FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III

IN + Ins and Outs of Budgeting

THIS + Event Planning

GUIDE + 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 Day
National Development Director
dayj@collegedems.com
(412) 254-DAYJ
FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III

BUDGETING “Spend what you have--no

more!”

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.

1 >> bottom line: make your logo unique and memorable

FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III
“A special message from EVENT
Jana Stec.”
PLANNING

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.

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t be afraid to make the ask for big name speakers >> 2
FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III

EVENT “A special message from

PLANNING Jana Stec.”

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.

3 >> bottom line: Make your event memorable

FUNDRAISING TRAINING GUIDE | VOLUME III

“It’s that time of the year.”

TRANSITIONING

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.

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