Budget and Funding
Example Budget
Below is an example of a budget to help your planning. This is only a simple guideline, e.g. you might not have to book a venue for an outdoors assembly, translation, or other resources.
| Category | Unit Price | Notes |
| Venue Hire | £300 | Book your venue for at least four hours to allow for set up, the process, socialising and clearing up. |
| Food | £200 | Invest in anything else that will make your event more appealing and fun. |
| Outreach Materials | £100 | Leaflets and posters are essential. There are templates for leaflets on the Rebel Toolkit, or find inspiration for other outreach methods. |
| Flip Charts, Stationery | £25 | Taking notes during the Assembly that can be seen and read by everyone is essential to highlight the outcomes of the discussion. Markers, biros, post-it notes, egg timers all help to have ready. |
| BSL Interpretation / Language Translation | £160 | You may want to create a registration page for your Assembly, where people can flag their accessibility needs. There’s no point in paying for an interpreter if no one will need them, but radical inclusivity is a pillar of assembly success in being representative. |
| Hearing Loops | £80 | Consider creating a registration page for your Assembly, where people can flag accessibility needs. There’s no point in paying for a hearing loop if no one will need this. |
| Creche Provision | £250 | Your volunteers may be able to provide this, without paying for professionals. However, you should consider safeguarding protections. Arts materials for kids, while their parents participate in the Assembly |
| Arts / Entertainment | £350 | Supporting local arts projects brings a different dimension to deliberation and makes people feel part of something fun. |
Potential Sources of Funds
There are now a number of players in the deliberative democracy space, some of which are either planning to access funding, or can help your organising group to raise funds or match fund. Check out:
- People Powered Democracy Project Funding, as they "Provide spaces and support for joint fundraising. Coordinate paid technical assistance services."
- ISWE Foundation
- Your local council for voluntary organisations (check name for your location, e.g. WCVO, GAVO, WCVA)
- Your group can also fundraise and collaborate alongside other organisations to cover the costs.
We recommend that local groups wanting to raise funds check out the Rebel Toolkit's general fundraising guidance.
What did we miss?
If you come across a funder of community assemblies, please tell us about your successes in what you asked for, from whom and how. Share a link if you can via our Telegram Chat.