You're faced with unexpected event expenses. How will you maintain budget and uphold standards?

Categorize the expenses by dividing your budget into essential and non-essential categories. Essentials might include venue, catering, and key entertainment, while non-essentials could be decor or additional services.

When producing events, it’s crucial to start by reviewing your venue contracts. Hotel or venue AV costs are often inflated, with hidden fees and charges for unnecessary items. Hiring a professional agency or someone experienced in contract review is essential to avoid excessive costs and reduce overall expenses. Also if you have already done this, going through and looking at must haves vs want to haves. Often small items can be adjusted or removed without any affect on the guest experience.

Contacting vendors to negotiate better rates or discounts is crucial, particularly if you have an established relationship with them or if the event holds potential for future business. Additionally, you can negotiate flexible payment terms to distribute costs over time, helping to ease immediate cash flow challenges without sacrificing quality.

I truly believe that cultivated relationships and transparency with vendors is the best way to set yourselves up for success. For most of my career I have guided my work on these two things and I believe this is true across all avenues of work. People want to help people who help them and people also want to support people who are transparent and upfront on what they are working with.

Volunteers are the backbone of nonprofit events. Having started in events with Capital/NYC Pride, I understand the vital role volunteers play. Their institutional knowledge, event understanding, and passion are invaluable. People driven by a cause often bring unmatched dedication. However, incorporating professionals in key oversight roles can enhance quality and allow volunteers to focus more on day-of tasks. For example, at a graduation, teachers might get distracted by familiar faces, while paid professionals ensure smooth operations. Both volunteers and professionals are crucial to the event’s success and embody the brand’s DNA to creating a successful and amazing event!

My experience has shown that name badges can be a tricky part of event planning. Often, badges aren’t finalized until just days—or even hours—before the event, leading to potential print errors. That’s why I strongly advocate for onsite printing. It saves time, reduces the risk of errors from pre-printing, and ensures a smoother check-in process. The last thing you want is an attendee without a badge or with a mistake on it, as it sets the wrong tone from the start. Ensuring a seamless and special experience for your guests is key to a successful event, and onsite printing helps achieve that. Plus, it's a much greener option.

One of my favorite methods for sourcing products involves comparing different vendors and materials to see how variations affect appearance. With my background in nonprofit events and working with smaller budgets, I’ve learned to get creative. This often means finding online videos and tutorials to make items myself or sourcing slightly lower-cost products to stay within budget.