Setting up GnuCash for various Fund Raising Events

[Bret Busby]

On Wed, 30 Jul 2008, Mike or Penny Novack wrote:

> Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:59:38 -0400
> From: Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>
> To: ahabbo at yahoo.com
> Cc: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Setting up GnuCash for various Fund Raising Events
> 
> Those aren't GnuCash questions. But I am willing to help Amir off line
> if that is agreeable with him.
>
> Amir, I am not an accountant but I am the treasurer for two 501(c) 3's
> (well for one independent 501(c)3 and then the treasurer of a local
> subdivision of another). Your questions really are about structuring a
> set of books for the purpose indicated, whether those books were on
> traditional paper or via a modern accounting system like GnuCash. If
> it's agreeable with you, I am willing to work with you off line (you
> have my email address). I can't give you PROFESSIONAL advice but can
> describe for you how I would set up books for your situation were it
> mine to do.
>
> Others out there -- please don't ask me to do this for personal books or
> a profit making business.
>
> Michael
>
>
> Amir Habboosh wrote:
>
>> I am a novice to accounting and to accounting programs.  I have recently taken on the role of treasurer for a fund raising committee within my children's school.  This committee is responsible for organizing and running many fund-raising events throughout the year.
>>
>>
>
>

I think that it is pertinent to the use of GNUCash.

I am a member of a number of non-profit organisations, and my missus is 
the Treasurer for some of them.

It is (to me) setting up a set of accounts within a set of acounts, in a 
way, and I think that it can be done by setting up sub-categories within 
the Income categories.

The objects are Fund Raising Activities, so, all going well, they should 
be "Sources Of Income".

So, I would tend to create an account under Income, for each Fund 
Raising Activity.

For example, let us say that the original poster's organisation has a 
Flea Market.

> 
> For example, a flee market may need $200 up-front cash to start, which will be given to the organizer from the checking account.  Then, there may be
> additional expenses, preparing and conducting the event, that would be reimbursed from the checking account, to several individuals organizing the event.
> There will also be income from the event, through the sale of items.  All proceeds will eventually go to the checking account.  Many of these events get
> donations (in goods and cash) from parents, which are sold.  It would be nice to track these also, so that we can have better predictability, year-to-year,
> of the "quality" of each event.
> 
>

The Account or Income Category of Flea Market 01 is created. The float 
of $200 is transferred to it from the source Account (eg Cheque Account 
01 or Cash In Hand) of the organisation. Expenses could be implemented 
by debiting the Flea Market 01 Account, and details recorded (as 
applicable). And so on.

At the end of the event, when all of the accounts for the event are 
finalised, a report for the account, from the start of the event to the 
end of the event can be created, showing the net revenue from the event, 
and the sources of income and the "sinks" (?) of expenditure.

There will be people on this list who are more experienced than me, and 
who can be more helpful and more detailed than me, in how to do this 
with GNUCash, but, I believe that the query is pertinent to GNUCash, 
and, goes to the operation of the GNUCash accounts keeping system.

And, I think that the solution(s) would likely be of use to other 
subscribers to the list, who are involved in the bookkeeping for 
non-profit organisations that run, not just fund raising events, but 
other particular events, to show the cost/income of such events, for 
example, a sports club that hosts a tournament, or different 
tournaments, during a year, to that the sports club can say "we obtained 
this income, or, incurred this cost, for running this tournament.

So, I think that the query is applicable specifically to GNUCash and how 
it is used, and discussion of the query and its solution(s) would be 
useful to other users of GNUCash, and so should be kept on the list.

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992

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