The chairperson, who should be a volunteer, will need to recruit, train, and oversee a large number of volunteers. The chairperson reports to a staff liaison.
• The volunteer event committee depends on staff only to set the budget, provide the invitation list, approve all communications, and manage all finances.

Help your chairperson succeed by ensuring that this person:

• Understands the mission of your organization
• Knows when to ask for your direction (i.e. before spending any money or accepting a donation from a source that might conflict with your core values) and when to fly solo

Time spent helping a new chair learn the ropes and helping her/him succeed can result in consistent leadership to build your events over a period of years.

Create an Event Budget, and Stick to It

There's no getting around it — events cost money, usually more than you anticipate. That's why creating a detailed event budget is absolutely essential. You need to identify all the expenses so that unanticipated costs don't eat into (or entirely consume!) your profits from the event. Doing your homework up front will avoid nasty surprises later on.

• Begin by determining how much you want to clear (profit) from the event after all expenses are paid. What is the dollar amount that will make this particular event a success for your agency and worth all the work?
• Based on your event goals, target audience, type of event, and location, determine all items that have costs. The expense column in your budget should include absolutely everything you'll need, from facility rental and food to graphic design and printing, along with what it will cost.

  You can check out Seattle Animal Shelter's budget summary (.pdf) for their Furry 5K event to see an example of a budget for large-scale fundraising event.

• Make every effort to know exactly what you're going to spend before you make any commitments.
• Note which items have up-front costs and make sure you have the cash to cover them.
• Consider obtaining event sponsorships from individuals and from local businesses that want to reach the audience you are targeting. Sponsorships might entail:
  • Cash donations so that you can pay pre-event expenses
  • In-kind donations or discounts on goods and services (but don't list an item as donated until you are absolutely sure it's going to come through)
• On the income side, list every possible source of income and a realistic projection of the income you can expect. Just as it's good to overstate expenses, it's good to understate income. Again, no nasty surprises.
• Subtract the expenses from your estimated income, and see how that number compares to the profit you have in mind for this event.

More about Sponsorships

In an ideal world, you'll bring in enough sponsorship to cover all your major expenses. It can be done, but it will take some time. You'll need a sponsorship proposal that describes your organization and the event as well as levels of sponsorships and their benefits. You can check out Seattle Animal Shelter's sponsorship proposal (.doc) for their Furry 5K event to see the kinds of information to include in your proposal.

You'll also need your event committee to identify prospects, send out proposals, follow up with phone calls, make sure sponsors receive their benefits and send out thank you letters. A trusted volunteer can handle most of this; however, since the sponsorship is an agreement between the sponsor and the organization, sponsorship proposals should be co-signed by a senior staff member.

As you identify business prospects, look for those businesses that want to reach your targeted audience, and plan benefits that cost you as little as possible but give the sponsor maximum exposure.

Create a Planning Calendar, and Stick to That

An event planning calendar identifies all tasks associated with the event and the deadlines for each. Use the calendar to make sure everything gets done in a timely manner.

• The calendar should begin at the end, with the date of the event, and work backwards, listing every task, the date when it has to be completed, and who is responsible.
• Be sure to include promotional activities on your event planning schedule. You'll need time to reach your audience in enough time for them to attend your event.
• Review the calendar weekly to ensure that everything is happening when it should.
• The chair should hold regular meetings when committee members report on their progress. If you cannot attend those meetings, meet with the chair regularly to go over the calendar.

Identify the Human Resources You Need

As part of your calendar, work out the number of people you'll need to both prepare for and carry out the event and the kinds of skills and abilities you are looking for.

• Which roles require staff, skilled volunteers, or any willing hands?
• How many people are needed for these roles?
• What is the time commitment you expect from them? When do you need them and for how long?
• Who will recruit, communicate with, and organize these people?

When it comes to special events, remember that volunteers (and usually staff too) are donating their time. Have an organized, thoughtful plan in place so that you use these people well and are respectful of their generous participation.

Event-Planning Samples

Download and customize these documents to help you get your act together when planning, scheduling, and budgeting a special event:

• Sample budget (.doc) This budget lists all the items that you might need to budget for when you plan a special event, including some "gotchas," such as credit card processing fees and complimentary tickets, that can take quite a bite out of your proceeds.
• Sample calendar (.doc) Here's a simple document where you can record key dates and tasks leading up to your event and make note of the person assigned to complete each one.
• Example of a special-event calendar (.pdf) for a spay/neuter fundraising event
  Fixations is a Girls' Night Out to benefit PetFix of Northeast Ohio. It's a two-hour event that requires four months to plan, promote, and pull off. See where the time goes.