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Every Events like conference or seminar has a budget
of its very own that has to be followed for the
event to be a success. The budget is based upon how
much income is expected from all sources set against
the expenses that are anticipated. In most cases you
will have to be realistic about what is affordable
within the limits of your event planning budget
income.
You
will find that some things that you want will not be
affordable and must be scrapped at one time or
another. That is why you must always bear in mind
that the price for services can almost always be
negotiated.
Most
conference managers try to establish the amount they
need that is the minimum. However, you will find
that your event planning budget must be continually
reviewed.
Personally, I think it is best to know the overall
maximum right away so that you can ensure or try to
ensure that you are under budget in the end.
8 steps that you should follow when setting up your
event planning budget:
-
Calculate the expenditures: Identify expense
categories based on conference programming
(venue, website, registration, conference
proceedings,speakers, secretarial, insurance,
audio-visual, marketing, food/beverage Etc.)
-
Identify possible expenses within each category
that you designate your committee to Identify
which expenses will be fixed and which will be
variable (variable expenses tend to be based on
the number of delegates e.g. meals, asopposed to
fixed costs such as marketing materials and
audio-visual requirements).
-
Calculate budget’s overall income based on all
potential sources of revenue e.g. sponsorship.
-
Based on expenses, expected attendance and
sponsorship determine the registration fee to
cover any and all shortfall.
-
Distribute the budget to the rest of the
committee evenly or based on your estimated
calculations for overall costs (Always leave
some money aside in case of any emergencies that
require these funds).
-
The conference budget may cover the
complimentary conference registration for the
chair; however, lodging can only be covered if
there are complimentary rooms offered by the
hotel, and travel reimbursement is not allowed.
-
The Board of Directors or Executive Office
Representative will not pay a registration fee
and you may assign a hotel complimentary room to
this rep IF there is one available. This
person’s travel and lodging expenses are covered
by the budget if not provided complimentary by
the hotel.
You can
request support for specific activities or items as
much as possible, rather than blanket donations.
Donations cannot be returned even if the conference
breaks even or better.
Ideas
for some possible resources are:
-
Chamber of Commerce is a good place to go to for
giveaways including conference folders and door
prizes.
-
Copy companies for discounted rates or for
conference folders that advertise their business
during your conference.
-
Convention and Visitors Bureau may sponsor
refreshment break or a meeting of the program
committee in their city.
-
Sponsoring institutions may donate the cost of
general session speaker.
You
may open the general speaker session to those on the
local campus who would not normally come to the
entire event in return for the institution’s help
with payment for the speaker.
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