Money, Money, Money!

John blogs ...



D1100 GSE 6pp Brochure Cover - thanks Andy

 

An entry mainly for GSE Team Leaders and District GSE Chair. I'll do a more precise costing once the exchange is over, but this is worth a blog entry as it's on my mind!

It's probably a good idea to get budget and expenditures clear from the beginning so that everyone can be clear about costs associated with a GSE exchange. One is mindful, of course, that any budget available from District comes from members contributions to Foundation and needs to be used wisely with value-for-money at the forefront.

For this exchange District has allocated £900 for its budget. Thanks, District 1100.

Expenditure will include:

• Interview costs for Team Leader and Members (hire of room(s); refreshments; use of equipment - approx £150)
• Cost of meeting rooms if required (Whitminster Inn were very generous in not charging us for our meetings. Thanks)
• Contributions to Team Uniforms (Smart outfits essential for giving presentations to Clubs and at Conference) and for informal team tee/polo shirts - we agreed an allowance of up to £120 each member.
• Team name badges (Designed online a http://www.mybadgebuilder.co.uk/) cost £30. I am happy to bear the cost of these.
• Business cards - could be up to £75 for 5 sets of personalised business cards. We have opted for more useful Information Flier. We'll get 500 of these printed for use in Sri Lanka and also at home and at Conference. The printing costs are likely to be in excess of £200. Andrew's done a great deal for the design work at £75. Thanks, Andrew. (http://www.andrewhussey.co.uk/) I am happy to bear most of the cost of these.
• Medical checkup costs (between £20-£80 each depending on medical practice)
• Insurance costs (between £20-£30 depending on insurance company)
• Vaccinations (variable but could be in excess of £100)
• Malaria tablets (between £25 and £40 - see earlier blog)
• Travel costs between member's homes and the Airport.
• Gifts for host families (and from our DG to host DG?)

As a team, we understood from early on that there would be a personal financial commitment required from each of us to a greater or lesser degree. We've chosen to go a bit 'over-the-top' in some areas but know it will reap rewards for us in the end.

n.b. Not part of this GSE expenditure but nonetheless important to bear in mind are the costs associated with having the Team attend the District 1100 Conference in April.