Working out the money

This document lists costs and income items, and tries to give you guidelines for estimating them. It is important that you have some idea of the scale of financial commitment there can be in running a convention.

Budget items - how to work out the cost of

• Functions Rooms

About $300 for each function room for each full day of the con. $300 x number of rooms x Number of Days (Venue costs are rising -- this number may be stale.)

• Accommodation for the guests

Nightly cost of hotel rooms x number of nights x number of guests

• Getting Guests

The cost of getting the guests to Perth $3000 x number of overseas guests $450 x number of eastern states guests

• Guests Con costs

Food and reasonable expenses $80 x number of whole days x number of guests

• Other Hotel Costs
  • Coffee
  • The banquet
  • Cost of using the phones / internet
  • Cost of keeping the bar open
• Progress Reports

Cost of producing the progress reports and cost of posting. Depends on the number produced and how often they are going to be produced. This includes cost of photocopying. $1 x number of copies x Number of Progress reports produced. Bigger expense for an Australian rather than just a Western Australian one.

• Con Book

The cost of producing the book you give the con attendees. Can vary a lot in cost depending on the quality and size. One for each expected attendee. $2 to $5 a copy x number of possible attendees at the con.

• Competitions

Costs of prizes, for short story competition, art competition, tin ducks...

• Entertainment

Room parties, balloons, decorations

• Equipment Hiring

Computer, video, laser equipment, videos

• Marketing

T shirts, coffee mugs, whatever, should have an item nearly as big in the budgeted income $11 x number of t-shirts

• Incidentals

Who knows, assume the worst

Income Fundraising

Each freeform can get you $100, a quiz night can get you another $500, plus anything else you can think of

Grants?

Getting harder to get

Souvenirs

Selling aforementioned t-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, whatever. There will be some unsold and some freebies. Sell 60 x $15

Memberships

This is the largest part of your income, and the most unknown. Work out your cost and your other income, and then work out how many memberships you have to sell at what average price ($10.00 more than your starting price). Number of day members x $20, $25, $10? Number of full members x (starting price + $10.00)

Then juggle your figures to something you feel that you, and the rest of the people you are planning to work with, can comfortably handle. It's worth repeating that if you can put in some sort of preliminary budget with your original bid, it will stand you in good stead for the success of your bid!

Where does the money come from?

This is one of the questions that you need to ask yourself as you are developing your budget. 1. Membership Richard Scriven's rule of thumb - Estimate your starting membership + $10 as an average for what you can expect to get in for each full member. 2. Fund raising Richard Scriven - Probably your time would be better spent convincing another 20 people to go to the con! Fund raising events can be good promotional events and vice versa. A fund raising or promotional event can give you something to promote. 3. Grants Easy money. With a little bit of work. Very time specific. We hope to have details of grants in these pages as soon as someone investigates and shares this information. 4. Sponsors Publishers of guests can sometimes give you money to help you get guests out. Advertisements in the souvenir book. Computer suppliers and iinet for computer room. Book shops and gaming shops for prizes -vouchers

Fundraising

Fund raising can be combined with publicity to advertise your con.

• Quiz Nights - If you have someone that will organize one for you, have one.
• Swap Meet - The idea here is not only to sell donated stuff, but also to sell memberships and at the very least to give a bit of exposure to the concept of a SF convention. There are still people around who might be interested and who don't know it happens.
• Car Rally - Politically incorrect means for fundraising. It pollutes the atmosphere and wasn't very successful at raising money either. But it was fun!
• Mini Cons
• Zone 3
• Freeforms
• Illuminati tournaments
• 'Magic' tournaments

Keeping Track of the Money

You must do a preliminary budget before you start collecting money, and you should update it as your information about prices improves. Use triple receipt books, these are, as of 1996, supplied by WASFF.

• 1 copy to the customer
• 1 copy for secretary/treasurer/records/accounting
• The book copy is the safe copy, for backup, and should not be kept in the same place as the other copy.