Budget

You’ve written your strategy and have identified your campaign activities. Now it’s time to estimate costs.

Don’t start with how much funding you think you can raise; instead, start by painting a realistic picture of what you are going to need to follow through on your ideas. You will have the chance to trim the budget when you have identified potential funders and talked to them about budget ranges with which they would feel comfortable.

You’ll need to establish parameters: How many months will the campaign last? How many screenings or other events do you want to do? For how many events will team members need to travel? How big will the team be?

Ask colleagues (including GIPA members!) to share their budgets with you or to provide estimates for what specific line items might cost.

Expect — as with your strategic plan — that you will be updating and revising your budget as you proceed with the campaign and encounter new opportunities or discover that some activities aren’t working the way you intended.

While budget line items will differ based on your campaign activities, we have created a checklist of possibilities.

Note, your impact campaign budget should be distinct from your film production budget for a number of reasons. Most importantly, some funders may only fund what it takes to deliver your film, while others may only fund impact.