BUDGET & RESOURCE PLANNING

WORKSHOPSummer of Solutions January

Gathering 2011

STEPS FOR BUILDING A BUDGET AND RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN

1. BUDGET DEVELOPMENT

Identify what your needs are for your program

Identify when you have those needs Identify what those needs cost Identify which of those needs you can/

may be able to meet in-kind Identify what needs are the highest and

lowest priorities. What will you do if you have more/less resources?

Write it down and come up with a total budget

2. RESOURCE GENERATION STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT Identify available strategies for generating

resources Identify which needs these strategies can fill. Do

they fit the timeframes and priorities of needs? Evaluate the risk and return of each strategy?

Are they likely enough and significant enough to meet the needs?

Estimate/ identify the amounts you are likely to receive from each source as well as what likelihood you feel you will achieve it.

Write a timeline of what resource strategies you will pursue, including the relevant dates. Make sure to include non-monetary resources.

3. ACTUALIZATION

Identify the steps and work that will need to be done to achieve each resource generating strategy, and put them on a timeline that will allow you to meet them.

Establish clear accountability for different resource-generating activities or specific tasks within them so that they will be achieved.

4. REVISION Review and revise your budget and

resource generating plan with an eye towards building long-term social capital and increasing your capacity to raise resources over time. Ie, make sure your plan builds long-term relationships that make supporters feel valued, advances your ability to generate revenue, and doesn’t exhaust/ turn away people. Ie, we are investing as opposed to spending.

5. IMPLEMENTATION

Implement your plan, and start raising monetary and non-monetary resources

Make sure you are using sound accounting and money management practices as you raise your budget and start spending funds.

BUDGET DEVELOPMENT

PLANNINGThink about your capacity to plan the program – do you have everything that you need? Do you need to raise more money for additional program planning and leadership stipends?•How much, and when will you need it?•Are there any other costs immediately relevant to your program (eg, $450 program costs for Refresh)? By when do they need to be secured? Follow the above steps for each additional budget item.

HOUSING How many full-time participants do you want to have in your program?

Lower range? Upper range? These are the primary people whose needs you need to fill.

Of those full-time participants, how many will already be living in the neighborhood or city where you will work? How many will need new housing? Do you plan to provide housing for everyone who needs it, or will some people have to figure out their own housing if they have less need.

How will full-time participants who need housing be housed? How much will that cost for the number of people who will need housing for the time period of your program (consider how many month-long rental periods you will have)?

Can you minimize these costs through homestays or group spaces? Is there a chance you can get some or all of this donated in-kind (if so, write down the dollar value of that housing, but also mention that you may be able to get it in-kind).

When will you need that housing secured? Think about rent deposit, and when you will need to notify participants.

MEETINGS Where will your meetings, activities, and

other day-to-day operations take place? Consider the need for diverse spaces. Can you use some spaces that will also be living spaces? Are there other spaces through partner organizations or in the community that you will have access to? Does this include computing spaces, gathering spaces, etc?

What will meeting/ group space cost, if anything? Can you minimize this cost through in-kind donations. When will you need to secure these resources?

FOOD Do you seek to cover participants food costs

throughout the summer? If so, what will that cost? If not, what food costs do you need to budget for during training week, closing week, or other special periods where you are supporting the group’s needs? If you have no idea about this, you can talk it over with folks who have planned events like these national gatherings.

Can you minimize these food costs or get in-kind donations? Probably, most of your food costs will come during the summer or just before, but are there any earlier deadlines?

TRAVEL Do you plan to cover any travel costs, either for

participants arriving at your program, or within your program location?

How will participants who are not from the area get to the city (train, car, plane, bike, etc.). How will they get around within the area (foot, bus, bike, car, etc.) – this obviously also has implications for the program atmosphere and sustainability?

How much will transportation cost, if anything. Can you minimize these costs or get them in-kind by locating the program compactly, organizing a bike loan, car-sharing, etc? When will you need to secure these resources.

NEED-BASED STIPENDS What need-based stipends do you seek

to provide for program participants? Think about how this ties into your goals for anti-oppression and making your program accessible. How much will participants need to commit themselves to the summer? How many such need-based stipends do you seek to provide?

When will you need such stipends?

SUPPLIES What specific project-related materials,

supplies, equipment etc. will you need? Can you secure these in-kind or in a revenue neutral (or positive, if you are selling things or providing a service for a fee) manner?

What will these supplies or materials cost? If you plan to do this in a revenue-neutral or revenue-positive manner, what up-front capital will you need?

When will you need these resources (again, please consider if you can secure any of it in-kind)?

AUGUST GATHERING How many people do you plan to bring

to the August Gathering? How will they get there? What will it cost?

SUSTAINING PROJECTS Think about what will be needed to

sustain the fruits of your work beyond the summer? Will that take additional staff funding, space, or materials? If there are any such costs, how much will they be and by when do you need to secure them?

RESOURCE GENERATING PLAN DEVELOPMENT

EVENTS What kinds of fundraising events would

you like to set up? Think about the work-return ratio of each event you might want to undertake.

ASKS How your program leadership team will go

about making asks to local businesses, organizations, local governments, academic institutions, etc. for housing, food, supplies, money, and other resources you may need? Who you will ask and what you will ask them for.

How will your program leadership team and especially the participants in your program once they are engaged go about making asks to friends and family for support? Especially for program participants, how will this be framed in an engaging and motivating way?

PRODUCTS/SERVICES Are there any products or services that

you can sell either before or during your program to generate resources? Again, consider the degree of fit with the mission and purpose of your program and the work-return ratio. Who will you sell these products and services to? How do you know that there is demand for them? What will you charge?

PARTNERSHIPS Can you form program-related

partnerships that will result in resources for your program? Will organizations or businesses provide stipend funding, housing, meeting space, or other needs in return for the work your program provides?

GRANTS What local and regional grants are

available for the type of work you seek to do? When are they do? How much are they for? What are you required to do both to get the grant and to successfully fill the conditions of the grant?

OTHER/ALUMNI PLEDGES Are there other resource-generating

strategies not yet mentioned that you want to pursue? One example might be engaging participants in making pledges to support participants in future years.This obviously won’t do much for this program, but may help in subsequent years.

DEVELOPING 1 STRATEGY Clearly define what the strategy is (a concert, asking local

restaurants for food donations, etc.) What date/ time period will this take place in? Why does this

make sense in terms of your budget and your needs? What will each ask/sale/other unit amount in? $20? 35

bagels? 1 place for someone to stay? How many units will this strategy reasonable secure? 100

people at the concert? 12 restaurant donations? 1 grant with 30% chance of getting it?

What is the total value of resources that you will reasonably secure from this strategy? $400? Housing for 10 people? Meeting space? Stipends for 3 people working on transportation?

How significantly might your estimates be off in terms of how much you will secure? How much will this effect your program?

DEVELOPING 1 STRATEGY What are all the steps that will need to be taken to secure

these resources? Include steps with numbers like “ask 400 people to come to the concert to get 100 to show up” or “make 15 baked goods” or “have 20 people write 10 personal ask letters each”. Include steps that may occur after the funding is received, including thank you cards, grant reports, clean up, and depositing/ accounting for money. For each step, estimate how much time it will take.

Make sure that you feel that this strategy is worthwhile before proceeding. Is it building a long-term base of support/ interest in your program? Is it building your capacity to generate more resources in the future? Are the resources it will raise worth the money it will take?

Identify who will be responsible for each step by which deadline. Who will be accountable for this fundraising strategy overall to make sure that things stay on track?

BUDGET & RESOURCE PLANNING

WORKSHOPSummer of Solutions January

Gathering 2011