How to Create Your Event Budget to Submit with your Grant - Event Budget Guide

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Levi

Step-by-step guidance for preparing an event budget to submit with a grant, covering how to organize program costs into direct costs and in-kind contributions. The guide breaks down personnel, artist fees, supplies/materials, permit fees, production fees, insurance, and promotion/marketing, and explains how donated goods or services count as both income and expense. It also outlines revenue balancing and the 1:1 match requirement using cash and in-kind support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

How to Create Your Event Budget to Submit with your Grant

Calculate Program Expenses

Calculating Program Revenue

Match Requirement (1:1)

How to Create Your Event Budget to Submit with your Grant Calculating Program Expenses Your Expenses will be Split into DIRECT COSTS and IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS 1. First, determine the DIRECT COSTS (expenses) you will have in the production of your program. This includes: a. Personnel: These are your people costs. How many hours of staff time will it take to produce the programming? How much will you need to pay staff per hour? Calculate the total personnel cost: \# hours x cost per hour. Personnel is listed as a line item in the budget template as both program revenue and program expenses. Personnel in expenses is the amount that your organization or individual is spending on this program specifically. b. Artist Fees: Are you hiring artists? If so, how much in total will you be paying them? It is recommended that you reach out to the artists to determine their fee or have an idea of what is typically paid for what you are asking them to do. c. Supplies/Materials: What physical items will you need to produce the program (i.e., art materials, tables, chairs, canopies, etc. )? Think through everything that will be needed to create a great experience for your participants. Research these costs and add them up. i. NOTE: Cultural Services may be able to loan you a limited number of tables, chairs and canopies for your event, in which case you can add supplies that are borrowed from Cultural Services to the in-kind side of your budget. d. Permit Fees: Permits may include OLCC permits, Fire Marshal permits, construction permits, etc. See the complete list of other possible permits here. i. NOTE: The Park Special Event fee is waived/subsidized for Art in the Park grant recipients and the Downtown Activity Zone permit is waived for Downtown Program Fund grant recipients so you do not need to include those fees here. e. Production Fees: Do you need to rent a stage, porta-potties, fencing, bike racks, water stations, lights or sound equipment? Hire security or alcohol monitors or a company to facilitate parking? Determine what these costs are and add them to your budget. f. Insurance: Events on City of Eugene land require that producers obtain liability insurance. Learn about the insurance requirements. We recommend that new event organizers get a few quotes to determine what the actual insurance cost will be as some events cost more than others. g. Promotion/Marketing: How will you let the public know about your program? Common marketing strategies are social media, posters/fliers, newspaper advertisements, newsletters (think about which groups have newsletters that could reach your target audience), radio, word of mouth, etc. Any printed materials or paid advertising will have a cost that needs to be included in your budget. 2. Next, determine if you have in-kind contributions that can help cover the needs of your program. In-kind contributions are donated goods or services such as volunteer time, free professional services like advertising or a donation (or a partial donation/discount) of needed materials like a stage or art supplies. What businesses or people could you ask to help you by donating items or time? These will show up in your budget as both income and expense: it goes in as income and comes out as expense at the same amount. a. Add up the value of these in-kind contributions by estimating what they would cost you if you had to pay for them. To estimate the value of volunteer time, multiply the number of volunteer hours given to the program by the established rate of $34.79 per hour, which is an estimate from the independent sector of the worth of an hour of a volunteer’s time. You can include time spent planning the program as well as time working during the event. If you are donating your own time to the program without being paid, you can include the value of your time as well. In the budget document, include a calculation in the “Description” section of this time (i.e. 5 volunteers x $34

FAQs

How should direct costs be organized in the event budget?

Direct costs should be organized as line-item expenses for personnel, artist fees, supplies/materials, permit fees, production fees, insurance, and promotion/marketing, based on the program needs.

What counts as in-kind contributions, and how are they used in the budget?

In-kind contributions include donated goods or services such as volunteer time or free professional services. They are listed as both income and expense at the estimated value.

What is the 1:1 match requirement for grant funding?

Grant requests must be matched dollar-for-dollar with total cash and in-kind revenue from other sources. For example, a $1,000 grant request requires at least $1,000 in other revenue, and in-kind contributions can be part of that match.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Levi