Budget
Reunion Costs
People understand that gatherings cost money. Most are willing to help defray expenses for the sake of the cause. Unless the event is your gift to the family, you need to ask for contributions – preferably in your first communication with family members.
What will you spend money on? Beyond the seed money required to start planning, you may need funds for: • Food and beverages • Facilities rental • Phone calls • Name tags, signage, posters and decorations • Party favors • Music or entertainment • Expenses related to creating/reproducing a family tree • Transportation of out-of-town guests • Photography or videography • Prizes and awards Keep accurate records of all expenditures and send out financial reports that detail them. People are more willing to contribute when they know exactly how their money will be spent. Your goal, of course, isn't to make money. It's to break even. Reunion Fundraising
Besides donations, funds can be raised by:
• Selling tickets for the gathering and/or meals. • Selling family gathering T-shirts. • Raffling off a luxury item that people would probably not buy for themselves such as a meal for two in a fine restaurant or a night in a lavish hotel. You can sell tickets for $5 or $10. Display the prize with a card that clearly states how much money you are trying to raise. • Get teenagers in the family to hold a fundraising event – a car wash, for example. • Hold an auction of donated items at the gathering. • Sell group photos and/or videotapes of the gathering. • Ask everyone to donate money collected at the supermarket for recycled cans and bottles. The donation of newly acquired money is less painful. • Create a family cookbook |
Proposed Budget
$1,000
Existing Reunion Funds
$1,200?
Pre-Reunion Fundraising
2014 Auction Funds
Hall Heritage Cookbook
Mary Barile's Food From the Heart is a workbook designed to help you produce your cookbook without a professional company. Barile includes instructions and blank forms to organize and collect recipes. She recommends asking for recipe origins, including extra instructions or uses. She explains old ingredients and how to translate antique recipes. The advantage of writing and publishing the book yourself, says Barile, is that it increases your flexibility to include stories and background, a keepsake that preserves your family's heritage.
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Alvin & Ann Hall Family |
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