SC - NRW Feast Recap - costing issue

[grizly at mindspring.com]

sca-cooks at ansteorra.org wrote:
> > The money still came from the event goers pockets. I wonder if they knew > they were paying for the entourage as well as the Royalty? It's easy to say "But the entourage was working." So do a lot of other people at SCA events, but they don't get free meals.  I still think the most equitable way to do such things is to ask for donations or pay for it yourself. > > > > 

<<<SNIP>>> This is one of those wierdnesses of event budgeting. If you are budgeting a lot of money-- enough that you are increasing your per-person cost to account for it-- then, yes, you are taking money out of others' pockets.  < SNIP> This applies to supplies for children's activities, special equipment for the tourney, archery targets, A&S competition or tourney prizes, feeding the Royals, or even providing dayboard (since there are people who won't eat it).  Of course, how much money you are taking depends on your break-even numbers. <SNIP> *shrug* It's all accounting. 
Now, if you are increasing the cost of your event by a lot to account for special services, you might think why... >>

Whatever accounting games one plays with the numbers, it all adds up to whether people knew the Royals, et al.  were receiving personal enrichment without the expenditure of personal funds.  While not a huge sum, and certainly below the radar of Corporate NFP statutes, but a meaningful question.  Whether the money is deemed gift from the group (which would, methinks, require a group decision before the fact and not post hoc) or money from the people paying at the gate, someone is gettingpersonal enrichment from SCA funds, the more we spend toward that, the closer we get to the black side of the grey area.

pacem er bonum,
niccolo difrancesco