Fundraiser Event Planner

Who this is for

A fundraiser planned on what it will bring in and what it will cost. Income on one table, costs on another, expected beside actual, and the net worked out.

School and club committees, charity volunteers and anyone organising a quiz night, a sponsored walk, a fete or a dinner that has to make money rather than spend it.

What this helps you track

• Where the money is expected to come from, and who is looking after each source
• What each part of the event will cost, estimated and actual
• The amount raised, the costs and the net, so the figure reported is after expenses
• The net beside the target you set, so the report afterwards is honest

How to use it

1. Write the event, the date, the venue, the cause and the target you have set at the top. The target is yours — nothing here suggests one.
2. List each source of income — ticket sales, a raffle, a bar, an auction, sponsorship, donations — with who is running it and what you expect it to bring in.
3. List each cost — venue, food, printing, prizes, licences or permits — with an estimate and who is dealing with it.
4. After the event, fill in the actual columns from the cash counted and the invoices paid. Tick paid against each cost as it is settled.
5. The totals and the net are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the columns and subtract. Set the net beside the target at the top.
6. Keep the finished sheet. Next year's expected column starts from this year's actual.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Do I need a licence or permission for a raffle, a bar or food?

Possibly, and it depends entirely on where you are, who is organising and how it is run. Check what is required where you are and who issues it, and put any fee in the costs table. This sheet does not tell you what the rules are.

Should the target be the net or the gross?

Decide before you start and say so on the sheet. The summary gives the net — raised less costs — and that is the figure to set against the target, because it is what reaches the cause.

What if a source brings in nothing?

Leave the actual blank or enter zero. The expected column then shows what was hoped for, which is useful when deciding whether to run it again.

Where do donated goods go?

If a prize or the food was donated, it is not a cost — leave it off the costs table or enter it at zero with a note of who gave it. The raffle and prize draw record has a column for the donor.