February is one of my favorite months. Why? Because it's Valentine's Day and my birthday.
This year it's also filled with a bunch of fundraisers. The first at Rockwood Retirement Communities with my friend and colleague, Marianne McCormack Dudley. Next weekend is for Leadership Spokane with so many of my favorite people! The following weekend is for Embrace Washington with my friend Skyler Oberst.
While I'm volunteering at all three of these, I love being able to see how fundraisers are run from an operational perspective. This year, I had the opportunity to learn how to set minimum bids, determine bid increments and so much more.
The best part is that all of these organizations are doing their part to improve our community. Older adults, education and kids are our three areas of focus. So this month when preparing the budget, we had to be very intentional in deciding our cash donation limits for each event. I love that fundraisers are a #fun way to #spend and #give at the same time!
How do you plan for special events in your budget? What's one event that you didn't plan for and how did you decide how much you would spend?
Photo: Gift basket preparation for Rockwood Residents' Foundation. One of the volunteers called us "the basket cases!"