When in the planning stages of a caused based fundraising campaign, it is important to know your dollar goal from the outset. You should ask, "Will the amount raised make an impact in funding programs and provide for necessary services towards the cause." Also, what are the costs/constraints for your event (i.e budget, staffing)?
You can calculate your estimated event profit by determining the revenue and costs that your event will generate.
Revenue:
There are 3 types of sponsorships to take into account:
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Event sponsors - Large company sponsors that can afford larger donations and can benefit from their name being advertised. Perhaps they can take care of covering one of your bigger event costs, such as the food, drinks, or venue.
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Power fundraisers - People with strong networks. For example, those who have the ability to give and/or motivate others to give such as community donors or the organization’s board members. They should each be able to bring in between $1000-$1700.
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Average fundraisers - The regular people in your community - social circles, religious circles, school circles, local sports teams, people that have expressed an interest in your cause. Each participant should be able to raise an average between $100 and $250 from among 4-8 people in their circle of contacts (friends and family).
To help you calculate your estimated revenue, use the charts on pages 5-7 in our Running a Successful Peer to Peer Campaign Guide. Adjust the number accordingly.
Costs:
Here are some potential costs. You may not need all of these for your event -- it will depend on the scale of your event and number of volunteers you have.
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Venue
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T-shirts
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Prizes and Incentives
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Food and Water
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Advertising
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Flyers and Photos
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Training materials
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Paper goods
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Cleanup
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Equipment rental
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Software you’ll be using to manage the event and any credit card processing fees
If you are looking to cut costs, consider changing the venue to a more public location or consider hosting a virtual event where your participants will complete the activity wherever they are based. This way, in addition to avoiding paying for a venue, your campaign is not limited to a specific place, which allows for more people to join in.
Finally, write down the full breakdown of the listed costs and potential donations you expect to receive from this event. Subtract the costs portion from the donation portion, and you will be left with hopefully your target dollar goal.
