10
The Budget
If an institution values an intramural program, then those in charge should provide adequate funding to support the program. In elementary schools and high schools, this funding often comes via the physical education department or from a parent council donation, and in universities students are often charged student activity fees, a portion of which is designated for intramural programming. Nevertheless, these resources are usually insufficient for a comprehensive campus recreation program.
In the face of too few funds for too many activities, as intramural directors, you will be charged with the task of using limited resources wisely and finding creative ways to increase financial support for your program—all the while satisfying your mission of fun, active, healthy participation for as many as possible. These are the topics of this chapter.
Chapter Objectives
>	Understand the budgeting process.
>	Identify the many sources of revenue for an intramural program.
>	Identify the expenses of an intramural program.
>	Explore various cost-saving measures to reduce intramural expenses.
>	Learn how to use computer spreadsheets to calculate an intramural budget.
An Introduction to Intramural Budgets
Before discussing the specifics of financing and budgeting for an intramural program, there are some terms that need to be defined. First, there are budget and budgeting. A budget can be both a statement of financial position as well as the amount of money available for a particular purpose. Budgeting is simply the process of keeping track of the money coming in and going out.
Starting with the inflow, the money that is brought into the program is revenue. Intramural revenue (also called “income”) is generated from student fees, participation fees, rentals, fund-raising, sponsorship, and advertising. The outflow, expenses, is money spent. Intramural expenses include program costs such as staff salaries, facility rental, equipment, office and event supplies, travel, and promotion.
Ideally, revenue and expenses should balance each other out. This is called a balanced budget. When out of balance a deficit budget or surplus budget is the result. In a deficit budget, expenses are greater than revenue and the budget has a negative balance (“in the red”). In a surplus budget, revenue is greater than expenses and the budget has a positive balance (“in the black”). To know what the numbers are, of course, you will have to keep track of them. Intramural directors can track budgets—on paper or on computer—with a spreadsheet, a document with many rows and columns.
Forecasting
If an intramural program has existed for some time, there is probably a fairly predictable cash flow coming in and going out, revenue and expenses. Grade and high school intramural directors usually receive their budgets at the beginning of the year, so they know what they have to work with right off the bat. At the university level, intramural directors are often given a budget to work with plus a portion of student fees. The amount from student fees will fluctuate slightly from year to year, but it is fairly predictable. These budgets are mainly composed of monies available for the program, or revenue. That is, the institution’s governing body informs intramural directors how much money their programs will be allotted out of the entire school budget.
Using that budget, then, intramural directors go about the process of forecasting, which is the process of estimating program expenses and additional revenue they can generate. Based on predicted total revenue (school allotment plus additional revenue generated), intramural directors have a pretty good idea of what can be spent. By considering the activities and events planned and the costs of those activities and events, directors are able to forecast whether the program will end the year with with a balanced budget, a surplus budget, or a deficit budget. In the case of a deficit budget, intramural directors know that extra money will need to be generated.
Revenue
As everyone knows—with the possible exception of government, that is—to spend money, there must be money to spend. To turn a deficit budget into a balanced (or better yet, surplus) budget, intramural directors must have some way of generating revenue. Revenue generation can take a variety of forms, including charging student and participation fees and fund-raising. Student fees are flat fees students are charged by an institution (typically colleges and universities) for participating in intramurals, recreation, athletics, and other school programs. Intramural directors are allotted a portion of these fees to run intramurals. Participation fees are variable fees charged students for participating in a certain program or activity, such as aerobics classes or a volleyball league. Fund-raising is simply raising funds. Fund-raising activities typically include special campaigns and events that people pay to participate in.
Before getting into these and other specific types of revenue generation, which are explained in the following sections, a brief mention of program mission. As intramural directors, you will need to be clear about your intramural mission so that you do not end up compromising the integrity of your program for the sake of bringing in more money. If your mission is to encourage fun and active, healthy living, for example, accepting donated or sponsorship money from a cigarette manufacturer would likely compromise that mission. Likewise, if the mission is to promote mass participation, participation fees may decrease the opportunities for low-income students to become involved.
Participation Fees
Participation fees are the most common source of additional revenue for intramural programs in North America. Because they are so common, different institutions use a variety of names for these fees: activity fees, student activity fees, member or user fees, program fees, and so on. And, many institutions charge several of these types of fees. For example, some schools charge an annual student activity fee to all full-time students at the beginning of each semester to supplement the fixed budget allotted by the institution. In addition to annual student activity fees, they charge user fees for specific intramural activities.
When it comes to participation fees, the possibilities are endless. You can charge fees for certain events or activities and not charge for others. You can charge all participants a flat fee at the beginning of each season, league, or year. You can charge all participants for the use of some or all of your intramural facilities, or you can allow students free access and only charge community members. You can offer paid memberships, both to students and to members of the community. Or you can use a combination of all of these, not to mention others. When implementing participation fees, keep the following principles in mind.
>	Heed your mission. The idea is not to make millions but to make enough to provide the best program to as many users as possible.
>	Consider your competition. Fees should be commensurate with market conditions, that is, competing prices at other educational institutions, fitness clubs, and community health programs.
>	Remember the fair play principle of equal opportunity. User fees can be discriminatory, particularly against the poor, so be careful that fees do not become excessive.
>	Be fair. Do not discriminate by gender. For example, many institutions often do not charge for intramural league programs but do charge for aerobics. Since males typically engage in the former and females in the latter, this type of pricing discriminates against women.
Busy institutions sometimes also apply different participation fees for different times of the day. If, for example, the weight room is busiest in the late afternoons, you can raise revenue as well as reduce overcrowding by increasing the fee for the late-afternoon slot. Likewise, squash courts, which tend to be heavily used in the evenings and rarely used in the mornings, can be more expensive in the evenings to encourage users to come earlier. Be creative with your facilities. If squash courts are not used much during the morning, drop some golf nets from the ceiling, put a mat on the ground, and voila! You have an indoor driving range—another activity and another opportunity to generate revenue.
With the recent surge in weightlifting interest, weight rooms have become a moneymaking venture for many intramural operations. Indeed, some institutions charge as much as $100 per semester per student to use the weight room. Depending on how busy the weight room is, and the amount of the fee charged, schools can make a few extra dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars from weight room user fees. Some institutions also offer weight room (or gym or fitness center) memberships to students and members of the community. Money generated from membership fees is used both to update the weight room and add more equipment and to supplement other intramural activities. Of course, there are trade-offs to be considered when it comes to community memberships. While they bring in additional revenue, if there are too many members, students may become frustrated because they do not have sufficient access to “their own” facility.
Many institutions (particularly large colleges and universities) charge parking fees. Intramural programs can get in on this revenue-generating action if the gym or other recreational facilities are near parking lots or ramps. This, too, involves a trade-off. Having to pay for parking each time they use the facilities can deter students from participating in intramurals. Thus, if possible, it may be wise to forego the revenue and try to make special parking arrangements (free or low cost) for fitness center (or gym or weight room) members and students who return to school at night to use the center or participate in intramural activities.
Rental
Your facility itself, particularly gyms and weight rooms, may be potential moneymakers. Indeed, most collegiate institutions generate a lot of revenue by renting their facilities to other sport organizations and groups that are hosting anything from a large garage sale to a fair or show. Fees depend on the size of the facility and its location, but typically gymnasium rental fees are between $400 and $1000 a day. The institution provides the gymnasium plus supervisory staff, regular secruity staff, and clean-up following the activity. Equipment is not usually included in these fees but can usually be arranged for extra costs.
Some institutions offer their facilities for physical and fitness testing. For example, fire, police, and security departments typically test recruits before hiring them. An arrangement like this not only brings people and dollars into the facility, but it can also provide fitness-testing equipment for the intramural program. How about trying a scaled-down version of a firefighter fitness test as a Winter Relay? Events include rope climbing, carrying a 150-pound dummy through an obstacle course, and getting fully dressed (including boots) and running through an obstacle course. This could be done as a relay with different member of the team completing different parts of the challenge.
Facility rental, too, requires a balancing act. Remember your mission. While the additional revenue is attractive, certainly, the aim of intramural programming is providing adequate and equal opportunity for students to be physically active. Not only that, if the institution charges student fees and/or if you charge annual student activity fees, the students have paid for this opportunity. It is now your obligation to provide it.
Fund-Raising
As introduced earlier, fund-raising activities typically include special campaigns and events for which people pay to participate. In the intramural context, this usually involves a service, class, or other intramural-related activity. While the primary goal of fund-raisers is to make money, intramural fund-raisers should also seek to satisfy the program mission. In other words, intramural fund-raisers should raise money by offering a chance to participate in fun and active movement.
The varieties of intramural fund-raisers are many, ranging from events such as a dance to contests such as a three-point shooting contest. Selling products such as refreshments and merchandise and offering services such as a school car wash also make excellent fund-raisers. Before discussing specific fund-raising ideas, it is important to understand the organization and effort required in hosting a fund-raiser. As intramural directors, you will need to know the following nine steps of effective fund-raising.
Step 1. Before getting too far ahead of yourself, you will likely need to check with your institution. State laws, local ordinances, and school policies may restrict certain fund-raising activities. For example, many public schools accept gifts but not money. If your institution has a fund-raising department, which is often the case at large universities and colleges, fund-raising personnel may be able to offer helpful advice. For example, they may ask that donors who have already given at a previous school fund-raiser not be approached this time around to avoid donor burnout.
Step 2. Once your have the OK from the institution, begin by setting your goals. This includes the purpose of the fund-raiser as well as how much money you want (or need) to raise. If you want the event to be successful, your purpose should have public appeal. Raising $1,000 to pay for a staff retreat, for example, is not nearly as motivational to potential donors as offering skill-development clinics, uniforms, and important recognition to program participants.
Try not to make your goals too restrictive, in case the money raised exceeds the amount needed. If, for example, you need $1,000 for uniforms and the event raises $3,000, what will you do with the extra money? On the other hand, remember that success, even a small one, is better than failure. Set your goals realistically high to be challenging but not so high that reaching them will be impossible and frustration will ensue.
Step 3. Once you have set your goals, it’s time to think about the fund-raising event. To do this, you will need to create a budget. Raising money often requires money. That means, you will have to decide how much money you can afford (and want) to put up to raise additional funds. If you decide to hold a dance, for example, there will be costs for decorating the hall, the entertainment, refreshments, and staff. If you’re holding a tournament or other competitive event, you’ll need to pay for prizes. In considering these costs, weigh the risk. If the event is unsuccessful, you may lose more money than you raise.
In addition to the costs of the actual fund-raising event, you will also have to consider organization and promotion costs. After all, if no one knows about your fund-raiser, no one will show up. Think about the time and staff required. Take a golf tournament fund-raiser, for example. You will need people to organize the event, make necessary arrangements with the golf course, take care of sponsorships (see “Sponsorship” on page 167) and prizes for tournament winners, control the money, organize pre-registration, plan and oversee the playing schedule, design and print and distribute promotional materials, and so on. Unless you plan to do everything yourself, which is next to impossible for a large fund-raiser, you will need competent people to organize and run the event well.
Step 4. Also when considering the event, you’ll want to ask yourself, Has this idea been tried before? And, the immediate questions that follow: Did it succeed? Did it fail? Will this event be on the same par? Timing is also a consideration, both the timing of the event (a chocolate heart run is perfect for Valentine’s day but is not quite as suitable in November) and the amount of time available for preparation (a bake sale can be organized in a week or two, whereas a masquerade ball will take considerably longer).
Before getting too excited about your idea, you may also need to check with your institution’s insurance provider that there is adequate coverage for the event.
Step 5. Once you have answered the questions in step 4 and have a good idea about costs (step 3), it is time to finalize the fund-raiser plan. Determine the type of event you will host and start making lists. Think through the details, including decorations, promotion, fund-raising goals, staff required, and so on. You will also want to come up with a name for your event. You may be able to tie a current fad or school tradition into the event. For example, was an event held last year that could be built upon this year? If that event was successful, participants may be expecting it to happen again this year. At this step in the process, also consider future fund-raising. For example, if you’ve come up with a fabulous idea for a new type of fund-raiser, perhaps you want to dub it the first of an annual event.
Step 6. With your fund-raiser plan in place, it is now time to set it in motion. Gather your people and assign duties. Get promotion staff working on promotion and advertising ideas. Have your finance people estimate attendance and then set entrance fees according to revenue-generation goals. And so on. A note about price setting: Setting prices can be tricky. Entrance fees and other pricing cannot be so high that they deter attendance, but they cannot be so low that the return will not be worth the effort.
Step 7. Hold the fund-raiser. If you have created a specific plan and covered your bases in step 6, this should be a relatively easy step. Last-minute problems may need to be handled, but otherwise, you should be able to relax and have a good time at your event.
Step 8. Immediately after the fund-raiser, get your people together and go over it, step by step. Think about the organization involved, evaluate individual tasks and assess the coordination and cooperation among your team. This should be an open, honest evaluation so that everyone learns from the experience and is prepared to do it better the next time. Particularly if the event was the first of what will become an annual fund-raiser (see step 5), this learning process will lead to a smoother operation in future years.
Step 9. Tally the money raised and celebrate your success, no matter how large or small. Thank all participants with thank-you notes, certificates of participation, posters and other announcements detailing the amount raised (including the original goal), and so on. Likewise, thank your organizers, donors, and sponsors, particularly those who contributed a lot to the event.
Now that you know how to hold an effective fund-raiser, let’s explore the myriad fund-raisers available. The following have been tried by many institutions, some with more success than others, but this list is certainly not exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to stimulate thinking about what is possible. The revenue opportunities for these fund-raisers are as varied as the activities themselves. Some ideas: admission fees, betting on teams (check with state laws and school policies), sponsorship per mile, user fees, and so on. While going through these ideas, you may wish to jot down notes, variations on these ideas, your own ideas, and other successful fund-raisers you have attended or heard about.
Events:
>	Socials: special dinners, social hours, dances, masquerade balls, and so on
>	Shows: fashion shows, amateur nights, air-band contests, movie showings, and so on
>	“A-thons”: walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, skate-a-thons, dance-a-thons, skip-a-thons, swim-a-thons, trash-a-thons, step-a-thons, and other activities in which participants earn so much per mile traveled, hours danced or skipped, laps swum, bags of litter picked up, or number of flights of stairs climbed
>	Auctions: silent or public auctions in which goods and/or services are donated and the highest bidder gets the item

A Million Pennies
The intramural director at Lo Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury wanted to raise some extra money for intramurals. A member of the intramural council had heard about a local penny-raising contest and suggested it at the council meeting. While brainstorming ideas and setting goals for a penny fund-raiser some council members began to wonder what a million pennies would look like. The goal was set. They would try to raise one million pennies.
Reprinted by permission of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association. From M. Harkness, 1998, “$10,000 jackpot,” INPUT (December):6.

Contests:
>	Guessing games: how many golf balls, gum drops, and so on in a large container (participants pay to submit their guesses)
>	Sport and other tournaments: golf, pool, dart, and other tournaments in which competitors earn so much per hole, pocket, ball, point, and so on
>	Races: bed races, three-legged races, flour-sac races, and so on
>	Department or group competitions: students vs. faculty, psychology majors vs. chemistry majors, school vs. the local police department, and so on
>	Cake walks and musical chairs: using participant-baked cakes or fancy cakes from local bakeries
>	Shooting (or putting or dribbling and so on) contests: contests in which participants pay so much per shot, ball, and so on (In a three-point shooting contest, for example, contestants pay $1 for the chance to shoot 15 balls [five balls at three different stations] in 60 seconds; the winner gets half of all entrance fees and the rest goes to the intramural program.)
>	Coin collections: any contest in which participants bring in coins (A penny-raising contest, for example, is held between classes or departments; the winning class [the class that raises the most money] gets a pizza party [Byl 2000].)
Products and services:
>	Services: instructional clinics or ongoing classes (Tae Kwon Do, aerobics, and so on), fitness appraisals and health fairs, car washes, and sports equipment exchange. At the beginning of the skiing season, for example, people bring in equipment they want to sell and on a given day all the equipment is displayed and available for people to buy. Any items not sold are returned to the owner. The money received goes to the previous owner and the intramural program retains 10 percent for hosting the sale.
>	Tours: walking tours of the city, hikes, cycling, bird watching, and so on
>	Sales (charge per item, display/table, and/or a percentage of everything sold): community garage sales, community sports equipment (old and used) sales and exchanges, bazaars, farmers’ and citizen markets (fruit, cheese, chocolate), recycling sales (used books, CDs and tapes, house fixtures, brooms, and so on), intramural clearance and rummage sales (pictures from last year’s intramural program, old equipment, leftover promotional T-shirts and other gadgets), and so on
>	Concessions: maintain school or community vending machines, operate a school snack bar, or staff refreshment stands at special events
>	Publications: intramural cookbooks, know-your-town books, or school who’s who directories, games books (students and participants make up fun recreational games), and so on
The council planned a variety of events to raise pennies, including penny carnivals (each game would cost between two and four cents; they didn’t want to get any nickels) and penny challenges. One penny challenge was dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.” Boys were on one team and girls were on the other. Starting on Monday of the week of the challenge, two empty bins were placed at the front door of the school. As they entered and exited school, girls would toss pennies into their bin and boys would toss pennies into theirs. At 1:00 p.m. each Friday, the pennies were counted and whichever team had the fewest pennies had to carry the winning team’s books the next Monday.
It took seven years before the school reached its target of one million pennies. The pennies were stored in, and filled, a small room. It took several weeks to roll all the pennies into rolls. As a way to enhance school spirit and show their community what they had done, the students lined up from their school to the nearest bank and passed the 400 boxes of rolled pennies from the school to the bank. Each box weighed 16 pounds. By the time they were done, they had moved 6,400 pounds of pennies to the bank and raised $10,000 for intramural programming (Harkness 1998).
Sponsorship
Through sponsorship, businesses have an opportunity to support intramural programming in their communities. Corporate sponsorship usually comprises monetary donations, in-kind giving, or a combination of the two. While it is tempting to approach sponsorship from a giver-recipient standpoint, do not sell your program short. Corporations receive the following benefits in return for their sponsorship.
>	Visibility and name recognition (corporate logos on signage, promotional materials, equipment, and so on)
>	Public goodwill
>	Increased sales (from visibility and public goodwill)
>	Product preview and promotion (perhaps through special participant discounts—some equipment suppliers provide free use of equipment if you exclusively use their product)
>	Improved company image (from public goodwill and visibility)
Above all, intramural sponsorship enables certain corporations to reach their target market: young children and parents, teenagers (with or without their parents), and young adults. In some respects, no other promotion delivers such a targeted group of potential customers. In other words, sponsorship is good business.
Of course, the benefits to the intramural program are the money, equipment, time, and other sponsorship you receive, as well as the opportunity to offer bigger, better intramural programming. The types of sponsorship available include the following.
>	Money: A straight donation to the intramural program, though money gifts are often times given for a specific aspect of the program such as uniforms, increasing female participation, or helping with a specific event.
>	Prizes: Food outlets are often willing to provide discount coupons that can be given to event winners to be used to purchase food a their restaurant. Sporting goods stores are often willing to donate some equipment such as a goalie stick for the best goaltender in floor hockey, or a beach volleyball for the beach volleyball league or tournament winners, or a mountain bike for an annual draw for an active living contest.
>	In-kind giving: One simple and visible sponsorship opportunity involves team shirts. For example, some schools give each team in an intramural ice hockey league a set of team shirts. The intramural directors in this situation often go to a clothing company to give the shirts to the program in exchange for placing the company’s logo on shirts, schedules, and other printed material associated with the ice hockey league.
>	Time: Time come in various forms. For example, a radio station may give free air time for an intramural program to promote its event, or a celebrity may be willing to donate time to make some official presentation at an intramural event.
>	Equipment: Some suppliers are willing to provide equipment, like squash or racquetball racquets to the program, if they are given the frights to be the exclusive suppliers for their type of product to the on-campus store.
The process of seeking corporate sponsorship can seem daunting at first. It does not have to be so, however. Here is a simple six-step process to get sponsors for an intramural program.
Step 1. Start with your mission. Review your intramural mission statement and identify which businesses match your overall program goals and vision. Starting with your mission will also help if you are approached by a corporation wanting to sponsor your program or a certain activity. If your program is about promoting physical health, which it likely will be, then accepting sponsorship from a local brewery will present a conflict of interest.
Step 2. Determine what you need. Set realistic, but optimistic, goals for what you need. Remember that sponsors are more likely to give something specific. For example, going to a supplier and asking for money for an intramural softball league is not likely to meet with success, even though that is what is needed. By looking for equipment or clothing sponsorships however, you are more likely to find sponsors for specific needs.
Step 3. Do your homework. Once you have identified corporations and businesses that match your mission and your needs for the intramural program, you must determine how to approach them. Most companies see sponsorship as an investment and, since they are in business to make money, they need a positive return. Ask participants where they eat out, shop, watch movies, and have their vehicles serviced. This information can be used as leverage when approaching potential sponsors.
In addition, you will have to find out what potential sponsors’ sponsorship policies are, when their fiscal year begins, and what their application guidelines and deadlines are. Local firms are often more flexible and can sponsor an event only a few weeks away, while larger and national firms will often need a year or more to incorporate the event or program into their budgets. If your institution has an alumni directory, try to find an alumnus insider and speak to him or her in person. Having someone on the inside is helpful, particularly if sponsorship spending falls in the “flexible” category. If you must go in “cold,” start with the marketing department.
Step 4. Submit a proposal. Most large and national corporations have formal requirements for sponsorship. These requirements usually start with a proposal. When submitting your proposal, keep it brief and to the point, but provide enough detail to explain your request. The following information should be provided to outline the potential partnership:
>	Goals of the intramural program
>	Total sponsorship goals
>	Exactly what you are asking for (equipment, money, time, and so on)
>	Potential benefits to the sponsor (see page 167)
>	Term of sponsorship (how long you want the sponsor’s support)
>	What the activity or event is
>	Activity or event length (how long the activity or event will last)
>	Activity or event budget
>	Who and how many will participate
>	Who will benefit from the activity or event
>	Community or student needs met by the activity or event
>	Other necessary background information (staff and their expertise, history of the activity or event, and so on)
>	A list of other sponsors
Step 5. Get it in writing. Documenting the terms of sponsorship ensures that both parties understand what they will “give” and what they will “‘get” from the arrangement. This may require some negotiation, but once an agreement is reached, a formal letter or contract outlining the sponsorship is necessary. This contract or letter should contain a statement of thanks.
Step 6. Service the sponsor. Once the agreements are signed and the program, activity, or event is underway, keep the sponsor informed and involved, as appropriate. Keeping sponsors “in the loop” makes them feel appreciated, which is critical if you want to retain their support in the future. Far too often, the hours and effort spent finding sponsors and selling them on the proposal are lost because of lack of communication.
If you are clear on the sponsor’s needs and requirements, make sure they are met. Every sponsor should receive a written final report that highlights their contributions and specifically describes the ways their sponsorship benefited the program, activity, or event. It is also a good idea to outline how the program, activity, or event benefited the sponsor. This report should include publicity (newspaper clippings), photographs (with corporate logos and signage clearly visible), and highlights of the activity. The report should conclude by encouraging the sponsor’s continued support.
Step 7. Thank and re-sign. As important as servicing sponsors is, thanking them is even more important. Thank them when they agree to provide sponsorship, thank them during the activity or event (if they are present), and thank them at the conclusion of the partnership. This does not only apply to large, national, and formal sponsorships. Even local firms or businesses should be thanked as often as possible. Say, for example, that a local pizza chain has given you free soda and pizza coupons as prizes. Thank the manager when she agrees, thank her again when you pick up the coupons, and when you hand out the coupons to the winners, ask them to thank the pizza place for helping the intramural program. An article in a school or local newspaper highlighting a company’s contribution can also be a nice “thank you.” Finally, you might consider offering your sponsors some perks for contributing to your program. For example, you could offer free passes to your fitness center, parking passes, or invitations to an intramural banquet. Be creative. The more creative the “thank you,” the more it is appreciated.
Likewise, the more frequent the “thank you,” the greater your chance of re-signing that sponsor for next year’s event or other intramural activities. The chance of re-signing is also given a boost by keeping your sponsors involved and updated throughout the program, activity, or event duration.
Advertising
As was explained in chapter 8, there are numerous advertising vehicles available. You can look at these same advertising vehicles whey trying to generate revenue for your program. Perhaps your department produces a newsletter, student calendars, or team and staff directories. By selling advertising space in these publications, you can turn each one into a moneymaking venture. Advertising can even be sold on team rosters and sign-up sheets.
Web sites can also be used to generate revenue, although not as much as was once thought. In the 1990s, many Internet companies were counting on making a lot of money by offering free services to clients and paying for their site through advertising. Many went bankrupt. One way Web sites generate revenue is through the sale of banner advertisements, those little squares and rectangles that offer free samples, low interest rates, and discounts for “clicking now” when you visit Web pages. Banners can also be offered as a “thank you” to sponsors who agree to partially or totally sponsor the program Web site. Some intramural departments so not make money on the banners but use it as another way to acknowledge a sponsor and, in so doing, increase the sponsor’s satisfaction with their sponsorship, especially if the banner provide some links back to their company. Another source of Web revenue is the sale of merchandise, such as intramural clothing and memorabilia. Clothing items such as intramural T-Shirts, sweatshirts, and shorts are some of the items most commonly sold on Web sites. Selling merchandise on the Web does require providing a secure Web site and the ability to do your transactions through a credit card company.
Expenses
Revenues are necessary because there are expenses. In the world of finance, there are two types of expenses: direct expenses and indirect expenses. In the intramural setting, direct expenses are those resulting directly from the program or activity, for example, an aerobics instructor who earns $12.50 an hour or facility rental for a special event or particular intramural program. Indirect expenses are those not directly related to the program or activity, such as office supplies and training. Although indirect expenses are somewhat vague in nature and, thus, difficult to measure, they are important to consider when budgeting. If numerous enough, indirect expenses can turn a balanced budget into a deficit budget.
The rest of this section explains the principal expense categories in intramurals—the program as well as specific activities—including staff, facilities, equipment, promotion, office supplies, travel, and insurance.
Staff
Staff are usually paid according to the level of their responsiblility. Full-time intramural directors and other full-time staff are paid the most. Part-time staff, inlcuding conveners, officials, and instructors are usually paid less. Even within part-time staff, major officials have greater responsibilities than minor officials and therefore are usually paid more.
Benefits
Benefits are usually limited to full-time employees and added on top of the wages paid. Benefits usually relate to health benefits and cover such items a hospital coverage, drug costs, dental expenses, sick pay, life insurance, and retirement/savings account contributions. Clearly, wages and benefits, need to reflect going rates for these positions if an institution wishes to maintain or attract high-quality candidates to fill the staffing needs of an intramural department.
With the high cost of staff, in some cases, it may be cheaper to hire someone outside the institution. For example, depending upon the pay scale in intramurals, it may be cheaper to hire off-campus officials. Even when the costs are the same the institution’s cost for training officials are reduced when hiring off-campus officials. Some institutions also hire an event manager at orientation. When such people bring in their own equipment, the costs are less than an intramural department paying its own staff and renting equipment.
Training
Regardless of whether intramural workers are on staff or hired as contract labor, training is a necessary staff expense. And, training is not free. The costs of training typically include paying the employees (often at a reduced rate) and trainers for their time, facility rental, travel, and supplies. Refreshments, if they are offered, are also expenses of training.
>	Employees. Salaried workers are paid their regular salaries, regardless of where they are at the moment. If they happen to be in a training session or at a staff retreat, they are still paid. The payment of part-time workers differs from institution to institution. Some pay regular wages for training time, while others figure that part-time workers will gladly donate their time in exchange for a great retreat, enlightening discussion or instruction, and delicious food.
>	Trainers. Good speakers will typically require an honorarium plus travel expenses.
>	Facility rental. Training ought to be special, something apart from the normal day-to-day operations, and distractions should be kept to a minimum. Thus, it’s a good idea to hold training sessions away from the office or usual work environment. If you have a large campus, perhaps another school facility can be used for training. If not, you will likely need to rent a facility.
>	Supplies. Training supplies can range from simple and inexpensive (like paper and pens) to elaborate and costly (like manuals, books, and clothing).
>	Refreshments. Food and drink can often make or break a training session, so try to make your training as good as possible without being too expensive. Refreshments are, of course, necessary for lengthy training sessions, but even if the session is just a quick half-hour meeting, offering snacks such as cookies or fruit can help to warm up staff to the intramural program.
Staff travel is also included in this expense category. Officials, office staff, team captains, and sometimes volunteers may need to visit other institutions from time to time, for example, to learn how they do things. Attending training sessions and conferences may also involve travel. If staff members are required to attend these sessions travel expenses should also be budgeted.
Facilities
When facilities are too small or are not set up to accommodate particular intramural activities, there is often little that can be done—short of not offering that particular activity. Indeed, inadequate facilities are a primary concern of most intramural directors. They long for a larger gymnasium and equipment room, dream of larger and more elaborate weight rooms, and if they are really aiming high, hope to someday offer on-campus hockey, bowling, paintball, and so on.
Of course, most intramural directors proceed the best they can and try to be creative with what they have (see “Facilities” in chapter 3, starting on page 24). This often includes renting other facilities such as local gyms, ice rinks, bowling alleys, paintball facilities, and so on. In addition to regular intramural programming, special events often involve facility rental.
The name of the game in facility rental is keeping the price down. Many local facilities may partially reduce their prices to support their schools and students, and encourage active and healthy living. You may also be able to get corporate sponsorship to deflect the facility-rental cost for a particular or several off-campus activities and events.
Additional facility costs that need to be kept in mind include maintenance and cleaning. Maintenance costs include such expenses as painting, repairing broken doors, and replacing lights. Cleaning expenses include all the cost related to paying staff to clean the building as well as cleaning supplies.
Equipment
Like existing facilities, available equipment may be inadequate for certain programming, activities, or events. In these cases, equipment purchase or rental will be an expense. When selecting equipment to purchase, it is not always appropriate to go for the cheap stuff to save money. Equipment must be appropriate to the activity and safe. Volleyballs, for example, are hit with the soft part of the forearm. Thus, buying cheap volleyballs, which are usually hard, is not a good idea.
One way to get the best price for equipment is to prepare a specific list of equipment requirements and get competing bids from suppliers, called tendering. Tendering is process of getting bids from various competing companies for supplying equipment or the execution of work. In the tendering process, be sure to reserve the right not to go with the lowest price. The lowest price is worth something, but so is delivery time and customer support. If a local supplier’s prices are close to the lowest bid, for example, its proximity to your institution may save you some time and may make it worth a few extra dollars.
Tendering is an opportunity to ensure both that you, the buyer, get value for your money and that all potential suppliers get an equal chance to enter bids. That means, you must compare the bids objectively to determine the best offer. The administration of the contract rests with the buyer, in this case you. The tendering process involves five steps.
Step 1. In order to receive tender submissions, you must first prepare tender documents. Preparation of tender documents includes:
>	Letter of invitation to tenders
>	Instructions to tenders
>	Conditions of contract: how much equipment is needed and when
>	Technical specifications: statement of comparison criteria, including price, service, guarantees, and so on
>	Term of tender: the length of the tendering process (usually three to eight weeks)
Step 2. Identify which suppliers you will approach (those most likely to be able to supply you with what you need) and send out tender documents.
Step 3. Obtain tender offers. This step typically lasts three to eight weeks, but you can solicit offers for any length of time—as long as you specify the term in your tender documents.
Step 4. Evaluate tender offers. Use the comparison criteria stated in your tender documents, but remember that service is often as important as price.
Step 5. Award the contract to the best supplier.
Of course, purchasing equipment is not the only option. If the budget is tight, in addition to considering equipment rental, be creative in obtaining equipment. In intramural programs, not all equipment has to be traditional sport equipment. Unusual or quirky balls, discs, bats, sticks, and other objects can add considerable fun to the program and be inexpensive. For example, the bladder of an old basketball, volleyball, or soccer ball, which would normally be thrown out, is a free piece of equipment. Ball bladders move erratically, providing an entertaining and equalizing experience for all.
Equipment Control
Equipment distribution and control can be a nightmare for intramural directors in grade schools and high schools. Lost or damaged equipment adds up to a huge expense every year. Many of these schools encourage students to bring in their own equipment for recess play. Having students bring their own equipment reduces expense and supervision of equipment on the part of the school. However, it would be difficult to plan a league or other event relying solely on equipment that students bring.
Other schools assign equipment to every home room (usually a recess bag with Frisbees, skipping ropes, and play balls). The downside to this approach is that there is a lot of equipment “floating around” in the school that is not available for physical education classes. The upside to this approach is that the responsibility of caring for and monitoring the equipment lies with the home room teacher. The homeroom teacher is assigned the responsibility for ensuring the equipment is returned and properly cared for. He may delegate some of this responsibilty to the students by having an equipment monitor with a checklist sign out the equipment and ensure its return at the beginning and end of recess for lunch breaks.
Other schools store equipment in lockers at or near the intramural office, in the equipment room, or in the gym. These schools appoint or hire an equipment monitor to sign out (write down each borrower’s name) or lend out equipment in exchange for collateral (a valuable such as an ID card, wallet, or watch). The idea behind exchanging equipment for a valuable is that students will be more likely to return their piece of equipment. If students do not mind being without their collateral for a couple of days, however, the equipment you planned to use for a class or activity may not available. And if the equipment is more valuable than students’ collateral, you may never see it again. Another disadvantage to the sign-out approach is that if an anonymous valuable such as a watch or ring is offered as collateral, there is no way of tracking the student down.
Colleges and universities usually have the benefit of paid staff at a gymnasium equipment desk. At these facilities, equipment loss is less of a problem if the equipment is carefully monitored. Many of these institutions have computerized methods for equipment inventory and control. Students use their student ID swipe cards to sign out equipment. Then students are charged for equipment that is lost, damaged, or returned late.
Whatever your sign-out procedure, remember that kids will be kids. In the case of lost equipment especially, students will be quick to say they gave the ball to “so and so” to turn in. Unfortunately, “so and so” usually thought someone else was going to bring it in, and the ball was left outside and is now gone.
It may be best simply to rent or sell intramural equipment. These fees should be low enough not to deter students from participating but high enough to cover your cost. Ping-Pong balls, for example, break easily and are relatively inexpensive, so sell them at cost. Your decision to rent or sell equipment, of course, should depend on the age and economic status of your students. Young children in grade school will not have access to money for equipment unless their parents give it to them. In these cases, some schools have student government pay for equipment used in recreational intramural programs or allot a certain portion of student and program fees to equipment costs.
Finally, an efficient equipment inventory and storage system should be developed to keep your costs low. First, keep equipment visible so that staff can quickly detect loss. Having the equipment on the same shelves all the time or using see-through ball bags or fixed size ball bags will help with this process. Second, get an idea of how long certain equipment lasts by labeling everything. By putting the date of purchase directly on a ball (e.g., “902” would signify September 2002), for example, when the ball finally tears or bursts, you will know how old it is. This information is extremely helpful when budgeting equipment costs for the year. Third, repair equipment whenever possible to keep your costs down. Buying a repair kit and supplies to mend balls, racquets, nets, and other equipment saves money in the long run. Plus, repairing salvageable equipment as soon as it is broken increases the amount of equipment available and keeps the equipment and program looking crisp and professional. Fourth, be sure to take regular inventory. Count the number of balls, bats, and so on every week. Fifth, save your best equipment for important activities and games. Students will want to use the game balls all the time, so it is a good idea to store them in a secure place where they can be reserved for special games.
Promotion and Awards
Promotions and awards, including prizes and ceremonies, all cost money—unless, of course, a sponsor pays for or provides them (see “Sponsorship” on page 167). When it comes to posters, fliers, and other promotional materials, the primary expenses usually include design, materials, and printing. Again, having students from the graphic arts, design, advertising, and art departments create your promotional materials will save a lot of money, and will given these students valuable experience and portfolio samples. To save money on materials and printing, ask local printers to help out by providing paper and/or their printing services for free or at a reduced cost. (Then thank them by listing them as sponsors or acknowledging their support/donation on the promotional pieces themselves.) Do the same for other types of promotion, including Web sites, calendars, merchandise, and so on. (See chapter 8 for a complete discussion of promotion, including advertising and some low-cost promotion options.)
Awards ceremonies have several categories of expenses, including organizers’ salaries, facility rental, speakers, supplies, and refreshments. These are discussed in the “Training” section earlier in this chapter. Two additional expenses of awards ceremonies are decorations and entertainment. Like prizes and promotional materials, corporate and other sponsorship can go a long way in reducing these costs. Perhaps a local party-supply company will be willing to donate some balloons, crepe paper, and table decorations. Perhaps a local television station wants to support local schools and would be willing to put together a “season’s highlights” videotape for free or a nominal cost. Audiovisual faculty and students may also be able to help in this regard. If donations and sponsorship are not enough to cover the costs, you might consider charging an entrance fee. Because participants enjoy award banquets and season-end ceremonies, they will usually not mind paying an entrance fee to help defray some of the costs.
Office Supplies
Although a few pens, ink cartridges, paper, paperclips, and poster board are not all that expensive in themselves, they quickly add up and need to be accounted for. Like equipment, some of the higher-priced supplies (e.g., poster board, ink cartridges, and reams of paper) may have a habit of disappearing from the office. To keep office-supply expenses to a minimum, you may want to monitor ordering and inventory by designating someone to keep track. That person can be in charge of the office supplies, replacing staff’s supplies when they run out and ordering from a local supplier. A less-formal tendering process can be used to get the best pricing. In this case, it could simply entail calling a few suppliers to get the best pricing.
While not considered office supplies by most accountants, office furniture, copy machines, and computers may also need to be replaced or repaired from time to time. The cost of these items and services is usually high and is budgeted differently at different institutions. At large and public institutions, service is usually contracted ahead of time, when the equipment is purchased, and the money comes out of the school’s operating budget. Sometimes, however, these expenses are included in the program’s operating budget, intramural directors would be wise to plan for such expenditures ahead of time. At small or private institutions, you may be on your own. It will be up to you to determine whether to buy a service contract or take a chance and pay for repairs as they are needed. The costs of repair and service typically include labor and materials, although some firms charge for travel time.
Travel
Although some high school and university students can arrange their own transportation to off-campus events and facilities, that is not the case for grade school and younger high school students. For lower-level grades, buses or vans (depending on the number of students participating) will need to be provided if the facility is not easily accessible from the school. The cost of such transportation usually includes vehicle rental and driver compensation, although some transportation companies provide the driver with the vehicle rental. A low-cost alternative to paid travel expense is carpooling. If this is not an option, however, you might be able to recoup transportation costs by charging an enrollment fee. To ensure fair play and satisfy your mission of fun and active movement for all, these fees should be set low enough so as not to deter participation.
Insurance and Risk Management
The school’s operating budget typically covers insurance costs, so the intramural program does not usually have to budget for this. For special events, however, additional insurance may be necessary. For example, a rock-climbing outing, an overnight cycling trip, or an outdoor camp in the middle of winter involves higher risks for injury than typical intramural programs. Before entertaining these events, it is wise to discuss with the institution’s insurance company the plans for the event and the adequacy of insurance coverage for those events. Certain fund-raising events may also require liability insurance. For example, any event that is a little bit out of the ordinary and involves some risk, such as a hay ride on a wagon behind a tractor, the use of large air-filled inflatables that students can climb and jump on, or bringing in amusement rides.
Whether in a special event, fund-raiser, or regular intramural programming, protecting the safety of all participants is important. Formulating and enforcing policies on fair play and safety (see chapters 6 and 7) will help in this regard. Likewise, safety audits should be conducted regularly (see chapter 7). Most importantly, these safety practices will ensure and safe and enjoyable experience for all participants. On the budget side, these safety practices may help to reduce the insurance costs to an institution. In addition, loss-control procedures are usually suggested by most insurance companies. When the insured implements these procedures, a better insurance rate or discount is offered.
Cost Savings
As introduced throughout this section, being frugal and creative can do a lot to keep expenses down. Charging enrollment fees and for equipment are two good ideas. If the event or activity is an exciting one, participants are usually willing to pay a fair price to take part. Shopping for the lowest price is also a good idea, but scrimping on expense should never threaten the safety of participants. When safety is at risk, cost savings are not worth it. There are other ways to save money, too. These involve on-campus and off-campus partnership.
On-Campus Partnership
As mentioned earlier in this chapter and in chapter 8, partnership with such departments as graphic arts, design, art, marketing, and advertising can be a win-win situation. The intramural program benefits by getting talented practitioners and fresh ideas. Design, advertising, and other students benefit by getting much-needed experience in and practice at their craft. Department faculty may also be a valuable resource, as they are experts in their fields and will likely offer assistance and advice.
Although not yet mentioned in this chapter, athletes and intramural participants do occasionally require the services of a doctor, physiotherapist, and/or masseuse. If your facility has the space and budget to provide these services, great. If not, mutually beneficial arrangements can often be made. For example, you could allow a physiotherapist to use an office or other recreational space in exchange for free services and use of the weight room for clients. If this arrangement is not suitable, you could offer a reduced facility-rental fee in exchange for discounted prices for students.
Off-Campus Partnership
In exchange for facility-rental fees, it may be possible to offer the members of these facilities access to and use of intramural facilities and equipment. For example, clients and members could use some of the school’s fitness-testing equipment. There is no direct cost of this arrangement for the school, other than additional wear and tear on the equipment. Likewise, this access could be offered in exchange for reduced student rates. In this case, the students directly benefit from the arrangement because they have greater access to facilities that help them stay active and fit.
Some institutions have benefited by partnering with a municipality and jointly financing a separate facility. Neither a small town nor a small college in that town may individually have the money to build a swimming pool or ice arena, for example. If they pool their resources and share the costs, however, these facilities become a reality.
Tracking a Budget
Understanding the categories and fine details of intramural budgeting, then, how do you go about the process of developing and tracking a budget? The easiest way is with spreadsheets. Computerized spreadsheets, in particular, are powerful tools to efficiently prepare a budget and keep track of it. Using a spreadsheet and the revenue and expense categories presented in this chapter, an intramural director can easily project income and expenses for each event and activity (and, thus, the entire program) throughout the year.
From there the budgeting process simply needs to be monitored, or tracked. Actual revenue and expenses should be compared against projected revenue and expenses throughout the season or year, and after each event. At large institutions, budgets are tracked at least twice a month and usually weekly. At small institutions, seasonal and event budgets are usually scrutinized at their completion. If the numbers are far off projections, evaluation and assessment is needed. This involves identifying the discrepancies, determining what is contributing to these discrepancies, and making necessary adjustments. Periodic evaluation is far better than finding out at the end of the year that the intramural program significantly overspent and is nowhere near a balanced budget.
There are two levels to intramural budgets. The first level is the overall program budget, which keeps track of major categories of income and expenses. The second level is the more detailed listing of income and expenses for each event or activity. The second level is the more detailed lists of everything from the number of registration fees paid to the number of balls purchased. The cumulative income and expense items are then brought forward to the overall program budget.
Spreadsheets
Financial spreadsheets are simply grids, containing columns and rows that separate distinct categories of revenue and expenses. They can be generated by hand or on the computer. Given that budgets are likely to change thanks to last-minute additions and changes, of course, computerized spreadsheets are the most efficient. The most popular spreadsheet programs are Excel and Quattro Pro. This section provides a general description of computerized spreadsheets, followed by a brief but specific example of tracking two activity budgets.
Let’s start with spreadsheet navigation. On computerized spreadsheets, columns are vertical and identified by letter (A, B, . . . Y, Z, AA, AB, . . . AY, AZ, BA, BB, and so on), moving from left to right. Rows are horizontal and identified by a number (1, 2, 3, 4 and so on), moving from top to bottom. The point or area where columns and rows meet, called a “cell,” is labeled by column and row. The first cell in column A, row 1, for example, is cell A1. The cell immediately to the right of A1, in the same row but in column B, is B1. The cell immediately below cell A1, in the same column but in row 2, is A2.
Now a brief description of what computerized spreadsheets can do. First, because they are on computer, spreadsheets can be changed easily. Rather than having to re-create the entire budget because an expense category was forgotten, for example, intramural directors can simply add a row or column to the existing spreadsheet. Second, numbers are added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided almost instantaneously as long as the correct formulas are used.
Let’s look at an example. Suppose you were planning an awards ceremony and were preparing a budget for it. As outlined in chapter 9, ceremonies have many components: entertainment, decorations, refreshments, awards, prizes, and staffing. For argument’s sake, let’s say you come up with 20 expense categories. Using a spreadsheet, you would type “Expenses” in cell A1 (to designate that part of the budget) and “Ceremony” in cell A2 (to label the expense category). Then, in cell B3, you would type “Decorations.” (Locating subcategories in the next column helps to make each visually distinct.) Then, starting in cell C4, you would list your decoration expenses: “Candles” in C4, “Candle holders” in C5, “Balloons” in C6, and so on. For your next “Ceremony” expense, you would type “Entertainment” in cell B10 (if you had six decoration expenses). Then, starting in cell C11, you would list your “Entertainment” expenses, perhaps a speaker or emcee, music, and so on. You would list the remaining 18 expense categories the same way.
Now for the fun part: inserting the numbers. First, you would want to label the number columns by adding headings. For example, in cell D1 you would type “Units,” in cell E1 you would type “Cost” or “$,”in cell F1 “Subtotal,” and in cell G1 “Total.” Then, in cell D4 (to the right of “Candles”) you would enter “30” (the number of candles), in cell E4 you would enter “0.75” (the cost per candle, if you’re using votive candles), and in cell F4 you would type the formula “(D4*E4).” This formula tells the computer to multiply the number in cell D4 by the number in E4 and provide the answer, $22.50, in cell F4. You would do the same for each item listed under each category on the spreadsheet. On the last row of expenses (let’s say row 120), you would enter the formula “@SUM(F4..F120)” in cell G120 to tell the computer to add the subtotals in column F. This number, then, is your total cost of putting on the awards ceremony.
Back to what a computerized spreadsheet can do. If the total in cell G120 is too high, you will likely want to reduce your expenses. Perhaps you can do without the emcee, for example, or maybe you can get by without candles. In the latter case, you would simply go back to cell D4 (the number of candles) and enter “0.” The spreadsheet will automatically recalculate that subtotal and the expense total in cell G120. With a few simple keystrokes, you have just saved yourself all the work of having to recalculate all the numbers by hand.
Chapter Summary Exercises
Sound financial planning, creative fund-raising, and careful control of expenses can go a long way in making a lasting, effective intramural program. The following four exercises will help you review the material in this chapter and lead you through the process of budgeting.
	1.	You are planning a turkey trot just before Thanksgiving. Identify the types of prizes you want to award and then decide how you might get them through corporate sponsorship. Write out a proposal.
	2.	You are planning to hold a semester-long fitness challenge. You would like to develop inviting and challenging posters to encourage students and staff to get involved, and you would like to provide some prizes as incentives. Identify some potential sponsors for the event and write out a proposal for two of them.
	3.	Create a budget on a computer spreadsheet for one intramural program event. Be sure to include staff time, equipment, facility rental (if necessary), and so on. Forecast anticipated attendance and decide how much revenue you will need to run the event “in the black.” Be sure to use the correct formulas.
	4.	Your school needs to raise $2000 for a new piece of equipment. You’ve tried but cannot get the donation through corporate sponsorship. Plan a fund-raiser (including a budget) to raise the money.
References
Byl, J. 2000. Put your money on the edge. INPUT (March): 4-5.
Harkness, M. 1998. $10,000 jackpot. INPUT (December): 6. Used by permission of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association—Ontario.
Resources
To consider eight different spreadsheet programs, look at the following Web site: http://www.knowledgestorm.com