<<
Return to Organization
The
most important aspect of planning a family 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 family 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 family 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 family members attending.
This is the price per family member for attending the family
reunion. You might want to give a discount for seniors
and/or small children, 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, baked
goods, or white elephant gifts. This is a fun way to get
everyone together to support a good cause—your family
togetherness! For the raffle, sell tickets for items that
many family members would enjoy having or giving as a gift.
Some ideas include video game systems, professionally framed
family trees, coolers, jewelry, 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 family reunion expenses.
Another
option for creating profit for the reunion is to sell family
memorabilia at the reunion. Selling slightly marked up
t-shirts, tote bags, hats, etc. will provide family members
with a memento that can also be passed down through the
family. 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. |
