Funding Considerations · Making a Child-Friendly City Map

Below is the GUB CFC Map Budget Example. This gives an idea of what type of expenses may arise when you are creating your CFC map. We have indicated where we have utilized In-House or In-Kind resources, as well as noting where expenses were Direct Costs.

EXPENSES (one-time): When it comes to funding the map, there are two sets of expenses to consider. First, is people’s time. Can map design and project management fit into people’s current job descriptions, can people volunteer their time, can they earn internship credit, or will you need to pay them? Growing Up Boulder was fortunate that the City of Boulder saw the value of the map-making process, therefore our yearly contract between the two organizations allowed for GUB to focus on map-making. The GUB team was also able to work with the City, the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), and public school district to utilize existing systems to distribute the maps and therefore not incur additional costs for distribution. You might also consider hiring or asking a partner to be the copywriter or proofreader for the map.

EXPENSES (ongoing): It is wise to consider ongoing personnel costs for map maintenance after the first year. We believe it’s well-worth the time to make small changes to the map yearly, and also, to continue publicizing the map to more and more potential partners. It also takes time to secure sponsorships (more on that below). Make sure you think about who will be responsible for these tasks in the future.

The second major expense is the map itself. How much will printing the maps cost? This will depend upon how many maps you wish to print, and also, upon getting the best price from printers. We asked the City and CVB for printer recommendations, then received bids from several businesses. Another expense might be a “map launch celebration.” We held a very successful, free launch celebration of the map which included community partners organizations, food and entertainment. Alternatively, you might choose to charge for the event and turn it into a fundraiser to support the map. If you decide to host a fundraiser, we recommend having free tickets available for children and families of reduced means.

SPONSORSHIP: To offset the costs of the map, we suggest securing sponsors. This serves two purposes: first, it helps pay for the map itself. Second, it shows community support for the map, and sponsors are motivated to help get the word out! The first year, our sponsors came from a local health foundation and our local library foundation. Over the years, we’ve increased the number of and types of sponsors to include real estate companies and other foundations. We also created a marketing opportunity for local non-profits and private schools. If a non-profit is child-recommended and makes it to the map, we include it as a location on the map, however, we create our own representation of the organization. If the non-profit wishes to use their logo on the map, we include it for a fee. If private preschools and elementary schools wish to be on the map, they may pay a fee for their logo to be used and their site located on the map (otherwise, private schools are not included on the map). These sets of sponsorships and strategies have made the map more widely utilized and turned the map into a fundraising and communication tool for our non-profit. See our Map Sponsorship flyer here.

The budget template below will help you think through map expenses and potential revenue streams.

Explore our GUB CFC Map Budget and Revenue Spreadsheet

Go to the Growing Up Boulder Originals folder on Google Drive.
Once you have, open the document entitled CFC Map Budget Example.
Explore this example to see potential costs that you might incur in designing, celebrating, and distributing the CFC Map.

Add Your Funding Considerations to your CFC Map Planning Spreadsheet

Again, go to the Your Templates folder on Google Drive and ensure that you have saved a copy of all of the documents within to your own Google Drive folder.
Once you have, open the spreadsheet entitled CFC Map Planning Spreadsheet.
Go to the tab called CFC Map Budget.
Use this template or your own to begin to fill out your CFC Map expenses.
Note that we have listed “in-house” and “in-kind” as ways to cover the expenses of the CFC Map. We recommend reaching out to local businesses, non-profits, and government organizations as potential donors of direct or in-kind support.