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In Episode 3 we are going to look at the pathway to financial sustainability, to help you transition your events to be financially-viable and self-sustaining just like many other regional festivals throughout Australia and the world are.Having a clear and focused pathway to financial sustainability will support the success of your event. This pathway will dictate the strategy of your event and should form a large part of your decision-making.It does not matter how small your event is or if it is a community event – an event is a business and it needs to be treated that way. We would not run our businesses without sound financial management and budgeting, so we should not ignore this for our event.In this episode, Linda shares aboutThe four stages on the pathway to financial sustainabilitySetting the event budgetThe responsibilities of the TreasurerIncome and expensesUseful toolsHighlights:1:19 Your financial drive – your reason for raising funds1:56 Pathway to financial sustainability2:08 Four stages of the pathway:Stage 1: Seed-funding new eventsStage 2: Becoming financially viable in 2-5 yearsStage 3: Moving to self-sustainability – 5 years+Stage 4: Optional: commercialization3:02 What stage is your event in, and where would you like it to be?3:33 Setting your event budget – in an efficient and effective way3:57 Committee’s risk appetite4:52 The Finance Coordinator/Treasurer’s role5:13 Regular budget monitoring – tracking expenses5:46 Do you set your income or expenses first?7:06 Expenses: estimates, monitoring actuals7:40 Portfolio managers to manage their own budgets – and not overspend!8:49 Income: benchmark ratios, breakeven point10:10 Scenario planning: targets (e.g. ticket sales) for best case, worst case, break-even and other scenarios (e.g. big headline acts)11:26 Revenue streams to replace reliance on grants and sponsorship, including year-round revenue stream examples13:13 Ticketed vs free events13:44 Last minute and unplanned expenses15:02 In-kind sponsorship that reduces expenses15:49 Useful tools for financial management: Xero, Stall Manager, Local Tickets and similar, online banking, rEvents Academy templates