Opportunity (Financial) Introduction

Regardless if you’re the financial guru or simply have to wade through managing finances for an opportunity, ServiceReef makes it simple for you.  You have two major places in an event to manage various financial aspects, here on the Financial tab and also on the Application tab.  We will unpack the Financial tab here.

Fundraising for Participants

• Fundraising Required? - Here you note if the participants are required to raise funds for an opportunity.  If you select Yes then you’ll need to enter the full amount they are to raise for their event.  This amount does not include any application fees.  You also can select a date when these funds are due.  If you select No then you will have no other data fields to enter.  An example of an event where you don’t require fund raising might be to serve at a weekend soup kitchen opportunity.  
• Allow Donations? - Here you select if this opportunity will allow for other people to provide support/fundraising for participants or if the participant is required to pay for the event on their own.  Most missions trips will select Yes and allow for donors to help support a specific participant.  

Deposits & Milestones

• We often want to specific fundraising milestones along the way for our participants.  This helps them set goals and keep on track for where they should be by different points in time.  It also keeps a good accountability for your participants on fundraising.  
• Examples of milestones might be when the initial deposit is due, date for 50% of funds to be raised by, or date when airfare funds are due.
• NOTE: These milestones simply help as a means to guide the participant - the system does not relate actual milestones with fundraising to date as there are too many complications to how you might enter/build your milestones.  

Donations to Organization

• Many organizations will allow for general donations to the opportunity - above and beyond donations to each individual participant.  
• You can select if you will allow general donations and what that donation target amount might be.  
• This fundraising goal will be posted on your opportunity public page.  

Donation Deadline

Do you have a date where you will no longer accept donations for this opportunity?  This is where you would set that.  Here’s an example… you have an opportunity for a high school trip to Kenya and you want the opportunity for fundraising to stop two weeks prior to the event send off… this is where you set that.  

Why would you set a date for this?  Many organizations set dates for a donation deadline to require the trip participant to fulfill the remaining balance on their own in order to manage participants who may never pay their full amount.