Creating and maintaining a budget is essential for a strong chapter. The budget reflects your chapter’s goals and helps you track to achieve them. A budget lets you see where your money should go instead of wondering where it went.
A budget is an “estimate of revenue and expenses over a specified future period; it is compiled and re-evaluated periodically.”
Budgets are based on money coming in and money going out. In an ideal situation, the amount going out should never exceed the money coming in. When your expenses exceed your income, this opens your chapter up to unwanted debt.
Income(money coming in) - usually consists of fees collected from:
- member dues
- housing payments
- fees for social events
- Fines or late fees.
Pro Tip: Establishing how your members will be billed will help with your projected income. Common billing groups may be new members, members, seniors, in-house members, out-of-house members, etc.
Expenses(money going out) – chapter’s bills and maintenance costs like:
- rent for the chapter house
- insurance
- dining costs
- dues to the national organization
- Any special events or social gatherings that are hosted by the chapter.