Trimming your nonprofit’s meeting and fundraiser budgets
July 19, 2025
Whether you’re planning an off-site retreat for board members, a luncheon for potential corporate funders or a formal fundraiser, you likely will encounter opportunities to cut expenses. Although no one wants a meeting or event to look “cheap,” most of your nonprofit’s stakeholders will appreciate attention paid to thrift. How can you reduce costs yet still arrange gatherings that will impress attendees and strengthen their bonds with your organization?
Food and beverages
As you work with caterers or your event space’s restaurant, make smart meal choices. Buffets, such as salad, meat carving or pasta stations usually are less expensive to staff than individually served meals with multiple courses. Boxed lunches are an even more budget-conscious choice, though they’re inappropriate for more formal events.
When providing drinks for meetings, skip the bottled water and offer pitchers of good old tap water. It’s cheaper and more environmentally friendly. And consider limiting alcoholic beverages at events to a few choices — such as one brand of beer, one red wine and one white wine. Open bars can be extremely expensive, and your supporters will likely understand if you charge them for any alcoholic drinks.
Contract items and labor
Consider contract line items to be open to negotiation. You won’t win every battle, but few venues or vendors have the heart to say no to every request from a nonprofit. Seeking bids from more than one vendor gives you leverage, so consider getting several. For one-time events, book as early as possible to get the best pricing. For regular events such as quarterly board meetings, consider using the same vendor and requesting volume pricing.
Another way to cut expenses is to use your own or an outside vendor’s audio-visual equipment. For example, a hotel may offer projectors, wireless microphones and sound systems, but the cost to rent them for a meeting is probably higher than an outside vendor would charge.
Also pay attention to labor costs. If your event requires extensive setup, arrange schedules so that staffers (yours and the venue’s) work during normal business hours and don’t incur overtime. This is a good opportunity to engage your volunteer workforce.
Special events
In a time when many meetings and even fundraisers are conducted digitally, in-person events should be special. Just don’t confuse “special” with “expensive.” If you try to cut costs but an event still looks like it’s going to be a budget-buster, think about soliciting donations from supporters and asking sponsors to help defray costs. Contact us for more suggestions.
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