Budgeting for Next Year’s Election Needs

Around this time of year, you may be setting your 2018 budgets into place, so there’s no better time to prepare for a 2018 election – especially if you are looking to make changes to your process. In order to best plan for next year’s election and budget, it is vital to fully understand what you are preparing for.

First, determine the goals you hope to accomplish with the election. Are you attempting to engage more members in the voting process? Are you hoping to bring efficiency and time-savings to your staff that handles the voting projects? Or are you looking to save money on postage by pursuing online voting options?

Once you have these goals determined, the most important information for budgeting purposes is the method you will run your election. This can impact your budgeted costs because factors like postage, onsite staff and promotional efforts can add to expenses depending on how they are used. Third-party elections are often custom-built for your specific needs, so if you want to get an idea as to what things may cost, you’ll need to reach out for information. If you are able to communicate clearly what you are looking for and your expectations, the process of obtaining detailed estimates should speed up.

It will be helpful to look at previous year’s election costs as an idea of what to anticipate in the coming year. If you have been handling things internally and are looking to a move to a third-party vendor, be aware of all associated costs that might not immediately come to mind, like employee time. If you have already worked with a third-party vendor, then the primary changes in cost will likely only be from adjustments to how the election itself is run. If you’re happy with how things are run, expect costs to stay about the same. If you are looking for a big overhaul or a large increase in member participation, odds are that costs could change.

Looking to get some information on your 2018 election before this year is over? Feel free to contact us – we’d love to show you some strategies and voting methods that can work best for your membership!