General Guide
Community Center Budgeting
Since programs and services offered at most community centers are free to the public, organizations must find other sources of income to support their center. In addition, It is important to create a budget for the community center to show supporters the project is well organized. From our research, we learned that many organizations use QuickBooks to create their budget and manage finances. When trying to get funding to run a community center, the common options include the following below.
Grants
When the center is operational, organizations can apply for grants to help assist in funding. These grants can come from government organizations like the U.S. Endowment for the Humanities, as well as grants offered by educational institutions, or other non-profit organizations. You should apply to grants that fall under community engagement or disaster relief as those are in line with your project. Some resources on writing a grant proposal are listed below. For expanded information about budgeting, please see the Community Center Guide & Toolkit(Cubuy-Lomas) in our resources section.
• Creating Winning Grant Proposals: A Step-by-Step Guide by Anne L. Rothstein
• Proposals That Work: Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals by Lawrence F. Looke, Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, Stephen J. Silverman
• Getting Funded: The Complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals by Mary S. Hall, Susan Howlett
• https://learning.candid.org/resources/knowledge-base/grant-proposals-for-individual-projects/
• https://www.instrumentl.com/blog/successful-grant-proposal-examples
Fundraising
Another way to procure funding for a community center is to fundraise and gain donations from members of the community. These donations do not need to be monetary, they can be in the form of materials needed for renovations for the community center. You can also host fundraising events in the community to generate funds. Some ideas include: Game nights, movie screenings, outdoor concerts, karaoke, or quiz nights. For these events, you can charge for admission and/or concessions at the event.
Renting
When the center is operational, you can reserve some of the space of your building to rent out to small businesses. It is important that this system may not be possible for organizations who have a $1 renting contract with their municipality or state. To be able to rent out space in the community center, you must own the building outright. The small businesses would pay a monthly rent to use a room in the community center. Not only does this helps local businesses find a space to run their business, but it presents a unique opportunity for the business to fully immerse itself into the community.
Photo of GEO Watches at La Goyco's Community Fair