Review of Well-Being Festival Budget

In Week 3 of our collaboration, Dr. G shared with me his plan for organizing and executing a Well-Being Festival to be held in Muncie in Spring 2015.  The event would be held ideally at the Minnetrista gathering place in Muncie and would feature several events throughout this one-day multipurpose event focusing primarily on four major pillars: physical activity, wellness education, alternative therapies, and entertainment.  Not only would the event be a Ball State-sponsored event, but it would be an experiential learning opportunity for students in Dr. G's event management course who would take on the management of the event.

To give me a deeper understanding of the plans for the event, Dr. G shared with me a preliminary budget and grant proposal.  I have provided my feedback for the preliminary budget below, and will give my feedback on the grant proposal in a future blog post. The overall budget for the event is projected to be $20,000.

Budget-

Graduate Student:  This area of the budget ($2,000) interested me because I was curious if this would be a graduate student hired solely for the purpose of this event or whether it would be a current graduate assistant within the sport administration or other department that would have an additional amount added to his or her stipend.  Based on the current pay structure among Ball State graduate assistants (between $750 and $1,000 for 20 hours per week) monthly I wonder if this graduate student would be hired for a two-month period or whether the student's employment would be stretched out over several months.  I think that this is an important distinction to make not only in the sponsorship search process but also in the hiring process as applicants will want to know important details about the job (e.g. start and end date, pay structure, day-to-day tasks).  Currently, the daily tasks of this graduate student are not detailed within either document presented other than the broad description of "event design and planning activities."  I think that by further outlining the specific duties of the position will significantly aid in hiring the right candidate and acquiring adequate sponsorship monies.  Example tasks for the graduate student might be facilitating meetings among student leaders, establishing relationships with each non-Ball State entity (Minnetrista staff, Police, EMTs, Volunteer Coordinator), and documenting specific dates of task completion to assist the planning of future events.

Non-personnel Capital/Equipment:  I did not understand this section of the budget.  There were no details indicated in the budget explanation or grant proposal regarding the meaning of this section.  The only explanation I can infer is that included in this section would be items coming in such as food and beverage donations and other items that would help offset the current $20,000 of projected expenditures.

Operating Cost:  This section was well-detailed considering that the event that is still 10 months away.  Clearly there have been inquiries made to specific organizations to gather projected cost figures for the 10 items (categories) listed on the budget.  While detailed in some portions, there were several questions that arose as I reviewed this section of the preliminary budget.

- In the case of poor weather, would the outside area and tent costs still be charged?
- Along the same lines, would there be a back-up indoor location to move the outside area and tent events to?  The Muncie Fieldhouse (less than a mile away) should be a consideration.
- I agree with the marketing expenses ($2,000) for the event, but I would be curious how much of that total could be trimmed with free advertising.  I see no mention of social media within either document.  Could this be a primary task of the funded graduate student?  As for radio announcements, that would be most cost-effective as radio ads are the cheapest among TV, newspaper, and radio.  However, which radio stations would be chosen?  Could there be an arrangement made for a live broadcast opportunity?  How about a collaborative effort with WCRD, Ball State's student radio station?
- I would be very careful with the competition digital timing and athlete chips for whatever running/cycling event is held.  The distinction here would be if there was a significant amount of competitive athletes in the event or not.  If the event(s) was more of a walk/run than a true race, funds specific to accurate timing could be allocated elsewhere.
-  After seeing the "food & beverage for sponsors and invited guests" listed at $2,000 that made me curious as to whether or not participants would be receiving meals and or beverages during the day's events.  If so, would these items be purchased?  Or would a donation from a sponsor be expected here?  Another item to consider is the refrigeration and storage of food and beverage items both before and after the festival.
- Clearly some work was done on the Risk Management section to determine costs.  An explanation for the difference in officers needed later in the festival compared to earlier should be provided.
-  How will the Posters listed under Marketing Expenses differ from the Signage listed under the Venue Management section?
-  Does Minnetrista have its own sound system?  If so, perhaps the primary announced events could be held indoors or outside if the system is portable.  If the $3,000 figure was determined based on one of the larger sound companies in Muncie, I would inquire WCRD, the campus radio station.  I worked in college radio for three years and people that work at a station usually know the locals who have their own sound systems that might charge less than $3,000.
-  Why would transportation be needed if the entire event was held at or near Minnetrista?
-  Along with the road closure application and event permit, I would also look into any sort of food or beverage permits.  I'm sure Minnetrista would be aware of the existence of any such permits needed to provide food and beverage to the public.