Charity walk budget and costs

The point of a budget is to be able to say one sentence truthfully: “every penny you are sponsored goes to the cause.” You can say it when the costs are covered by entry fees and business sponsors before the first walker sets off.

The cost lines

Line	What to ask
Venue or land hire	Is there a charge? A deposit? A charity rate?
Insurance	Does the charity’s policy already cover this event?
First aid cover	What level of cover do they advise for our numbers?
Lights for walkers	Single-use or reusable? Price per hundred?
Route lighting and signs	Can we borrow them? Are they reusable next year?
High-visibility vests and torches	Borrow from a local club or business
Toilets	Does the venue have enough, including accessible ones?
Sound system	Borrow, or ask a local DJ to donate their time
Refreshments	Hot drinks and water; ask a cafe or supermarket
Printing	Posters, maps, sign-in sheets, numbers
Registration and payment fees	What does the platform take from each payment?
Photography	A volunteer or a student building a portfolio
Contingency	Add about a tenth for what you forgot

Put a quoted figure against each line. Guesses are how budgets go wrong.

Three ways to cover costs

Entry fees. A small fee per adult, less for children, covers lights and refreshments at most events. It also reduces no-shows: people turn up to things they have paid for.

Business sponsors. Local firms will often pay for a specific, visible thing. Break the budget into named items:

• “Lights sponsored by …” on every wristband bag.
• A sponsored kilometre, with their sign at the marker.
• The finish arch, the hot drinks, the volunteer vests.

Ask for a specific item at a specific price. It is easier to say yes to than a general request for support.

Gifts in kind. A printer prints the posters, a supermarket gives the water, a builder’s merchant lends the vests. Thank them publicly as you would a cash sponsor.

Setting the entry fee

Add up the costs not covered by sponsors, divide by a cautious number of paying walkers, and round to a simple figure. Use the number of walkers you are confident of, not the number you hope for.

What to tell supporters

Say plainly how costs are met and what sponsorship money pays for. If entry fees cover costs, say so. If some sponsorship will be used for costs, say that too. Supporters forgive costs; they do not forgive finding out later.

Keep the paperwork

Two people count any cash together and both sign the total. Record what came in, from where, and when it was banked. Keep receipts for every cost. If you are raising money for a registered charity, ask them how they want funds collected and reported before you start.

To estimate income, try the planner and the sponsorship calculator.