> I understand that these events are meant to be organized on-the-fly  
> but we do things slightly differently. I understand if you don't  
> want to sponsor the food after finding out it will cost up to $1200  
> but I'm hoping you'd still like to sponsor some part of the event.  
> I'll try to outline why, and justify our expenses.

> Last year, we had 80 attendees. We started at 9 and finished at  
> around 5.30 (our final sessions ran over.) Around 10 people had to  
> leave around 5 to catch flights back to Wellington and such but most  
> people stayed throughout the entire day.

> We have lanyards and name badges but these are hardly expensive  
> (they add about $1.20 to each person.) The main costs are the t-
> shirts and the food. We believe the little touches count.

> We get the venue and wifi free, provided we use their caterers. The  
> catering is awesome and really cheap (as I said, around $10pp.) This  
> includes morning tea, lunch and then coffee, tea and biscuits  
> throughout the day.

> The t-shirts are the highest expense. We believe that t-shirts  
> should be able to be re-worn without looking like a cheap conference-
> tee. We design the t-shirts with care and then get them printed with  
> the sponsor logos on the back. It looks good and the sponsors get a  
> good deal out of it (their logo will be re-worn on the attendees'  
> backs later on.)

> Yes, this is a high quality Barcamp, and we pride ourselves on the  
> quality. But we don't stray from the key principles of the event.  
> None of the content is organised beforehand. Schedules are made up  
> on the day. The events are free. And everything is kept very  
> transparent. This is still very much an UNconference.

> Last year we had nothing but compliments about the event. The  
> sponsors were happy. The attendees were buzzing. We don't want that  
> to change.

> I hope you would still like to be part of it,
> Ludwig

> On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 7:50 PM, Stephen Collins <t...@acidlabs.org>  
> wrote:
> Ludwig

> On 08/04/2008, at 2:03 PM, Barcamp Auckland wrote:
> Thank you so much for offering to sponsor Barcamp Auckland 2. For  
> this event we are realistically expecting 120 guests but will limit  
> it to 150. For this reason, we'll be making our calculations on a  
> minimum of 120 people.
> That's an awesome turnout for somewhere the size of Auckland. You  
> must have a very active community. Sydney got somewhere in the  
> vicinity of 150-200 for the whole weekend just gone. And never more  
> than 60-80 at one time, I'd guess.
> From last year, we calculated each attendee cost us about $35 for  
> the day. This is when we add up all our costs, and divide it by the  
> number of attendees. This includes the venue, wifi, food and schwag  
> (lanyard/name-badge and shirt.) For more info:  http://ludwignz.com/index.php/site/journal_entry/more_on_barcamp_auck...
> You look like you're taking a *really* heavy, conference (as opposed  
> to unconference) approach. We do big sticky labels and a marker for  
> name badges - http://www.flickr.com/photos/adwentures/2391644354/in/set-72157604406...
> , no lanyards.
> This means you can choose to pay for the food; this sponsorship will  
> be around $1200 as catering is around $10pp.
> Really? I sponsored lunch from Pizza Hut at BarCamp Sydney and fed  
> 60ish people for under AU$160.

> There was some bottled water, but that's about AU$25/24x600ml bottles.

> I'm still keen to help out, but you're trying too hard, mate. It's  
> an UNconference.

> Steve

> Read and tremble.

> trib(olicious - thanks to Ajay)

> Ludwig's latest email to me with my previous and his first  
> interspered below:

> Begin forwarded message:
>> From: "Barcamp Auckland" <barcampauckl...@ludwignz.com>
>> Date: 8 April 2008 6:48:13 PM
>> To: "Stephen Collins" <t...@acidlabs.org>
>> Subject: Re: Barcamp Auckland 2 Sponsorship

>> I understand that these events are meant to be organized on-the-fly  
>> but we do things slightly differently. I understand if you don't  
>> want to sponsor the food after finding out it will cost up to $1200  
>> but I'm hoping you'd still like to sponsor some part of the event.  
>> I'll try to outline why, and justify our expenses.

>> Last year, we had 80 attendees. We started at 9 and finished at  
>> around 5.30 (our final sessions ran over.) Around 10 people had to  
>> leave around 5 to catch flights back to Wellington and such but  
>> most people stayed throughout the entire day.

>> We have lanyards and name badges but these are hardly expensive  
>> (they add about $1.20 to each person.) The main costs are the t-
>> shirts and the food. We believe the little touches count.

>> We get the venue and wifi free, provided we use their caterers. The  
>> catering is awesome and really cheap (as I said, around $10pp.)  
>> This includes morning tea, lunch and then coffee, tea and biscuits  
>> throughout the day.

>> The t-shirts are the highest expense. We believe that t-shirts  
>> should be able to be re-worn without looking like a cheap  
>> conference-tee. We design the t-shirts with care and then get them  
>> printed with the sponsor logos on the back. It looks good and the  
>> sponsors get a good deal out of it (their logo will be re-worn on  
>> the attendees' backs later on.)

>> Yes, this is a high quality Barcamp, and we pride ourselves on the  
>> quality. But we don't stray from the key principles of the event.  
>> None of the content is organised beforehand. Schedules are made up  
>> on the day. The events are free. And everything is kept very  
>> transparent. This is still very much an UNconference.

>> Last year we had nothing but compliments about the event. The  
>> sponsors were happy. The attendees were buzzing. We don't want that  
>> to change.

>> I hope you would still like to be part of it,
>> Ludwig

>> On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 7:50 PM, Stephen Collins <t...@acidlabs.org>  
>> wrote:
>> Ludwig

>> On 08/04/2008, at 2:03 PM, Barcamp Auckland wrote:
>> Thank you so much for offering to sponsor Barcamp Auckland 2. For  
>> this event we are realistically expecting 120 guests but will limit  
>> it to 150. For this reason, we'll be making our calculations on a  
>> minimum of 120 people.
>> That's an awesome turnout for somewhere the size of Auckland. You  
>> must have a very active community. Sydney got somewhere in the  
>> vicinity of 150-200 for the whole weekend just gone. And never more  
>> than 60-80 at one time, I'd guess.
>> From last year, we calculated each attendee cost us about $35 for  
>> the day. This is when we add up all our costs, and divide it by the  
>> number of attendees. This includes the venue, wifi, food and schwag  
>> (lanyard/name-badge and shirt.) For more info:  http://ludwignz.com/index.php/site/journal_entry/more_on_barcamp_auck...
>> You look like you're taking a *really* heavy, conference (as  
>> opposed to unconference) approach. We do big sticky labels and a  
>> marker for name badges - http://www.flickr.com/photos/adwentures/2391644354/in/set-72157604406...
>> , no lanyards.
>> This means you can choose to pay for the food; this sponsorship  
>> will be around $1200 as catering is around $10pp.
>> Really? I sponsored lunch from Pizza Hut at BarCamp Sydney and fed  
>> 60ish people for under AU$160.

>> There was some bottled water, but that's about AU$25/24x600ml  
>> bottles.

>> I'm still keen to help out, but you're trying too hard, mate. It's  
>> an UNconference.

>> Steve