ONA has a very small budget to support ONA Local activities. As much as possible, we encourage you work with local partners and sponsors that can provide event support, such as meeting space or food and beverage, on an in-kind basis. This is a great way to build connections in the community and show the value of your group. (See Partnerships and Sponsorships for more advice on securing support.)
How should my group cover the cost of events?
If possible, it’s always best to get donations of space and refreshments. Can you find a meeting space that is free of charge? Often, libraries and coworking spaces will offer free meeting space for nonprofit meetup groups. Or a local newsroom may be willing to host your event in one of their meeting spaces as a way of supporting the community, especially if you offer them a chance to greet your attendees.
If you are meeting at a restaurant, bar or coffee shop, you may want to see if they will offer a food or drink special for attendees. If you are meeting at a newsroom, you can ask if they would provide light snacks as part of their host sponsorship for the event.
ONA can also support reasonable food and beverage costs with our budget if needed (see below for the process for requesting budget).
If you have a sponsor or partner who would prefer to provide a fixed amount financial sponsorship rather than covering event costs, they will need to make that payment through ONA. Please email Meghan Murphy (meghan@journalists.org) and Bill Brady (bill@journalists.org) so we can connect with them directly.
If your event is bringing in ticket revenue to offset costs, i.e. charging a ticket price to attendees, that revenue should also come through ONA, not be collected by a volunteer. Please email Meghan Murphy (meghan@journalists.org) to discuss ticketing before opening registration for your event. Please do not ever open an account for an ONA Local group with a bank or other financial institution.
What costs are eligible for using ONA funds?
All expenses that you want ONA to support must be requested and approved in advance by ONA using this form. Our small budget is available on a first-requested, first-served basis, so the earlier you request budget, the more likely we’ll still have funds available.
Expenses that you can request to be covered by ONA Local funds include:
- Food and beverage at events
- Event space rental fees
- Supplies for events (such as name tags and printing)
- Assisting with reasonable, economy class travel or lodging expenses for a trainer
- Marketing and communications (such as social media ads or printing flyers)
How can I get reimbursed for an expense that has been approved?
If you have requested and gotten approval for an expense using the form above and need to be reimbursed, ONA staff will send you the expense reimbursement form. You must save and attach itemized receipts for all reimbursements, and all reimbursements must have been previously requested and approved by ONA using the form above.
