The 3 budget-busting P’s

Event expenses can sometimes ruin all the good things you want to accomplish at your walkathon.

Since the holiday season is upon us, and we (me) are overspending on gifts, I thought I would post on budget busting.

The three primary budget busters for walkathons all happen to begin with the same letter. P!

1. Printing

It’s the little things that get ya.  Walk papers, buttons, posters, apparel, tchotchkes and all the other event collateral adds up.   Be mindful of what you really need and make sure you include a phrase on the paper products that read: “This (item) was paid for  by the funds raised at the (your event here) walk”.

2. Postage

Donors are getting wise to the real stamps that are actually bulk mail stamps.  Historically, you could look at the bulk mail markings and know that it was probably junk mail.  Whether it is a first class 49- cent stamp or a bulk mail stamp, postage really adds up.  Think about the stuff you mail out and how much of it you can place online to be downloaded.

3. Police

If you read my previous post about planning your route, then you saw that having mostly right turns will hopefully allow you to reduce your police detail since less streets will need to be closed. Some police have 4 hour minimums and you pay for 8 hours one minute over the four hour minimum.   One of my clients had the police department tell them they needed $93K for police detail on their route!  That was a budget buster!

Sure, there are plenty of other things that can get expensive for your event, but I have found that the 3 P’s above are the expenses that are usually not on the budget radar.

Happy Holidays!