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Rachel Myers edited this page Jun 9, 2015 · 37 revisions

Money! It's so fun! Or not, depending. Workshops can require dealing with some of it, so here's how we roll. (We try to avoid dealing with money by having sponsors order food directly, but that's not always possible. Such is life.)

Finance Team

The Finance Team is comprised of Melissa Xie, Alyson La, and Rachel Myers. Finance things should be emailed to [email protected].

Financing Workshops in New Cities

If there's never been a workshop in your area, or if it's been a long time, email [email protected] early in the workshop planning. The Finance Team can help you put your budget together and form a fundraising plan.

When you write to us, include the following:

  • an estimate of the size of the workshop
  • potential resources for funding the workshop

If you have concerns about being able to fund the workshop, reach out; sometimes we can help!

Sample Workshop Budget

The main expense is catering, but you'll also need a few supplies (pens, name tags).

Here are some figures from a previous workshop to give you an idea of how much to budget. This menu totals about $1,000 to $1,200 in San Francisco (all currency in USD).

Catering for 60 (participants and volunteers)

  • $200 for Installfest pizza & drinks.
  • $150 for coffee + bagels for workshop morning.
  • $500-700 for Saturday lunch from a catering service/restaurant.
  • $300 for workshop after-party.

Other Expenses

  • Name tags and pens are about $30.
  • The Installfest instructions tell students to get a sticker from a volunteer when their install has been checked. Any kind of sticker is fine.
  • It's helpful to find a space that has the necessary tables and chairs so that you don't have to rent them.

The Role of Bridge Foundry

RailsBridge is a project of Bridge Foundry, which is part of School Factory, a 501(c)(3) organization. This means that we can accept tax-deductible donations.

If your donor would like to be invoiced for their tax-deductible donation, you can request it using these instructions.

Donations via Check

If a donor wants to send a check, it can be sent to:

RailsBridge c/o School Factory
Shops of the Grand Ave
Plankinton Building
161 W Wisconsin Ave, #2
Milwaukee, WI 53203

Please have them include the city of your chapter in the memo line.

Workshop Grants

Bridge Foundry is committed to providing support to chapters to hold workshops and grow their community. Fundraising helps build community, but when it's not enough to cover the expenses, you may apply for a grant with these instructions.

Reimbursement

If you've fundraised, you can be reimbursed for the workshop expenses by following the instructions here.

Accepting Chapter-Specific Donations via PayPal

Any chapter can use a customized PayPal button that automatically earmarks donations to their chapter specifically. Instructions for getting a customized button live [here] (https://atrium.schoolfactory.org/bridgefoundry/node/110767).