What should you charge for your women’s ministry event? (Free Event Pricing Guide)

Last week we talked about whether or not you should charge for a women’s ministry event.

When that answer is an obvious “yes”, the next step is figuring out what you should charge for your women’s ministry event.

While it may be tempting to choose a nice round number, or just go with what’s typically been charged in the past for a similar event, doing so can throw a major wrench in our women’s ministry budget.

As good stewards we need to calculate the actual cost for the event and determine a price per person that doesn’t fall short or far exceed those expenses.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Luke 14:28 (ESV)

We’ve got two categories of expenses to calculate.

1. Fixed Expenses – will not change.
2. Variable expenses – will change based upon the number in attendance.

Fixed Expenses will include:

1. Audio/visual rentals – microphone, speakers, keyboard, screen
2. Decorations
3. Door Prizes
4. Event Signage
5. Miscellaneous (maybe $100 for unexpected expenses)
6. Publicity
7. Room rental fee
8. Scholarship Money
9. Security
10. Speaker Fee
11. Speaker Gift and/or Welcome Bag
12. Speaker’s Meals
13. Speaker’s Travel Expenses
14. Tech Crew –sound, lights, etc.

Variable Expenses will include:

1. Activities – crafts projects, tickets to a show
2. Childcare, if offered
3. Favors and/or Welcome Bags
4. Food- Meals and Snacks
5. Lodging Expenses for Attendees *
6. Name tags
7. Paper products
8. Processing fees for online registrations
9. Program materials
10. Rentals – tables, chairs, linens
11. Taxes and serving fees
12. T-shirts

* I included the lodging expenses for event attendees in the variable expenses because often teams will offer single, double, triple, and quad lodging options so women can choose a fee that fits best within their budgets and personal preference.

Think of it as a math equation.

Fixed Expenses minus women’s ministry line item divided by the number of expected attendees plus variable expenses calculated per person = Cost per person

I know this can be a bit overwhelming, so I’ve put this all together in a free set of worksheets you can download.

Click the link below to download the free PDF file.

Event Pricing Guide

Let’s say your fixed expenses are $2500. Your women’s ministry budget will cover $500.

Your team feels comfortable that at least 50 women will attend. 2000/50=40

You’ll need to charge $40 per person PLUS the variable expenses per person.

We have always tried to keep the cost of participation at a minimum for our women, but also understand that people are accustomed to paying for experiences outside of church. Don’t be afraid to charge a fee!

If your team determines the price per person is still too high, hope is not lost! There are ways to bring the cost down and I’ll be covering them in an upcoming post!

You may also want to read:
Should you charge for your women’s ministry event?
Is your event budget realistic?
What should you charge for your retreat?
Budgeting for an Event (Free Printable)
10 Ways to Stretch Your Budget