Costume-Cons are generally supported through memberships, advertsing and donations from other events. Additional income can come from fundraising (raffles are the most popular form), sponsorships (primarily in the Conference Hospitality Suite), and occasionally corporate donations or sponsorships.
Until recently, these were the only major sources of income for a Costume-Con. With Costume-Con 18, however, the Site Selection process changed. Committees can now count on a small amount of start-up funds from the fees collected for the privilege of voting during Site Selection.
These fees provide voters with a membership credit equal to the Site Selection fee (which is presently $10 US). This fee provides the new Costume-Con committee with seed funds to allow for covering some start-up costs. These costs may include: Flyers to promote the conference (once it's approved), postage for mailing flyers to other cons and miscellaneous office supplies like receipt pads.
See Membership for more information on determining
how to set your Membership Rates and what to include in each Membership.
As the conference planning rolls on, you will have to promote the Future Fashion Folio (and whatever other competitions you will be sponsoring).
As the conference date nears, you will need to publish and mail the Folio to all members who are registered as of your determined cut-off date. You will also need to remember to publish enough extra Folios to accommodate any members who join at the full publication rate, so that they can receive their copies of the Folio. This can be tricky, as you will have to make a "best guess" as to the final number of registrants for your Costume-Con.
Shortly before the date of your event, you will have to pay a deposit to your hotel for your meeting space. You may also need to pay for deposits on tech equipment required for the competitions, and for materials for other portions of the conference (like Exhibits).
You'll need to publish your Program Book in advance of the conference, and will also have to cover the cost of printing the Whole Costumers' Catalogue (WCC), should you choose to include it in your registration packet.
Regarding the Whole Costumers' Catalog, Bruce Mai writes:
There had only been one other Midwest costume conference before (and that had been 6 years prior). We anticipated a larger than normal number of first-time attendees who may not have been aware of the larger costuming community, the ICG, and the resources that are at one's disposal with a WCC. The first time we received one, at CC10, [we knew] that it was worth its weight in gold. Also, the Editor, Karen Dick, was very willing to cut a very good deal. We felt it was important to get this publication into the hands of as many new, current or would-be costumers as possible. It might inspire them to pursue the hobby with more interest. As it happened, a fully-revised issue was scheduled to come out in 1998, making this a more desirable edition, rather than a partially updated one. We ordered an initial 250 copies, with a later shipment of 50 closer to the con. We only had a few left over, and most of those have been sold at the time of this writing.
In general, approach all the expenses and income involved with a "worst case scenario", and an "optimistic scenario." Then you can begin to draw up a very general budget based on the least and most number of memberships you may think you'll sell.
Betsy Delaney (CCXV) writes:
Costume-Con Fifteen actually had our budget set up for three different total membership figures. We adjusted our expectations accordingly, as the conference date grew nearer. As we crossed a milestone (membership increase deadlines are good for this sort of thing), we were able to better predict how much money we would have to spend on our different areas, and could adjust upward or downward depending.
Remember that after the infusion of Site Selection fees, and your initial sale of memberships to Staff, memberships will trickle in over the three years before your event, punctuated with a few more at each deadline before you raise the price (which stimulates much needed revenue).
Bruce Mai (CC16) writes:
We operated on the worst case scenario (300 total memberships), which proved to be pretty accurate, and we did pretty well, financially. If you intend to offer some sort of complimentary memberships to certain special guests (or tech people), use them sparingly and make sure only the Con Chair(s) have final approval to make those offers. Then, be sure to factor those into your budget.
Don't forget to take into account expenses for tech equipment. You won't get an accurate cost estimate until you're maybe 9 months from your conference date. In the meantime, you can at least get some idea by adding 4% to a quote for each year in the future your con is. Each market is different, but contact previous CC tech staff about what their costs were and compare them to vendors in your area, or get in touch with the local tech crew for your nearest regional convention.
A thorough example of a Working Budget
for CCXV is available online. Much of what CCXV included in the
budget was specific to that particular Costume-Con, and the budget itself
is more formal than most C-Cs have had in the past, but it does give
an accurate account of what was spent, what was expected, and what actually
came in when.
Policies ("Code of Conduct")
Weapons
Smoking
Parties
Personal Conduct
Meetings
Agendas
Scheduling
Minutes
Timeline
Bruce Mai (CC16) writes:
Once our bid for CC16 was accepted, Nora gave each department head an assignment. They were to create a schedule, counting down the three years until the conference. Their schedules described when they anticipated they would have to begin some preparatory task, and when it would be completed. This allowed us, the Con Chairs, to have a general idea of their progress. If someone was not allowing themselves enough time, we could consult with them. Also, it served as a personal reminder to each department head. These timelines, based on a Bridal Planner, showed what they would be doing 2 years before CC16 (Promotions -- distributing flyers), 18 months out (FFF - Call for submissions), 2 months out -- (Program Book Editor -- begin final layout of Program Book), 2 days out (Exhibits -- transport exhibits to hotel), and so on.
