Special Events Fundraising - Estimate Bigger Budget, Smaller Income When Planning

Special events are a great way to raise money. And a great way to lose money, too. So if you lack experience planning and hosting special events, or if your non-profit organization does not have a particularly high profile in your community, you should plan on your budget being big and your income being small. In other words, you should overestimate your costs and underestimate your income.

Special events are notorious for going over budget. Things get overlooked in the planning. Fees, taxes, service charges and other hidden expenses must be paid that were not accounted for. And then there is the simple, sheer cost of putting on the event: printing, postage, hall rental, lighting, sound, catering and more. Budget for more than you'll spend and you'll stay out of trouble.

If your special event is new, if it has never been tested to see how effective it is at raising net income, you should be conservative when predicting your income. You are excited about your event. And so are your volunteers. But will your guests and participants be just as excited? And if they are, will their excitement show up on your bottom line? In other words, will your motivated and passionate guests show their appreciation with their wallets?

Most special events that are repeated year after year take many years to prove themselves. You need many years of publicity, participation and word-of-mouth advertising before your event will attract the donors (and their donations) needed to raise a significant portion of your annual gift income. You also need to host the same event many times before you learn how to reduce your costs without reducing your income.

Regardless of how much you raise, special events create awareness of your organization and your cause, and they give you an opportunity to recognize your donors and volunteers and show appreciation. They do all these things even if you lose money. But if your goal is to raise money and not just raise awareness, then pessimisms is the way to go. Overestimate your expenses, and underestimate your income, and you can't go wrong.