As you plan COTA fundraisers, remember that finalizing a budget is an important part of the process. To ensure an in-person or virtual event provides the greatest benefit possible to your COTA community campaign, you will want to give careful attention to expense and revenue projections. To assist you, COTA provides a Budget Worksheet, which is located in the For Volunteers section of COTA.org.
Remember:
If you will be requesting funds to pay expenses, a Budget Worksheet must be submitted to COTA at least four weeks prior to the event. If a Budget Worksheet for an event is not on file with COTA, expense payment requests will be denied.
Many items needed for a COTA fundraising event will be contributed as in-kind gifts to the community campaign. If you are uncertain about these contributions when you complete the budget, include them as an expense. When in-kind contributions are secured there will be even greater proceeds from the event. Visit the For Volunteers section of COTA.org for In-Kind Gift Guidelines.
All promotional materials, including flyers, brochures and social media posts, must be approved via CampaignInfo@cota.orgprior to printing or distribution. If the activity will have expenses, a Budget Worksheet must be approved by COTA prior to submitting any promotional materials for approval.
As approved expenses are incurred, COTA will work with the Community Coordinator to manage reimbursements, deposits and invoice payments to vendors. All requests for expense payments must be made in writing along with original vendor invoices or itemized receipts that have been reviewed by the community campaign for accuracy. Allow at least seven business days for processing of payment requests. If you have questions concerning the Budget Worksheet or your COTA fundraiser, please contact CampaignInfo@cota.org.
