In the spirit of the original BarCamps, as well as WordCamps, finances from the event are not hidden from view of the public. Transparency is an important part of the process. WordCamps are for the benefit of the community, and not structured to make money for the Foundation. Any positive funds from a WordCamp are reinvested for other WordCamps to benefit from. It is part of what makes this type of event special. A low barrier to entry for both attendees and someone looking to foster a community-based conference like WordCamp.
One of our largest expenses is our T-Shirts for the event. This was a decision we made because we wanted to give back a bit more to both the local economy and less fortunate. We teamed up with You and Who and their Who’s Hungry campaign. So not only does every person attending get a shirt, but for every shirt, a meal is given to someone at a local food bank or shelter of our choosing. For that reason, we spent a bit more on our “swag” this year. We think it was well worth it. Stickers are cool and all, but we thought this was cooler.
One thing I’d highly recommend to anyone looking to start a WordCamp locally is to find a venue that will help you and sees the value in the actual event. Local Universities or Libraries are typically great. Canisius College has been great to us, and really understands the value that such a open and accessible conference gives to the community.
Below is our 2013 Budget in all it’s ugly spreadsheet glory. You can see what we’ve envisioned most items to cost. Some of this is estimation, and some is based off of 2012’s event where we learned quite a bit to bring to this years event.
