CDA Fundraising Guide III

FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III

IN THISGUIDE

+ Ins and Outs of Budgeting

+ Event Planning

+ Transitioning

Dear CDA Member,

This the third and final installment of the CDA fundraising training guide. This guide is meant to give you fundraising tools to be successful, self-sustaining, and legitimate in the eyes of your state parties, local elected officials, and other progressive organizations. Each volume has built on its predecessor, giving helpful hints on fundraising as wells as some best practices from your colleagues across the nation.

Volume three will focus primarily on how to create a debt free and balanced budget, a compact how-to guide to con-vention/event planning (with special commentary from Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and PA’s own Jana Stec), and finally some transitioning help from current Executive Board to future Executive Board. Examples will be used but I do understand that each of your organizations are different, with unique challenges and goals, so I encourage you to ask me any questions that you may have. And don’t fret…the supplemental FAQ form will be coming soon!

Democratically Yours,

Joe DayNational Development [email protected](412) 254-DAYJ

Budgeting is one of the hardest things to do, but reconciling your account balance monthly is critical. You must always know how much cash you have on hand and your outstanding bills. Your Develop-ment Director (Finance Director/Treasurer) needs to create a spreadsheet (excel file, access file, or a googledoc) you can use.

The two major components of any budget is the revenues and expenditures:

Revenues:

* Cash on Hand – this is the amount of “cash” (balance in your federation/chapter bank account) that is currently available for use. * In-kind contributions – these are non-monetary contributions that are given in the way of goods or services for your organization. Examples would be donating t-shirts for a fundraiser or directly paying for lunch during your state conference. * Prospective contributions – since actual contributions would be considered as part of “cash on hand” then prospective contributions would be those that have been promised but not received. Once they have been received and deposited they can be counted in. * Contributions - those in form of cash or check recieved and deposited. * Fees – these are what you charge your members for convention admittance, for example. Again, the fees will be considered cash on hand once they are received and deposited.

Hint – as soon as you receive a cash payment of any kind make a deposit and make sure you change your spreadsheet to reflect that.

Expenditures:

* To build a budget start with your absolute necessities first! (room rental costs, for example) Think of it this way, if you spend your money on frills and don’t lock down your definite needs then you are simply throwing your money away. * Always pay up front – NO DEFICIT SPENDING!!! Deficit spending not only could ruin your reputation with your vendors, but could saddle your organization in debt for years to come. * The only frill I would suggest with your surplus is a possible SMALL gift for your event chairs, ex-ecutive board members or guest speakers at your convention.

Surplus:

* Any surplus should remain in your account. The surplus is the money that will be used to spring-board the next wave of fundraising.

BUDGETING “Spend what you have--no more!”

>> bottom line: make your logo unique and memorable1


Event Planning:

A message from my close friend and event-plan-ning specialist Jana Stec:

My name is Jana Stec, and I am the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for CDA. I am also the Graduate Advisor for the Pennsylvania College Democrats. I was a co-chair for the PACD’s 2009 State Conven-tion, and was also its Political Affairs Director. I am also a member of the University of Pittsburgh College Democrats, where I was their Vice-Pres-ident. One of my main responsibilities with all of these titles is event planning. I have worked on many events at a chapter and statewide level.

Speakers: Go Big or Go Home

Big name speakers are always going to be the easiest way to attract people to your event. Draw up a list of speakers, putting the biggest names at the top. Start there, and simply make the ask. The worst the person can say is “no”, and you never know who might say “yes”. Making the ask also puts your group on that person’s radar, which means they may be more inclined to help your group out if you ask again in the future.

You can make the ask by simply sending them a letter or making a phone call. No matter which way you ask, be sure to follow up. Be prepared to be flexible when working with the person’s scheduler. Many times, your event will be squeezed in between other events your guest may have. Make sure you can work with what times they have available, and change your schedule to meet theirs.

Committee:

Consider forming a committee, or having formal chairs, for the event. These people would be specifi-cally focused on the event and figuring out all the little details. This can take the burden off the entire Executive Board, allowing people to focus on other projects. It can also be a great way to let general membership get involved and gain leadership skills.

EVENTPLANNING

“A special message from

Jana Stec.”

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t be afraid to make the ask for big name speakers 2>>


School Resources:

Not all Student Governments work the same way, but if there is a process through which you can ask yours for money for your event, ask them. You never know what they may be willing to pay for. For the PACD 2009 Convention, the Pitt Dems, who hosted the Convention, put in a request to the Stu-dent Government Board for money for lunches and supplies. We did not think they would give us this money, but we ended up receiving it. This saved us hundreds of dollars that we were able to use on other parts of our Convention.

Timing:

The timing of your event is key. When setting the date for your event, check both a school calendar for school events and a normal calendar for holidays. You don’t want to hold your event during a large event on campus. You also don’t want to inadvertently schedule your event during a holiday when students may be heading home.

Press:

No matter the size of your event, always reach out to your college paper. They are going to be the most likely source of press for your group. This also sends your message to other college students, who may become interested in your group and join. If you get a big name speaker, reach out to other local press. While they may not be able to come to all of your events, you never know when they may just show up!

Advertising:

The easiest way for you to advertise your event is through Facebook. Have your chapter group make an event, and invite the entire group. Have your Executive Board invite all of their friends. You can reach hundreds, even thousands of students this way. You can also buy an ad in the school paper. Even something as simple as fliers can be effective in promoting your event.

One final note…

Don’t just think of the student on your campus. Reach out to other College Democrat chapters near you. This will give you a larger audience, and give you an opportunity to meet and work with other College Democrats. Always send something to your state federation when the event is of high caliber. They can send out the information to other chapters and their press contacts.

EVENT PLANNING

“A special message from

Jana Stec.”

>> bottom line: Make your event memorable3


TRANSITIONING“It’s that time of the year.”

Bottom Line: Use google docs from the start to aide transistions 4>>


As a CDA E-Board member it is my duty to tell you that the first people you should tell about your transition and new E-Board is CDA. Be sure to update your CDA chartering packet with the National Director of Membership.

The chartering packet is something you should pass down from old State Director of Member-ship to new State Director of Membership and should constantly be revised and updated.

From a financial perspective I would suggest creating a transition form for:

+ Banking Information – your best bet is to use a bank that can be found all across your state. For example PNC Bank has locations in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia. This way when a new board is elected members of the old board and new board can transfer banking information from multiple locations. The bank account must have two (2) signees for greater transparency and security. I would suggest the two signees are your Development/Finance Director and either President or possibly a graduate advisor. Too often old boards do not trans-fer information on to new boards and instead of having a long-standing account already open a new board opens a new account losing potentially thousands of dollars (I speak from experi-ence). It is the responsibility of the old board to help transition the new board. Once your term is over don’t race out the door and leave your successor hanging (again, I speak from experi-ence…the old PACD Finance Director couldn’t run out the door fast enough!).

+ IRS Information (EIN #) – once a new board has been elected, the current signee for the IRS EIN # should contact the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.html) and transfer all signee capabilities to the new board member. If the signee is the President it should be transferred to the new President, if Vice-President then it should be transferred to the new Vice-President and etc. Your EIN # should be passed down from board to board so mul-tiple numbers are not created and floating around for your state federation.

Hint – keep all your information, such as your bank account numbers, tax ID numbers, etc. in a googledoc shared by 2-3 people (perhaps your President, Vice-President, and Development Director) then at the end of your term share it with the new President for him/her to share with whom they choose.

Documents

CDA Fundraising Guide III