Three Easy Ways to Balance Costs and Raise Money

While it is nice to host a charity event to help support a cause, it is important to remember that you do not want to go into debt while planning the competition. That is why the third installment of the charity event series is dedicated to balancing costs and raising money. Because a portion of the money that you are raising is going to your charitable organization, you need to make sure that you have a good handle on your costs so that you can raise some money for your organization and the charity.

#1: Registration Fees and Donations

Some organizations give a percentage of their registration fees to their partnering charity organization. One way to ensure that you raise enough money for your own organization is to set a registration fee that is high enough to help cover the costs of running your event. Remember, the money raised from registration fees would typically all go to your organization; however, because you are running a charity event, that money is going to the other organization. It is also pertinent to remember that your registration fee should not be too high so that it deters participants from signing up for your competition. While determining what the registration fee should be can be somewhat daunting, as long as you have a good grasp on what your event costs are going to be, you can determine the right number.

Other organizations charge a registration fee and require a donation to be given to the charity. While both options are feasible for raising money from the event, the thing to keep in mind is that one of the main goals of having the competition is to raise money for both you and the charity. This will enable you both to benefit from the event.

#2: Sponsorships

As we covered previously, sponsors typically will be more than receptive to support a charity event. It is one of the main ways that your event will be financed, and it is a great way to help with event expenses. Getting your sponsors to help with t-shirts, food, printing, and advertising is a great way to improve your event. Asking local businesses to donate food items in exchange for advertisement also is an excellent way to save money. This also translates to more money for you as well as the charity because you can adjust your registration fees and minimum donation requirements to be aligned with your lower event costs. Again, I would recommend referring back to US Sailing's article because it includes information about sponsorships: http://www.uswindsurfing.org/usw_library/other/charity.pdf/. This presentation on sponsorship and event profitability is also helpful: http://www.slideshare.net/stephendann/sponsorship-and-event-profitability/.

#3: Volunteers

It is nice if you can bring in volunteers to help manage the events. Typically if the event is for charity it is easy to find people to help keep it organized either through the charity, in the local community, or within your own organization. This also saves money so that you do not have to hire outside people to work for you.

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Note about this article: This article is part of a newsletter series from Compete-At.com. Compete-At provides online event management and online registration software for sports.