A clear budget is an essential step in planning a successful event. When the finances are predictable, you can focus event day on the students, and a registration fee based in real costs keeps the event accessible to the teams in your community. This article covers the kinds of costs that come with hosting a local VEX Robotics Competition event, where the income comes from, and how to set a registration fee, whether your goal is to break even or to raise funds for your program. It is written for Event Partners planning a local event, and especially a first one.
Costs vary widely from region to region, so this article focuses on the categories and the method rather than specific amounts. Your Program Support Team can help you determine realistic numbers for your area.
Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.
Start with the Event Partner Budget Planner
The Event Partner Budget Planner is a spreadsheet built for to help new Event Partners. Make your own copy before you begin, then fill in your expected costs and income as you plan. The totals calculate automatically, and the template shows your projected profit or loss both as a whole and per team, which is vital in helping determine your registration fee. The categories below mirror the template, so you can work through them in order.
Where the Money Goes
Not every cost applies to every event. An Event Partner hosting in their own school may pay nothing for the venue, while an Event Partner renting a community facility may find the venue is the largest line in the budget. Walk through every category anyway, so costs do not come as a surprise.
- Venue and facility – This can include anything from rental or facility fees, custodial support, event insurance where required, floor protection, table and chair rental, any audiovisual or technology fees, and more. If you are renting a space, ask what the fee includes; custodial time and equipment are sometimes bundled and sometimes not.
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Game and event equipment – Competition fields, game elements, and field electronics if you are not borrowing them, plus trophies and awards, and banners or event signage.
- Ask your Program Support Team about Event Partner discounts before ordering.
- Fields and game elements are an investment that serves the whole season, so consider how many events you plan to host when weighing the cost.
- Office and event supplies – These costs include elements like printing and paper for check-in lists, inspection checklists, rubrics, signage, and coach packets, plus clipboards, pens, and judging supplies.
- Volunteer support – Plan to include food and drinks for your volunteers, and shirts or small thank-you gifts if your budget allows. Feeding your volunteers is rarely the place to cut. A well-fed volunteer team is a happy volunteer team, and it is one of the most visible ways to show appreciation for people giving you their time and energy.
- Concessions and others – If you plan to sell concessions, budget the upfront cost of the food and supplies you will sell. Add a small cushion for the costs you have not thought of yet; every event has some.
Where the Income Comes From
- Registration fees – This is the primary income for most local events. Registration payments are handled through events.vex.com. See the section below to help determine your fee.
- Sponsors, donations, and grants – Local businesses, community organizations, and grants can cover specific costs like trophies or volunteer meals. A sponsor named on the awards or the event signage is a natural trade.
- Concessions – Sales can meaningfully offset costs at an event with good spectator turnout, but they take volunteers and upfront spending, so treat projected concession income conservatively.
- Organization support – Some schools and organizations absorb costs like the venue, printing, or custodial time. If yours does, note in the budget which items were covered and by whom, so it is clear why those lines are low or zero. This can help you when planning future events.
Set Your Registration Fee
A workable fee comes from the budget, not the other way around. The method:
- Total your expected costs using the categories above.
- Divide by a conservative team count. Use a number you are confident you will reach, not your event capacity. Most of your costs stay the same whether your event is half full or completely full, so a fee that only works at full capacity is a risk. If more teams register than your conservative estimate, the extra registrations become your cushion.
- Check the result against your region. Look at what nearby events charge and what teams in your area are used to paying. A fee far above the local norm needs a reason teams can see, and a fee far below it may leave you covering costs out of pocket.
- Decide what the event is for. Breaking even is a perfectly good goal. Many Event Partners also run events as fundraisers for their own programs, and a modest margin per team is a normal and accepted way to support a program. Either way, make the choice deliberately and build it into the fee.
Keep the teams' full picture in mind as you set the fee. Registration for your event is one of several costs a team carries in a season, alongside their annual team registration and travel. A fee that respects team budgets helps to keep your event within reach of the community you are hosting it for.
For Event Partners in the United States: state sales tax may apply to event registration fees paid through events.vex.com, depending on the purchasing organization's state. See USA: Sales Tax on Team Registrations, Event Registrations, and Online Orders so the tax line on team invoices does not catch you or your teams by surprise.
Keep the Budget Alive
The budget is not finished when the event is posted. Set up a simple system for invoices and receipts before you spend anything, and record actual costs as they land. After the event, update the budget with real income and expenses. That closing pass tells you whether the fee was right, and it becomes the starting point for your next event's budget, which is easier to build than the first.
Talk It Through Before You Post
Before you post your event, walk through the budget and the registration fee with your Program Support Team. They know what typical events cost in your region and what teams there expect to pay, and a short conversation now is much better than a shortfall later.