Money makes the world go round, and that’s absolutely the case in the world of nonprofit event planning and fundraising. Ultimately, nonprofit organizations rely on funds to help fulfill their missions, cover overhead costs, and do their part in saving the world 
Since money, money, money is super important, it follows that having an accurate budget in any industry is equally important. Here at PBP, we have an easy-to-use budget template that we employ that is a snapshot of the event, showing at a glance where one stands with both income and expenses as well as pledged dollars versus cash in hand. Having a fully updated budget spreadsheet (which, to be honest, may not be “fully updated” until after the event) helps in myriad ways post-event besides the obvious advantage of having a complete picture of the net amount raised during the event. We can recall instantly what the venue costs were, or how much the A/V team charged without searching for last year’s contract.
The budget includes the revenue or financial tracker, which is a dynamic document that builds out exponentially as the event draws closer. Every ticket that is purchased, every sponsor that comes on board, every donation that is made – all find their home in the tracker. How many sponsor tickets figure into the total sold tickets number? Get your answer on the tracker. Are most of the donations coming in as checks or through an online event website? See the information here.
And from this initial “master income” financial tracker tab, PBP adds a tab for the tracking of sponsor benefits: which sponsor(s) will be availing themselves of their tickets to the Gala, which sponsor wants PBP to create their full-page journal ad for them, will any sponsor take advantage of the opportunity to send in a recorded message to be played at the Gala. It’s all here. Yet another tab will be the home for the guest list, where we log in all guest names and ideally email addresses and cell phone numbers to ensure that all communications both before and during the event reach all the attendees. The guest list tab is also used to build out a seating plan, using the information provided to determine who is sitting at each table.
For the financial tracker to be the event bible, all the donations, ticket purchases and sponsorships have to be logged. That is not necessarily the most exciting task, but I like to find joy in the process. As I process an individual’s check for $18, I give it as much care and attention as I do the $10,000 check from an Accounts Payable division at a corporate sponsor. I like to wonder about each person’s story and how they came to donate to this particular cause – was it a friend or family member touched by a disease? Did they have a fantastic teacher who taught them to read and they want to give back to a literacy charity? The stories behind the dollars are very interesting to me and brings life to a simple and mundane task.
The truth is in the tracker, and nothing gets logged in until it is a fact. PBP doesn’t have to actually receive the money (we have pending and paid columns), but we do not like to track in maybes: “we think maybe we might get a sponsorship from Company A”, “Person B said his father will support the event”. Once a pledge is in writing, it is only then that it is added to the financial tracker as a pending gift. Outreach efforts have their place, but it isn’t on the financial tracker. Just the facts for us!
It all comes down to organization: track the income, track the expenses, and at the end of the day, you’ll have an accurate total record of your event, and you’ll know every piece that makes up the whole. The financial organization will benefit you leading up to, during, and after your event; helping you complete all necessary financial related event tasks. Powered by Professionals are masters of organization and tracking around events, and PBP can help your charity be master trackers as well!