Craven Events

Decide whether you want to cover your organisation's general running costs, or have a particular project with costs of its own. Make a list of all the items that you could need to pay for, for your organisation or project.

Divide the list into two categories - capital and revenue. Capital means items of equipment that you usually pay a fixed one-off amount for - a building, a computer, a vehicle, for example. Revenue is on going costs like wages, rent, expenses, bills, core funding.

Decide when you need the money for, and how long it has to last. For a project, there will usually be a start and finish date, or at least an idea how long it will last. If you are looking for general running costs, you should include all your expenditure for one year, or two or three years. It is up to you how far ahead you can accurately plan, but one year is often a minimum.

Remember, money isn't necessarily the only way to get something - you might be able to tap into a free service or find help in kind (gifts of material for instance) that might save having to raise money.