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Budget & Finance
The
most important aspect of planning a reunion is the
budget. Your budget should include every expense you can
think of, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.
Allow some extra money in the budget for unexpected expenses
that you may come across. The budget will have a big impact
on the location and type of reunion you will have.
The person who is responsible for the budget must be strict
and account for every penny spent. It is a good idea to set
up a separate reunion bank account for tracking all
expenses.
There is not as much planning and work involved
with a one-day event, but a weekend reunion allows plenty
of time to visit with everyone and bond through activities
and outings. If it’s a Saturday cookout in the park,
will you ask everyone to bring food to share? This is a
less expensive option than having a catered meal, but sometimes
part of the fun is in the cooking and interaction while
preparing.
You don’t want to plan a reunion that no one can
afford to attend. To determine the cost per person, divide
the final cost by the number of members attending.
This is the price per member. You might want to give a discount for seniors
and/or small children for a family reunion example, but remember to recalculate, because
doing so would alter the price per person for everyone
else. Make sure you specify exactly what is and is not
included in the “ticket price” or price per
person when you send out invitations. It would be embarrassing
if someone arrived expecting their hotel room to be covered
by their “ticket price” when this was intended
to be an additional cost.
Always set a deadline sometime
in advance for at least a percentage of the “ticket price.” You will
need some money for advance deposits and fees to reserve
different aspects of the reunion that you’ve planned.
Also, if you collect some or all of the money up front,
people are less likely to cancel at the last minute, leaving
you with food and other amenities that you didn’t
need.
To defray the costs of the reunion and keep “ticket
prices” down, employ some fun ways to raise money,
including having auctions and raffles. Some auction ideas
could include handmade crafts, family heirlooms for a family reunion, baked
goods for school reunions, or white elephant gifts. This is a fun way to get
everyone together to support a good cause—your togetherness! For the raffle, sell tickets for items that
many members would enjoy having or giving as a gift.
Some ideas include handmade crafts for a church reunion, professionally framed
family trees for a family reunion, coolers or wine totes for an alumni reunion, concert tickets for a sorority reunion, etc. Sell tickets for a
few dollars each, and hold the drawing at the end of the
reunion. This way, you can drum up some friendly competition
and sell more tickets, earning enough to pay for the items
as well as make a profit towards your other reunion expenses.
Another
option for creating profit for the reunion is to sell memorabilia at the reunion. Selling slightly marked up
college t-shirts, sorority tote bags, sports hats, etc. will provide members
with a memento that can also be passed down through the
family or group. Make sure to put the date of the reunion on the
items, and create a different design for each gathering,
so that your demand will stay high for these items year
after year!
Portions of this text were
inspired by The Family Reunion Institute, School of Social
Administration, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 215-204-6244.
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| University of MD Football |
Reunions are Fun in Prince George's County!
Since you're planning a reunion why not think about having a group outing to one of our attractions?
National Harbor on the Potomac is Maryland's newest gateway. It is an incredible 300-acre waterfront destination just minutes from downtown Washington, DC. From dining, to water attractions, to seasonal festivals and shows...your group will love the variety and choices National Harbor offers to all ages.
Or consider a day of play at Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor Waterpark. It's Maryland's only theme park and features more than 100 exciting rides, games, shows, and attractions.
If it's a day of sports that everyone craves check out the Bowie Baysox, ShowPlace Arena, the University of Maryland, or one of our major league teams. Whether professional, college, amateur, or recreational sports, there's always exciting action in play in Prince George's County.
Prince George's County is also home to historic sites and museums like the College Park Aviation Museum, Fort Washington National Park, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and the African-American Museum and Cultural Center.
Second only to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in number of annual performances, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is a vibrant community of artists, students and audiences, where great work happens both on stage and off. The Center presents approximately 1,000 events each year spanning all of the performing arts.
To find out about all the wonderful things to do at your next reunion, just click here!
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