MODULE 7

Managing Money and Resources

Leadership Skill Builder • Grades 9–12

You’re planning a fundraiser, team event, or service project, and your group has more ideas than it can afford. A budget helps you decide what to protect, what to change, and what you can commit to. The same thinking helps when you’re short on volunteers, time, space, or equipment.

In this module, you’ll learn to:

  • Build a budget around your project’s goal and confirmed resources.

  • Evaluate tradeoffs when money, time, people, or equipment are limited.

  • Track spending and adjust your plan when costs change.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Conference is $250 Over Budget

You’re helping plan a school leadership conference for about 100 students. Your goal is to give students a chance to learn and practice leadership skills. You have $1,500 in confirmed funds.

Proposed expenses

  • Guest speaker — $600

  • Food and refreshments — $450

  • Event materials — $250

  • Decorations — $150

  • Promotion — $100

Total proposed spending — $1,550

Then the speaker tells you transportation will cost another $200. The new total is $1,750. Some committee members want to keep everything and raise more money. Others want to decide what to cut now.

Before reading on, consider: Which part of the conference would you protect first, and why? What could you change now while the team looks into raising more money?

  • The committee has two decisions to make. First, what experience do students need for the conference to achieve its goal? Second, what version of that experience can the team deliver with resources it can count on today? A budget gives the group a way to answer both questions before anyone commits to spending.

LEARN THE TECHNIQUES

1. Confirm What You Can Use

Start with the money your group can use for this project. Check the amount, what it can cover, and who can approve purchases. Keep possible funding on a separate list so everyone knows which expenses depend on it.

The conference has $900 in available club funds and a confirmed $600 school allocation. A local business is considering a $300 contribution. Build the base plan around $1,500 and decide what you could add if the contribution comes through and is available to spend.

Practical rule

Keep spending commitments within confirmed, approved funds. Give any optional add-on a decision date so the team knows when to proceed or drop it.

2. Protect What Helps You Reach Your Goal

Write down what you want people to get out of the project. For each expense, ask what it makes possible, what would happen if you cut it, and whether a cheaper option could do the same job. Get updated prices before counting on the savings.

At the conference, workshop materials help students practice a skill. The team could keep the activity and share one set of materials per table. It could also use school announcements to reduce promotion costs.

When two options compete for the same resources, name the benefit you would give up by choosing one. That’s the opportunity cost. If $300 can buy either conference T-shirts or lunch, and lunch lets students stay for the afternoon workshops, choosing shirts means giving up that benefit.

Language you can use

“If we spend the money here, what will we have to give up? Which option does more for the students attending?”

Practical rule

Start with savings that preserve what participants came to do.

3. Set Aside a Reserve and Decide How to Use It

A reserve is money you leave available for unexpected costs. Size it around what’s uncertain. For example, check whether quotes include delivery, whether attendance could change food costs, and whether borrowed equipment has a backup.

Here’s one way to bring the conference within its $1,500 limit while including the speaker’s travel.

Revised expenses

  • Speaker and transportation — $800

  • Food and refreshments — $300

  • Event materials — $150

  • Decorations — $50

  • Promotion — $50

$1,350 in planned expenses + $150 in reserve = $1,500 total

If an unexpected cost comes up, check whether it’s needed, what it will do to your remaining reserve, and whose approval is required. If it won’t fit, look for savings, a different way to meet the need, or additional approved funding before committing.

Practical rule
Include the reserve inside your spending limit. Get any required approval before using it and record how much remains.

4. Track Spending While You Can Still Adjust It

Use a shared tracker with a row for each expense. Record the estimate, what you’ve paid, any amount you’ve already agreed to pay, and what you still expect to spend. Count each dollar once. When you pay an invoice, move that amount from committed to paid. Save receipts and approvals using your school’s process, and check with your adviser before committing funds or collecting payments.

A conference budget check might look like this:

Costs that changed

  • Food and refreshments went from $300 planned to $360 expected.

  • Event materials went from $150 planned to $130 expected.

  • Decorations went from $50 planned to $40 expected.

The speaker and transportation still cost $800, and promotion still costs $50.

$1,350 planned · $1,380 expected

The expected total includes paid costs, unpaid commitments, and estimates for purchases still ahead. Food is $60 above plan, and materials and decorations together are $30 below. That leaves the conference $30 above its expense plan, with $120 of room under the $1,500 limit. Check whether a lower figure reflects real savings or a cost that’s still coming.

Practical rule
Check the expected total against your limit before approving new purchases and whenever a major price changes.

5. Match the Work to the People, Time, and Equipment You Have

List the tasks your project depends on. For each one, confirm who can do it, when they can do it, and what space, equipment, or permission they’ll need. If something is missing, decide when you’ll switch to a simpler plan.

A drama club has six confirmed setup volunteers and needs twelve for its original layout. The crew can ask for extra help while planning a layout the six can finish before doors open. It can also confirm with the school whether some equipment can be set up the day before.

Practical rule
Give critical tasks a confirmed person, time, and set of supplies. Simplify the work if a key resource is still missing by your decision date.

APPLY YOUR JUDGMENT

Choose the strongest response to each situation, then check the explanation.

1. A Possible Donation

Your DECA chapter has $1,000 in confirmed funds for a career event. A business may contribute another $500. Your team wants to commit to a $1,400 plan this week. You can hold the preferred date with a smaller event and add extras later. What should you recommend?

A. Commit to the $1,400 plan and organize a fundraiser if the donation falls through.
B. Wait for the sponsor’s decision before committing to any part of the event.
C. Plan an event within $1,000 now and set a deadline for adding extras if the funding is confirmed.
D. Commit to a $1,250 version so the team needs only half the possible donation.

  • Strongest answer: C

    C protects the event date while keeping commitments within confirmed funds. B avoids the financial risk, but waiting on every decision could cost the group its date. A gives the group a fallback, but the fundraiser’s results are uncertain. D lowers the amount at risk while still committing money the group may never receive.

2. Find $200 in Savings

The main purpose of a student council conference is to give students hands-on practice through two workshops. You need to save $200. Posting an accessible schedule online saves $100, simplifying decorations saves $100, and canceling one workshop saves $200. Your team can carry out any of these changes. What should you recommend?

A. Post the schedule online and simplify decorations.
B. Cancel one workshop to make the full cut in a single change.
C. Apply the same percentage cut to each category so every committee shares the savings.
D. Cancel one workshop and send participants the slides afterward.

  • Strongest answer: A

    A reaches the savings target and keeps both opportunities to practice. B is simpler to organize, but it cuts part of the experience the event is meant to provide. C spreads the cuts evenly, but it could reduce supplies or other essentials. D gives students access to the material, but the slides offer less opportunity to practice.

3. A Rental Comes Up Late

Your robotics club has a $1,500 spending limit. The tracker shows $1,120 already paid, a $230 unpaid order, and a $60 supply purchase still ahead. You started with a $150 reserve. A rental you need for the event costs $90, and your adviser handles purchase approvals. What should you recommend?

A. Use $90 of the original reserve and report that $60 is still available.
B. Ask the adviser to postpone the rental decision until the $230 invoice is paid.
C. Drop the $60 supply purchase before asking the adviser to approve the rental.
D. Show the adviser that the rental brings the expected total to $1,500, request approval, and update the tracker if approved.

  • Strongest answer: D

    Paid costs, commitments, and remaining purchases add up to $1,410. D accounts for all three and shows that the rental uses the last $90 of room. A overlooks the $60 already needed for supplies. B delays the decision even though paying the invoice won’t change the expected total. C could free up room if the supplies are optional, but there’s no need to drop them to make the rental fit.

4. Six Volunteers For a Twelve-Person Plan

You’re helping run a service club’s donation drive next week. The original plan uses three drop-off stations and calls for twelve volunteers. Six have confirmed. The school can support a single station, but you’ll need to announce any change two days before the drive. What should you recommend?

A. Keep all three stations and ask the six volunteers to cover longer shifts.
B. Plan one station the six can staff, and add stations only if enough volunteers confirm before the announcement deadline.
C. Spend part of the budget on signs for self-service drop-offs and decide where to place volunteers on the day.
D. Cut back to one station immediately and close volunteer sign-ups.

  • Strongest answer: B

    B gives the drive a workable plan and a deadline for deciding whether it can expand. A might cover more hours, but longer shifts may leave gaps when several stations need people at once. C may help visitors find their way, but it leaves staffing unresolved. D secures a manageable plan, but closing sign-ups gives up a chance to add capacity before the deadline.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

1. Assess Your Current Approach

Think of a project you’re helping with or one your group has run before. Mark each item Yes, Partly, or Needs work.

  • I can explain what the project needs to accomplish and which expenses support that goal.

  • I know which funds and other resources are confirmed and which are still pending.

  • I can find what’s been paid, what’s been committed, and how much room is left.

  • I know who approves changes and what we’ll do if money, people, or equipment falls short.

Pick one item marked Partly or Needs work to address in your plan.

2. Make a Plan

Copy this planner into your notes or your group’s planning document. If you’re still exploring an idea, mark any unconfirmed amounts or resources as pending.

  1. Goal. What should participants be able to do or get from the project? What part of the experience will you protect if resources get tight?

  2. Money available. How much is confirmed for this project? What’s pending? Who approves purchases?

  3. Spending plan. List the expected expenses and mark which ones are essential. How much will you reserve for surprises? Add the expenses and reserve, then compare the total with confirmed funds.

  4. Other resources. What people, time, space, and equipment do you need? Pick one resource that could fall short. Who will confirm it, by when, and what’s your backup?

  5. Budget check. Who will track paid, committed, and expected costs? When will you check the total together? What result will tell you the project met its goal?

3. Your Next Step

In the next few days, pick one cost or resource your group is counting on. Ask the person who can verify it, then update the plan to show whether it’s confirmed. If it’s still pending, add a date for deciding whether to use your backup.

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EXPLORE FURTHER

Next: Motivating Your Team →