Youth Retreat Budget - Youth Workin' It

Q: How much should I charge for a youth retreat? Quite a lot of the young people I work with are from low-income families, so I don’t want to set the price too high. I want to be sensitive to how much their parents can afford, but don’t know the best way to address the issue with them. Can you help?

A: Money is always a tricky subject, especially for activities that cost more like youth retreats. Like you said, it’s important to be sensitive to how much parents can afford without simultaneously embarrassing them that they may not be able to afford to send their child on the retreat.

Once you’ve started investigating possible youth retreat centers, you’ll have a much better idea of how much your budget will need to be. This is because the center will probably be the largest part of the budget. Check out our previous post for a more detailed guide on how to calculate a youth retreat budget.

Before making a final decision on which center to book, we’d recommend putting together a Parent Cost Feedback form.

What’s A Parent Cost Feedback Form?

The form should contain a table that lists the following:

A shortlist of three retreat centers
Some pros and cons of each center
The estimated cost for a child to go on the retreat
Empty boxes beneath each option

Try to estimate the total cost of the retreat and put this on the form, rather than just putting down the cost per child for the center only, as this will give the parents a better of idea of how much they can expect to pay overall. It doesn’t have to be a final quote at this stage, but enough to give parents a good idea of what the options are.

You could include more than three youth retreat centers on the list, but this might give too many options to get a true gauge as to how much parents can afford.

Beneath the details of each center on the form, the empty boxes are for parents to indicate which would be their preference. All they need to do is to put an ‘X’ in the box for the retreat center that they would prefer, taking into account the cost along with the pros and cons. Using only an ‘X’ helps ensure anonymity so that parents aren’t embarrassed to choose the cheapest option.

At the end, you should have a good idea as to which is the most affordable option for the parents.

How to get the form completed

How you get the form completed will depend on your contact with parents. Here are some different methods depending on parental contact:

Church

Many youth retreats are organized through churches, so if this applies to you then the best option will probably be to make an announcement during a service. Leave the Parent Cost Feedback form at the back of the church for them to complete as they leave.

Community Center

If parents drop their children off at your youth club at a community center, ask them to complete the form at that point. It’s best to get this done at the beginning of the evening rather than at the end, as parents will probably just want to get home when picking them up.

No Parental Contact

Perhaps you never get to communicate with the parents of your young people for whatever reason. If that’s the case, mail them a copy of the form along with a return envelope with a stamp on it to encourage them to reply.

Another option is to set up a survey through Survey Monkey. This is free and you can email the link to parents if you have their email addresses.

Downloadable Parent Cost Feedback Form Template

When you buy a copy of How To Plan A Youth Retreat, you also get exclusive access to many different youth retreat templates and forms. This includes a sample Parent Cost Feedback form, as well as a blank feedback form that you can complete with details of the retreat centers you find.

Discover more about the book using the link above or buy it from Amazon by clicking on the image to the right.

Question: How do you find out from parents how much they can afford for activities like youth retreats? Let us know in the comments below.

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Q. I don’t know how to calculate a youth retreat budget – can you help?

A. Sure! There are a number of different expenses you’ll need to take into account when planning a youth retreat. Below is a list of some areas you’ll need to price out – they may not all apply to your retreat, so leave off any of these factors where you won’t incur any expense.

Youth Retreat Expenses

1. Youth retreat center – This is probably going to be the highest cost you’ll incur, so it’s important to price this correctly. When researching retreat centers, ascertain if the price quoted is based on a minimum number of youth attending, a ‘per youth’ basis or a mixture of the two. Also check to see what the cost includes; for example, are meals, activities, etc included?

2. Food – If the center isn’t providing meals, you’ll need to calculate the cost of food as part of the youth retreat budget. Even if the center does provide three meals a day, are snacks and beverages throughout the day included or will you need to bring those?

3. Speaker – Are you getting a guest speaker? If so, you’ll need to cover the cost of their place at the retreat and may well need to offer payment for their services.

4. Worship leader – For Christian youth retreats, you’ll probably be having a time of worship at some point. If you’re bringing along a worship leader, the cost for them will need to be covered, as well as payment if they’re a worship leader from outside the church.

5. Activities – Are you planning any activities either on or off-site that have some kind of cost involved? If so, include these costs. When booking group activities, you may be able to negotiate discounts for group bookings.

6. Travel & transport – How are youth getting to the retreat center? If parents will be taking them there and picking them up, there may be no cost for this area. If you need to hire a bus or minivan though include the cost of this, along with insurance, gas, parking, etc.

7. Resources – Are you creating your own curriculum for the retreat or planning on buying one? If buying resources, the cost could be included in the youth retreat budget. To save some money, check out our free youth retreat themes for ideas.

8. Subsidy – Some youth may not be able to afford to attend the retreat, so consider building in an extra amount to the youth retreat budget so that you can subsidize one or more places for students.

9. Prizes – If you’re organizing activities, games, etc, will you be offering prizes? Don’t forget to include these within the overall cost of the retreat.

10. Miscellaneous – There will no doubt be other miscellaneous expenses that aren’t listed above that are specific to your youth retreat. Take some time to think through everything that you’re planning so that nothing’s left off the budget.

Youth Retreat Budget Calculation

Now that you’ve identified all the different expenses, total these up.

Next, divide the total cost by the number of people on the youth retreat. Something to consider here is whether your volunteers will be paying for their own place on the retreat. If not, divide the total cost by the number of youth. If volunteers will be paying their own way, include them when dividing.

Youth Retreat Cost

Once you’ve performed this calculation, you’ll have the Total Cost Per Person. As suggested by the name, this is how much you’ll need to charge per person in order to keep within the youth retreat budget. You may also want to consider adding on an extra amount to the Total Cost Per Person to cover any unforeseen expenses or other expenses you forgot to include within the budget originally.

Youth Retreat Budget Calculator

If you buy a copy of How To Plan A Youth Retreat, as an added bonus you get exclusive access to a youth retreat budget calculator based on the list of expenses above. The calculator is a spreadsheet where you simply enter all the different amounts and the number of people attending your retreat – it will then automatically calculate the Total Cost Per Person for you.

In addition to the budget calculator, you also get access to more than a dozen other youth retreat templates and forms to help your planning – these are all fully customizable and downloadable. Get your copy now!

Question: What other expenses are worth considering when calculating a youth retreat budget? Let us know in the comments below.