Regarding competition profits

[Apna_Virsa]

If someone were looking to start a new competition, could anyone give an idea on the scope of financial investment involved and the type of profits possible that could be donated to a charity or fundraiser for a specific cause? Something on the order of a regionally or possibly nation-wide event i.e. bayside, pioneer, ubc, etc? I realize there are a lot of variables, but even general advice would be appreciated.

 

[hsdeol]

i'm not 100% sure about what youre asking, but a quick breakdown on what may answer your question. first come up with an estimate of how much money is going to be spent. organize some sort of presentation that will show your plan, why the competition matters, what a business has to gain from helping you out, and what your goal is. take this presentation to local corporations, businesses, vendors... anywhere and anything really. trying to get community support is important, and from there you can look into bigger groups. work with your committee on getting everything ready for a competition (iron out every last detail) and release a registration packet. pick your line up, and prepare for the insanity of dealing with teams.

 

[yraparla]

I think he was asking more about the financial aspect of throwing a comp. It depends on your scale and our location.

Most money invested will be involved with the venue, then PR, then money spent on teams. Revenue comes from donations/sponsorships, ticket sales, and team registration.

At say 200 per team and 8 teams that gives you 1600 from teams (but part of that must go towards things like food for the weekend, tshirts, afterparty tickets etc etc). So there's not a lot realistically coming from there.

1000 seats at 10 dollars is 10k which will barely cover costs of venue and PR (and would require sold out audience). Sponsorship can bring in a lot depending on your sponors and packages. I can't divulge the details from BIB but I can say we ended up raising 10k, 13k, and 15k in consecutive years for our charity and that was because we had a lot of sponsors excited to contribute knowing the money was going to charity. Given the recession, comps have found this more difficult. This is why a lot of comps tied to schools tend to prosper as the university can provide either: a venue, money to secure a venue, or help with PR and sponsorship.

This is all very general but should give you a good idea. First step is to determine suitable venue and find out the renting price. That will be the benchmark for the rest of your research


hope that helps!

 

[abhigames]

Here is a sample income statement for a NYC based competition (won't disclose the name)

Revenues
Team registration fees: $2,825
Sponsorships: 850
Online ticket sales (net of fees): 10498
Additional ticket sales: 2047
Door ticket sales: 1085
Candy/water sales: 315

Total: $17,620

Expenses
Audio/DJ: $2,015
Theater + Marley rental: 6933
Lighting: 935
T-shirts + Trophies : 1515
Program bookletes: 447
Food and beverages: 942
Net cost on afterparty: 613
Marketing: 1008
Team payouts + fundraisers (net): 3500

Total: $17,908

Net position: -$288

 

[siddyp]

you need to draw up a detailed business plan as to what your expenses will be. when i say detailed i mean detailed from the venue, to every last bottle of water. once you have a number, go after the potential sponsors with that detailed plan.

 

[Vijay]

I can't divulge the details from BIB but I can say we ended up raising 10k, 13k, and 15k in consecutive years for our charity and that was because we had a lot of sponsors excited to contribute knowing the money was going to charity.

wow. insanely impressive.

 

[Nikhil]

Swi that is a competition organizers DREAM.

 

[Psant]

Sponsorships are key, but are much easier if you have nonprofit status. Many major corporations won't give you a second glance unless you have that 501(c) nonprofit status. I agree that a college affiliation will greatly help your cause, because it not only brings in the on-campus crowd, but also provides you with manpower that will do the work for free.

AKD has had tremendous success over the years with raising money for our student run fellowship, the Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship using both campus and community pull together.

 

[ameetkhabra]

Sponsorships are key, but are much easier if you have nonprofit status. Many major corporations won't give you a second glance unless you have that 501(c) nonprofit status. I agree that a college affiliation will greatly help your cause, because it not only brings in the on-campus crowd, but also provides you with manpower that will do the work for free.

AKD has had tremendous success over the years with raising money for our student run fellowship, the Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship using both campus and community pull together.

I don't think that's necessarily true. It is definitely harder for organizations to gain sponsorship if they are for-profit, but it's not impossible. In your sponsor packet you're basically offering the sponsor advertising, which can be written off as an Advertising Expense.

Try putting a list or, what I call, a Financial Breakdown with all the expenses you think you're going to have, but really focus on making these numbers as realistic as you can, if not high ball them. Also, make sure you do your research before jumping into something like this - it's not a picnic, to say the least.