Fundraising Event Financial Report Revenue Received: Fill & Download for Free

I wrote a lengthy response to this question a while ago for Ticketing Today. Check it out here. I’ll copy and paste below as well.A box office’s most useful tool is its ticketing software, which can be used for financial reporting, accepting donations and as a way to communicate with patrons. Different types of software offer a wealth of features that can run many of a venue’s functions. There is no best one-size-fits-all solution, so first and foremost, it is important to ascertain exactly what your venue’s needs are. The following are some of the most common and important criteria and the key questions to ask during the evaluation process.Cost to the VenuePricing is typically contingent on ticketing sales volume, and venues can either opt to pass fees on to customers or absorb them. Ticketing software prices are often negotiable, especially for high-volume customers, and they depend on the point of sale.The most common fee structure is a per-ticket fee, which is lowest at the box office and highest for phone and Internet sales. There are still a few vendors that offer flat pricing for their software, though this has been hard to find in recent years. With flat pricing, you have the advantage of knowing what you’ll pay on a yearly basis. However, customers are often required to pay for upgrades, which means cash-strapped box offices usually skip them and use outdated software for longer than is ideal.Per-ticket pricing can get expensive during years of high sales volume, but often that means the venue has the revenue to compensate for that. Another advantage of per-ticket fees is that software upgrades are typically included at no extra charge. Many newer vendors offer the lowest pricing, but you should be careful that these vendors can support all your needs and are stable enough to rely on for record keeping each year. Ask vendors what is included in the pricing (upgrades, training, hardware, ticket stock, etc.) so you have an understanding of what exactly you are paying for.Point of SaleSince many newer ticketing start-ups only support online sales, be sure to select a vendor that supports box office sales as well as online ticketing. If you opt for a box office and website point of sale, be sure they work in tandem so you don’t double-book seats. Watch a demonstration of both box office and website point of sale and check to see whether the online point of sale integrates with your existing website for white-label solutions. For branded solutions, customers may have to go to a different website to make a purchase.General Admission or Reserved SeatingAlmost all vendors support general admission, but only a segment of larger and more established companies support reserved seating. Patrons who expect specific, assigned seating often prefer to pick their own seats rather than receiving the “best available” seats based on an algorithm. These algorithms tend to simply choose the next available seats in that quantity in that row, rather than allowing the patron to choose specific seating according to preference. If available, a pick-your-own-seat tool may help reduce overhead by eliminating calls and visits to the box office. Ask vendors whether their software supports reserved seating and allows customers to pick their own seats.Financial ReportingFinancial reports are key functions because they keep track of revenue, tickets sold, discounts offered, taxes collected, and reconcile cash and credit card statements. These reports should gather information that is both accurate and useful. While some vendors allow you to create your own reports using any combination of all collected data, others offer only canned reports. You don’t want to select a vendor that is going to make more work for the accounting and box office managers. Your software should make reconciling numbers easier so your staff can spend less time doing it manually. Review a sample report and compare it to your accounting procedures already in place.Customer RelationsMany venues develop a special relationship with patrons who buy tickets every season. For venues that subsist on repeat business, keeping track of customer information can be very important. Customers don’t want to have to provide their address or special needs (such as accessible seating) every time they call, so make sure your vendor has a way to collect such information about your patrons. Find out what information can be tracked in its database — such as donation history, address, ticket purchase history — and whether information from your existing system can be imported. This is especially important for season-ticket holders, so they are guaranteed their preferred seats for each event.You should also find out whether fundraising and email marketing features are integrated with customer records. Fundraising tools should allow you to collect and acknowledge both online and offline donations. Email marketing is most useful when you can email segments of your list, to let patrons know about a new show similar to one they have attended in the past, for example.Customer ReferencesBefore you make your final decision, ask the vendor for references from existing customers. They will be able to tell you about any hurdles they may have encountered and how they were resolved. Be sure to ask about the training, support and feature selection. Double-check that you can make changes to events or seating maps yourself without going through the vendor, and find out whether extra features such as gift certificates, merchandise sales and coupons are supported.Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, it should cover the most important criteria of selecting a new ticketing provider. Ensure your success by spending as much time as you can with the software demo and asking a lot of questions before you sign the contract.

IRS Form 990 requires the following information.Name, address, employer identification number, telephone number, principal officer, web site, form of organization, year of formation, state of legal domicile, fiscal year, and Internal Revenue Code establishing organization’s tax-exempt statusOrganizational missionProgram service accomplishmentsOther IRS filings and complianceGoverning body and managementOrganizational policiesCompensation of officers, directors, trustees, key employees, highest compensated employees, and independent contractorsStatement of revenueStatement of functional expensesBalance sheetReconciliation of net assetsMany 501(c)(3) organizations and 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts generally also complete Schedule A, which requires the following information.Reason for public charity statusSchedule of public support and total supportOther financial information (509(a) supporting organizations only)Many 501(c) organizations, 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts, and 527 political organizations generally also complete Schedule B, which requires the following information.Name, address, and total contributions from donors who contributed more than the greater of $5,000 or 2% of the organization’s total contributions, gifts, grants, and other similar amounts (for a 501(c)(7), 501(c)(8), or 501(c)(10) organization, $1,000 or more for exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or prevention of cruelty or animals)Noncash property donations to the organizationCertain 501(c) organizations and 527 organizations generally also complete Schedule C, which requires the following information.Description of political campaign activities.Current and historic expenditures for direct lobbying and grassroots lobbyingDues information (501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) organizations)Certain organizations generally also complete Schedule D, which requires the following information.Value of donor-advised fundsConservation easementsCollections of art, historical treasures, and other similar assetsEscrow and Custodial ArrangementsCurrent and historical financials for endowment fundsLand, buildings, equipment, leasehold improvements, and other fixed assetsInvestmentsOther assets and other liabilitiesReconciliation of revenue per audited financial statements with returnSchools generally also complete Schedule E, which requires the following information.Nondiscriminatory policy and related informationFinancial aid and assistance from a governmental agencyOrganizations that have activities outside the United States or gave grants or assistance generally also complete Schedule F, which requires the following information.Location of activities, number of offices, description of activities, expenditures, and investments outside the United StatesProcedures for monitoring the use of grant fundsOrganizations that engage with an outside fundraiser, conduct fundraising events, or conduct gaming activities generally also complete Schedule G, which requires the following information.Description of fundraising methodsAgreements, gross receipts, amounts paid, and amounts retained related to professional fundraisersRevenue and expenses related to fundraising eventsRevenue and expenses related to gaming activitiesHospitals generally also complete Schedule H, which requires the following information.Financial assistance and certain other community benefitsCommunity building activitiesBad debt, medicare, and collection practicesManagement companies and joint venturesFacility information, facility policies, and facility practicesCommunity health needs assessmentFinancial assistance policyBilling and collections actionsPolicy relating to emergency medical careCharges to individuals eligible for assistance under the financial assistance policyOrganizations that gave grants and other assistance to individuals and entities in the United States generally also complete Schedule I, which requires the following information.Name of grantees (if grantee is not an individual person), amount of cash grant, amount and description of of non-cash assistance given, and purpose of grant or assistanceProcedures for monitoring the use of grant fundsOrganizations who gave reportable compensation in excess of $100,000 to a former officer, former key employee, or former highest compensated employee; or gave reportable compensation in excess of $10,000 to a former director or former trustee; or gave compensation in excess of $150,000 to any officer, director, trustee, key employee, or highest compensated employee generally also complete Schedule J, which requires the following information,Compensation in the form of travel, tax indemnification, gross-up payments, discretionary spending account, housing allowance, personal residence, business use of personal residence, health club payments, social club dues, and personal services.Written policy regarding compensationDescription of how the organization determines the compensation of the chief executive officer and executive director.Whether the organization gave a severance payment or change-in-control payment to an officer, director, trustee, key employee, or highest compensated employee.Whether the organization paid compensation that was dependent on the organization’s revenues or net earningsWhether the organization paid non-fixed compensation, such as performance awards, performance incentives, or bonusesOrganizations who issued tax-exempt bonds generally also complete Schedule K, which requires the following information.Bond issues, descriptions, dates, price, proceedsBond-financed propertyArbitrageOrganizations that had certain transactions with a current or former officer, director, trustee, key employee, creator, founder, substantial contributor, member of the organization’s grant selection committee, a family member of any individual described above, a 35%-controlled entity of a substantial contributor, or certain employees or children of a substantial contributor generally also complete Schedule L, which requires the following information.Description of excess benefit transactionsLoans to and/or from a current or former officer, director, trustee, key employee, creator, founder, substantial contributor, member of the organization’s grant selection committee, a family member of any individual described above, or a 35%-controlled entity of one or more individuals and/or organizations described above.Grants or assistance benefiting a current or former officer, director, trustee, key employee, creator, founder, substantial contributor, member of the organization’s grant selection committee, a family member of any individual described above, or a 35%-controlled entity of one or more individuals and/or organizations described above.Business transactions involving a current or former officer, director, trustee, key employee, creator, founder, substantial contributor, member of the organization’s grant selection committee, a family member of any individual described above, a 35%-controlled entity of a substantial contributor, or certain employees or children of a substantial contributor.Organizations that received non-cash contributions generally also complete Schedule M, which requires the following information.Description, number of items or contributions, value of non-cash contribution, and method of determining value of non-cash contributionGift acceptance policyOutside entities that solicit, process, or sell non-cash contributions for the organizationOrganizations that liquidated, terminated, dissolved, transferred, or significantly disposed of assets generally also complete Schedule N, which requires the following information.Description, dates, fair-market value, method of determination of value, and recipient of such assetsCompliance with organization’s governing instrumentsNotification of state authoritiesOutstanding tax-exempt bondsOrganizations that are related to another entity, whether a disregarded entity or another type of entity, generally also complete Schedule R, which requires the following information.Name, address, primary activity, legal domicile, controlling entity status, income, assets, and tax status of each related disregarded entity, related tax-exempt organization, related partnership, related corporation, and related trustUnrelated organizations taxable as a partnership through which the organization conducted more than 5% of its activitiesIn addition, organizations that had unrelated business income generally complete Form 990-T, which is not actually part of Form 990.

Why has Pastor Xiqiu “Bob” Fu become Guo Wengui’s latest target? It’s been a few years since Pastor Bob last made headline news. In 2012, the pastor received international attention for helping Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng escape from China and relocate to New York City where he had been offered a one-year fellowship to teach at NYU Law School.After Chen completed his fellowship, Jerome Cohen, an NYU law professor, accused Pastor Bob of giving Chen an iPad and iPhone that contained spyware. Supposedly, the pastor’s wife, Bochun “Heidi” Cai, had given Chen the smart gadgets as a gift so he could stay in touch with his family in China. It was reported that NYU technicians discovered the alleged spyware after analyzing the gifts. In his defense, Pastor Bob accused NYU of installing the spyware and said he would summon the FBI to investigate.A report from the The Intelligencer told a different version, where Mark Carollo, a “media consultant” who was working with Chen, said that NYU checked the gadgets before they were given to Chen.According to Carollo, “None of these functions was on any of the devices provided to him by ChinaAid,” and added, “At least to Chen’s knowledge, none of these devices was ever found to have any tracking or listening mechanisms.”If the Intelligencer report is accurate, then why would Jerome Cohen, a distinguished NYU law professor and China expert, publicly accuse Pastor Bob and his wife of giving Chen smart gadgets that contained spyware? (This deserves attention in a separate question, so I’ll stop here).In the six years that Guo has been living in the US, he has transformed himself into a Joseph McCarthy reboot. Guo wants his American viewers to think he’s on their side, a champion for democracy and bounty hunter always on the lookout for the next PRC field agent operating on US soil. Pastor Bob could be the final episode of the YouTube reality series“The Guo Show.” Due to multiple lawsuits and an FBI investigation into questionable fundraising efforts, Guo may have overextended his US welcome.Pastor Bob is the founder of China Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing relief and assistance to Chinese Christians in China. Launched in 2002, the its headquarters are located in Midland, Texas. Of all the cities in the Lone Star state one could choose from, why Midland? The small city, with a population of 135,000, is widely considered a West Texas shithole.US media showers Guo with attention while providing scant coverage on official counter-espionage activities conducted by the CIA and FBI. For example, in August, retired CIA agent Yuk Ching Ma (67) was arrested for spying for China. It was reported that Ma “had become ‘a compromised asset’ of the Chinese Ministry of State Security by at least early 2001.” Did you hear about it?Pastor Bob’s bestselling autobiography, “God’s Double Agent.”The Fu’s have issued a plea for financial assistance on their China Aid website. Now, for some reason, they need money. For an additional $14, donors are eligible to receive a free copy of Pastor Bob’s memoir, “God’s Double Agent.” Supposedly, the book was a bestseller. I haven’t read it. The pastor’s autobiography was co-authored with Nancy French, who has provided writing guidance for other notable American memoirists such as Sara Palin, her oldest daughter, Bristol Palin (“Not Afraid of Life, My Journey so Far”), and Shawn Johnson (“Winning Balance: What I’ve learned so far about love, faith, and living your dreams”). The cover of Bob’s book features a quote from the Wall Street Journal that says, “The Pastor of China’s Underground Railroad.”From the China Aid website:Bob Fu and China Aid are in danger. A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operative urged his supporters to eliminate Bob Fu and other renown Chinese dissidents in late September.This order must have come straight from Beijing. The Chinese Communists want Bob silenced since he’s a leading advocate for Christian persecution in China.Instructions to eliminate Bob Fu and others have gone out over YouTube and other social media channels. Protestors demonstrated in front of Bob’s house on September 26th, threatening his wife and children.First and foremost, nobody was going to kill Pastor Bob or members of his family. Guo supporters in Midland told reporters they weren’t afraid of being shot and were willing to die if necessary. Who did they think would shoot them, and who were they ready to die for?The so-called “thugs’ demonstrating in front of Pastor Bob’s home were a blend of senior citizens and soccer moms. Either way, they were paid to create a scene. Their job responsibilities are centered on generating attention and rely on shock value to achieve this goal. To be clear, there isn’t one Chinese immigrant in the US who would sacrifice their life for Guo or Pastor Bob.Caption: Do these people look like thugs? Guo supporters gathered in front of Pastor Bob’s home in Midland, Texas on October 5, 2020.Caption: A pro-Bob supporter outside of the pastor’s home in Midland, Texas. Why isn't he wearing a face mask?An armed Pastor Bob supporter was also at the pastor’s home where he confronted the protesters. In a video uploaded on Twitter, the pro-Bob supporter, while carrying a semi-automatic rifle, shouts, “Bob is a good man!”Not unlike other well-known Christian power couples, Bob and Heidi have a clear understanding of the importance in cultivating a symbiotic relationship with money and the Holy Spirit. As a reserve revenue stream, the Chinese couple owns Bill’s Bottle Shop 2, a liquor store in downtown Midland, conveniently located across the street from Great Wall Takeout.Guo said he has evidence that supports his recent allegations. But how many times have we heard this? He has yet to provide a shred of evidence to support his previous claims. Furthermore, how does someone like Guo, who doesn’t even have a green card, enjoy more freedom than the average US citizen?According to the Wall Street Journal, Guo threatened a female during one of his YouTube programs. Guo’s threats were directed at Jiamei Lu, a pastry chef in New York City, and one of many Chinese investors ripped off by Guo and his partner Steven Bannon. In an ironic twist, Sasha Gong, the VOA journalist who was fired after interviewing Guo for a live TV broadcast, has been coordinating with the Chinese investors and FBI to help them recoup their money.WSJ also reported that after Guo discovered Lu was working with federal authorities, he “lambasted” her in one of his YouTube videos while “clutching a baseball bat, Mr. Guo called Ms. Lu a Chinese spy, describing her in vulgar terms. “You wait and see.’”In a separate video, Guo lists five Chinese women whom he suggests should be “killed.” For the longest time, I thought it was against the law to threaten someone’s life, but thanks to Guo, I now know better. It was also surprising when US media ignored Guo’s anti-Semitic remarks that he made during a YouTube episode in 2019.The WSJ also reported that “Mr. Guo’s ideas are disseminated to supporters through online forums managed by his close associates. Former members of these forums say supporters are given color-coded rankings and privileges based on their perceived loyalty and level of monetary support to Mr. Guo’s causes.”Pro-Guo platform: Gnews - Bring down the CCP; Bring truth to the worldGuo moved to New York City with his wife and daughter in 2014. He purchased his 15-room bunker for $67.5 million the following year. Within months, Guo unsuccessfully tried to flip the property for $85 million. For someone with a reputation for being a multi-billionaire real estate tycoon, Guo doesn’t understand real estate fundamentals. His home is on the market again at a reduced price of $55 million. Guo’s yacht, The Lady May, is also on the market. It’s the same vessel where federal authorities arrested Steve Bannon.Unsurprisingly, Guo doesn’t own his Manhattan home. As it turns out, he doesn’t own much of anything. The property is registered under an LLC, which recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.. Like him or not, he’s played a fantastic smoke-and-mirrors game while making a complete mockery of the country’s legal system.Pastor Bob has confronted bigger enemies than Guo, and he’s proven that he isn’t one to be pushed around. On October 15, a one-hour support rally will commence at 11:30 am at the Horseshoe Amphitheater in Midland. A promotional notice for the event features a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” #weareBOBFU.I wonder if social distancing seating will be enforced?Update (10–15–20)According to media reports, less than 10 people attended Pastor Bob’s rallySources:NYU Chinese Dissident Was Given Spyware-Infected iPad, Smartphonehttps://www.fastcompany.com/3013386/nyu-chinese-dissident-was-given-spyware-infected-ipad-smartphoneHuman-rights activist lashes back at ‘spyware’ claims by Chinese dissident’s mentorHuman-rights activist lashes back at ‘spyware’ claims by Chinese dissident’s mentorChen Guangcheng-NYU Dispute Gets Chinese Spy TwistFormer CIA agent arrested in Honolulu, charged with helping China spy on UShttps://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/08/17/former-cia-operative-arrested-honolulu-charged-with-helping-china-spy-us/CCP Operative In The U.S. Urges Supporters To Eliminate Bob Fu. Your Help Needed.https://secure3.convio.net/china/site/Donation2?df_id=2742&2742.donation=form1&mfc_pref=TFundraising Feud Spurs Anger Among a Chinese Exile, His Followers and His Detractorshttps://www.wsj.com/articles/fundraising-feud-spurs-anger-among-a-chinese-exile-his-followers-and-his-detractors-11601828700?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1‘Surreal’: Midland pastor says he never expected to be target of Chinese billionairehttps://www.mrt.com/insider/article/Surreal-Midland-pastor-says-he-never-15626849.phpGuo Wengui Cuts Price of Sherry-Netherland PenthouseExiled Chinese Businessman’s Manhattan Apartment Is Put in Bankruptcy