Budgeting for Working Groups

This page is meant to help new and returning working groups plan their budgets for the upcoming year. Please feel free to contact us if you need any additional help with budgeting.

The best way to organize your annual budget is to break down the ‘expenses’ (how much you will spend), and ‘revenues’ (how much you will fundraise) that you estimate your group will have. Don’t worry about estimating your budget to the penny, but try to be as specific as possible about what types of expenses you will have. Below, you will find a sample budget, including the main categories that your budget should include. If you are planning a big event (conference, lecture series, etc.), please make a sub-category for these to show how much it will cost.

Sample budget

Sample Budget

Expenses:

Photocopies (flyers, leaflets): $200

Printing (booklets, posters, stickers, and buttons): $200

Interpretation of ASL/QSL at meetings: $300

Snacks at meetings: $250 (10 meetings x $25)

Room bookings for 2 major events: $500

Audio visual equipment: $200

Advertising (radio ads, student newspapers, etc): $200

Total: $1,750

Revenue:

Donations at events: $200

Poster, booklet, and t-shirt sales: $300

Discretionary funding from other groups: $500

Total: $1000

Amount requested from QPIRG: $750

Estimating Expenses

Room Bookings at McGill: $56

Room Bookings at the Student Union building: free

Honorariums for workshops: can range from 75$-$250 for local facilitators

Honorarium for Speakers: speaker honoraria usually range from $100-350 depending on the speaker, travel costs for speakers etc. It can go much higher.

Advertising: you may want to put ads in the Daily or the Tribune for your events, but these are very expensive — a quarter page ad is $400+

Photocopies (posters, pamphlets, etc.): Estimate 7¢ per copy

Supplies: working groups can use the supplies in the QPIRG office, such as paint, markers, paper, tape, etc. but you may need supplies that QPIRG does not usually carry, such as canvas for banners

Childcare, translation fees: these can be anywhere from $50 honorariums to an hourly rate

* Please note that salaries and stipends for working group members are not allowable expenses.