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Recap Event Financials

Goal: Close out a fundraising event with clean numbers — gross raised, expenses, net — and capture lessons for next year, instead of moving on without learning anything.

What "close out" means for an event​

Before the event is truly closed:

  • All registrations are reconciled (paid, cancelled, refunded as final)
  • All event-day gifts (paddle raise, silent auction, on-site donations) are recorded
  • All expenses are linked
  • The day-of card-present transactions reconcile against Finix settlement
  • Any pending ACH or check payments have settled

Until those six are true, your "net" number is still moving.

The financial picture​

The event detail surfaces:

  • Gross from ticket sales — total of all confirmed registrations
  • Gross from sponsorships — total of all sponsorship commitments tied to the event
  • Gross from event-day gifts — paddle raise, silent auction, additional gifts attributed to the event
  • Gross total — sum of the above
  • Expenses — venue, catering, AV, talent, materials (linked through journal entries)
  • Net raised — gross minus expenses

What to actually use this for​

The headline numbers go in:

  • The board report
  • The next year's budget conversation
  • The case for repeating (or not repeating) the event next year
  • Sponsor stewardship ("Your $10K helped us net $X for the build fund")

Common reconciliation issues​

  • Pending ACH — checks deposited late or ACH that hasn't settled. Wait for the bank close, then recheck.
  • Day-of card transactions in Pending — Finix settlement happens 1–2 business days later
  • Refunds in flight — registrations cancelled day-of with refunds processing; wait for the refund to complete before final close
  • Sponsorship pledges — when a sponsorship was committed but not yet paid, it counts toward gross commitments but not gross received. Decide which number you're reporting.

Sponsorships as gross vs. received​

A specific call-out: a $25,000 Title Sponsor who commits to pay over the next quarter is gross sponsor revenue committed but only counts toward received once payments arrive.

For internal management, track both. For external communication ("we raised $X at the gala"), use received unless you clearly label "raised plus committed."

Year-over-year comparison​

Compare this year to last:

  • Did gross go up or down? Why?
  • Did expense ratio improve or worsen?
  • New donor acquisition rate — are events bringing in fresh names?
  • Cost per attendee, cost per dollar raised
  • Trend in average ticket price (are people buying up the table tier or down?)

The event detail page links the same comparisons across all events in the same series.

Capture the learnings​

Use the event notes to document:

  • What worked unexpectedly well
  • What didn't work
  • What you'd do differently
  • Specific decisions for next year (drop golf, add silent auction, change venue)

This is the most valuable thing produced after the event — and the easiest thing to skip.

Closing the event​

When everything reconciles, mark the event closed. Closed events:

  • Stop accepting registrations
  • Are still queryable for reporting
  • Roll up into annual giving totals
  • Can be referenced for year-over-year analysis when you plan the next one