How to ask my boss for a bigger budget?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I currently run a small performance group at a local seasonal event. The event organizers are always running on a shoestring budget; we are constantly impressed on the fact that there is very little money to go around, we don’t always operate in the black, etc.

My budget is just barely enough to cover my group’s expenses, and that only because I watch each dime carefully. My team is all volunteers, and they have occasionally reached into their own pockets to cover things that we need or that make our lives easier at the event (a better shade canopy for our group for “backstage”, etc.) Technically I’m an independent contractor supplying a performing group for the event.

Since I took over 3 seasons ago, I’ve worked hard to increase my group’s performance level and also their reputation. The previous director was frankly burnt out, and had been phoning it in for at least 5 years, and it showed – I believe that under my direction we have become much, much better performers, have a better work ethic, a greater group solidarity, and have in general started to really shine. I have made a point of making sure we follow all the guidelines that management hands down for our event, that we attend all the “mandatory” meetings that many groups skip, and that we are generally perceived as Not Troublemakers .

My people are all good at what they do, but if I’m going to be brutally honest they aren’t the best. The ones who are really good that I do attract tend to stay with me for a couple years, then go off to join a more prestigious group.

Here’s the thing. My husband runs one of those more prestigious groups. They are a more “elite” department, and one that is more immediately visible and recognizable to both customers and workers alike. He has about the same number of performers that I do – between 10-15 – and the nature of their shtick means that they have fewer expenses. They rarely attend the meetings and often push the line performancewise to where they have customer complaints .

And – their budget is more than twice ours. Husband has enough scratch to not only cover the group’s expenses and the small-luxury stuff that my people have to do without or pay for out of pocket, but he can also pay each of his performers a small amount, enough to cover lunches. (We do ours as a potluck.)

And that chaps my hide. I don’t debate the fact that they should be getting more money – they really are a damn good group, and there are some customers who attend the event specifically to see them. However, they’re not THAT much better. It’s a matter of respect, really – that and, I’m pretty sure that if we had a bigger budget and could afford some of the perks that he and some of the other groups can offer, I would be able to attract and retain the high quality talent that I currently have to struggle to keep.

So I would like to approach my boss about getting more money for the group, and I’m not sure how, or what tactic to take. Part of what works against me is that she took over the same year that I did, so she isn’t able to see the strides we have made compared to how it was under the previous director. I also am not sure how to bring up the comparative budget thing – she knows of course that we’re married, and that we would therefore know how much each other has to work with, but it’s still kind of awkward. I don’t want to tell her to cut his budget and give me some of it, I just want more myself, and I feel our group deserves it. (To add an extra complication, he’s rather upset at her for some property that got destroyed at the end of last year’s show, and plans to ask her to replace it, so if I set up too many comparisons of my group vs. his it could negatively impact his negotiations with her about that.)

At this point it’s too late to raise the budget for this year’s show, but I’m hoping to be able to make my case to her for a higher budget for next year.

Any ideas about how best to do this? I’m thinking about writing an email proposing the higher budget and laying my facts out that way – we’re both very busy when we’re at the show, so it’s easier and more convenient for both of us than an in-person meeting, and also allows her to review it and think about it over the course of the upcoming year. But I don’t know what to say or how to phrase it.

Help?

2

Question: where does the money come from? From ticket sales? Do you measure attendance at your performance? Is there an argument you could make that more budget would mean more ticket sales? Or could you make a deal that more budget to you and you would use your group to market the event?
Budgets I’ve done have always had a return on investment section. It is never a guarantee, it is never precise, it was sometimes pure fantasy, but it at least gives a justification for more money.

3

It’s a combination between ticket sales and fees charged to vendors at the event, I believe.

Oh jeeze, I just realized how long my OP was. Sorry!!!

4

How is budgeting done? Are you drawing a salary? Is the entire event for profit or nonprofit?

I think you will need to articulate what exactly you need, broken down by item, along with what you expect it to get in return. And you need to start keeping records- how long are performers staying? Why do they state they are leaving? What impact does turnover have on your reviews?

Remember that for the organizer is thinking as a whole. Keeping your group as a training ground for new talent might not be a bad deal from their perspective. And if your resources take from a more popular group without a corresponding increase in sales, it won’t fly.

5

You need to start with the benefit to your boss/organization. Think of your boss as a customer to whom you are trying to sell the absolutely fabulous idea of increasing your budget. What is the big selling point for your boss? Don’t approach it as “I need more money,” approach it as “you need me to have more money so you can…”

I would not make any comparison to any other group, including your husband’s, unless it was to point out some specific way in which an increased budget helped them to make more money or otherwise improve the organization. Don’t set it up as a competition unless you can show how taking money away from another group would benefit the organization as a whole.

6

Sounds like Ren Faire

from the sounds of it, this is not a primary form of employment for anyone. If its something they enjoy doing, its nice to break even at it. My selling lampwork beads at SCA events is a similar thing. I do an event, sell 30-50 beads at $1-2 each and I cover my gas and admission to the event plus my materials. Making for a very cheap hobby. If the “elite” group is drawing the crowds for long periods of time, they deserve to be higher paid for it. Think of it like movie stars, Tom Cruise demands a far higher salary than Tom Arnold. Does not mean Tom Cruise is a significantly better actor, or that Tom Arnold is a bad one, but put their name on a movie and alot more people will show up based on Cruise than Arnold. I would try to document how many people your group “engages” at the event for how long. You might also ask if the event staff might be willing to make a little survey card indicating ratings of the various performing groups 1-5 and would they want to see more from a given group. Perhaps hold a drawing for free tickets to next years event to participation in the survey (also gives the event organizers a targeted mailing list for upcoming events).