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Money Things
There are 2 ways to fund a workshop:
- Donors can pay vendors directly; OR
- Donors can pay RailsBridge, and organizers can use that money to pay vendors.
Most of the information here is for the latter situation, but the Finance Team should be notified either way.
The Finance Team is comprised of Melissa Xie, Alyson La, and Rachel Myers, and they can be reached at finance@railsbridge.org.
If there's never been a workshop in your area, or if it's been a long time, email finance@railsbridge.org early in the workshop planning. The Finance Team can help you put your budget together and form a fundraising plan.
When you write to us, include the following:
- an estimate of the size of the workshop
- potential resources for funding the workshop
If you have concerns about being able to fund the workshop, reach out; sometimes we can help!
The main expense is catering, but you'll also need a few supplies (pens, name tags).
Here are some figures from a previous workshop to give you an idea of how much to budget. This menu totals about $1,000 to $1,200 in San Francisco (all currency in USD).
- $200 for Installfest pizza & drinks.
- $150 for coffee + bagels for workshop morning.
- $500-700 for Saturday lunch from a catering service/restaurant.
- $300 for workshop after-party.
- Name tags and pens are about $30.
- The Installfest instructions tell students to get a sticker from a volunteer when their install has been checked. Any kind of sticker is fine.
- It's helpful to find a space that has the necessary tables and chairs so that you don't have to rent them.
RailsBridge is a project of Bridge Foundry, which is part of School Factory, a 501(c)(3) organization. This means that we can accept tax-deductible donations. They help us manage the finances for all chapters, as well as other Bridge organizations.
Information about how to request invoices, pay for expenses, and more can be found in their documentation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please do NOT contact the Bridge Foundry team directly unless you've spoken with the RailsBridge Finance Team and they've given you the introduction previously.