Creating a Fundraiser? Make a Budget!

9/15/2014

Like with any event, a fundraiser is something that takes tons of planning, promotion and creativity. But creating a budget is a little bit different when it comes to fundraisers.

Of course, any event needs a proper budget, but a fundraiser’s budget includes how much the person or group is willing to spend on creating and promoting the event itself as well as how much the fundraiser hopes to raise. If you’re planning on creating a fundraiser and don’t know where to start, here are some tips to get your fundraiser off the ground.

The first thing to do is, of course, to figure out your goals. Everyday Democracy states to take a close look at your program’s goals and think about how the goals might affect your budget. Questions Everyday Democracy puts forward is to ask how many participants the group is looking to involve, what kind of staffing support would the event require, the amount of resources or expertise needed and the types of support needed to put the fundraiser out there to supporters.

If you come out of this question-and-answer session with more questions than answers, then perhaps you need to ask if your fundraiser needs to be a fundraiser. According to The Fundraising Authority, the event might not actually be right for a fundraiser setup. “Perhaps your organization may be hoping to raise money at the event, but the main function of the event is to gain publicity, or reach out to the network.” If you feel your event might have more than one goal, decide how you want to achieve those goals and if any of them fit a fundraiser setup.

After getting the details straightened out, decide how much money you want to raise at the fundraiser. “If this truly a fundraising event, then everything in the event plan will be geared to raising this specific amount of money,” states The Fundraising Authority. The website also states that the amount you choose as your expected fundraising amount should be what you hope to net, meaning that it should be the amount you hope to raise after expenses are deducted.

Such expenses include the amount of money it’ll take for the fundraiser to function. Such expenses include the venue, guest speakers, entertainment, catering, prizes (if the fundraiser includes a raffle) and any other expenses that might arise during the planning phase.

Quite a number of our customers employ fundraisers as their preferred way to raise awareness and money for their group or organization. For instance, parents in Cupertino, California raised $2 million dollars for their local school district in less than two months by holding garage sales, silent auctions, and through donations made by members of the school community. Also, the Houston Central Community Service was able to raise money for the organization through its “Fight the Famine Gala” and Fundraising Dinner, with the funds going to over 200 families affected by hunger.

What kind of fundraisers are you planning? Write about them in the comments section below!