Developing Your Budget Plan

Mediation programs may be funded from many different campus budgetary units. Where multiple populations are to be served, multiple funding sources may also be appropriate. Funding for campus mediation services around the country have come from:

• Presidents' or Chancellors' Offices
• Personnel Office
• Student Governments
• Student Affairs
• Counseling Centers
• Off-Campus Housing
• Student Activities
• College Deans
• Academic Departments
• Omnibus Student Fees

Most of these sources of funds can provide relatively stable and long-term support once the program has established itself and becomes a regular part of the budgeting process.

Additional potential sources of funds that may be of shorter duration include federal, state or county grants; private foundation grants; gifts from individuals or companies; money gathered at fundraisers conducted by volunteers or program advocates; and project co-sponsorships by a local municipality, court, or community mediation center. Grants are particularly appropriate in the first few years of a program's life, as this is the time when programs need the most support (to cover startup expenses like training, initial printing of promotional materials, etc.), and the time when grantmakers are most interested in being involved.

How Much Money Is Needed?

The amount of money needed to run a campus mediation program varies tremendously based on the scope and ambitions of the program, and its already available resources. Budgets range from a few hundred dollars to well over $100,000 per year. Generally speaking there are five categories of expense to consider.

1. Compensation for the Coordinator(s)
2. Training Expenses
3. Operating Expenses
4. Publicity
5. Evaluation Expenses

The new money needed to compensate a coordinator can be minimal if an existing staff person's duties are redesigned to incorporate their role as coordinator, or if the role is performed by a volunteer. More expensive options include hiring part-time staff or a graduate assistant, and hiring a full-time person, whose duties may be full-time with the center, or who may also provide assistance in other areas beyond their role as mediation coordinator. The rates of compensation vary from campus to campus and from job grade to job grade so it is hard to easily estimate what is fair. Usually by looking at comparable type positions on your campus you can come up with a reasonable estimate of how much it would cost to find a quality coordinator.

Training expenses vary depending on the strategy you use. Hiring an outside consultant specializing in higher education mediation might cost you something in the neighborhood of $2500-$3000 for a 25-hour basic training provided on-site to a group of mediators, plus any additional expenses related to food, travel, lodging, space rental, and training materials. Another option is to work with a nearby community mediation program (check your Yellow Pages under mediation, or contact the National Association for Community Mediation). These centers, available in most major cities, can often offer training at somewhat lower rates, and you don't have to worry about airfare expenses associated with an outside consultant.

An alternative to bringing a trainer in is to send your trainees to a training already being conducted elsewhere by your local mediation center or a nationally recognized training institute. Fees for these sessions can range from a low of about $150 per person for a local effort to over $1200 per person at some of the national trainings. If travel and lodging is required, the costs can increase dramatically.

It is wise to consider budgeting money to establish in-house trainers over time. This can involve hiring someone with mediation skills to the staff, or sending core program staff who have participated in a basic training to a training for trainers where they develop the skills necessary to train others. Programs should also consider budgeting some discretionary professional development money so that the program coordinator can travel to a regional or national conference and build their knowledge base and contacts.

Finally, some campus programs are "born lucky," and already have in-house trainers available on the faculty or staff who are willing to donate their time, or do the work for a small fee.

General operating expenses can be relatively small, especially if the service is being integrated into an already existing office. Typical expenses include phone use, postage, printing of forms, copying, flipchart paper and markers, and the development of a reference library. Additional discretionary expenses include things like providing lunch for advisory committee meetings, and book-store gift certificates to reward hardworking volunteers. Hardware needs may include an answering machine (if you still don't have voicemail), computer hardware (and software) to manage intake information or to assist in developing and giving presentations, easel stands for presentations, and a locking file cabinet to keep program records in.

Publicity-related expenses can include fees to run advertisements in student or local newspapers, development and printing of posters and brochures, production of video or audio promotional pieces, and such additional items as key-chains, pens, and refrigerator magnets that can build awareness about the program.

Evaluation costs are often minimal (mainly postage and printing and data input and analysis time), especially if the program is evaluated by the coordinator, or by someone else at the university who donates their time to carry out the project. Some programs do choose to hire an outside or more objective firm or office to evaluate their work, and thus include budget expenses related to this effort.

Securing Financial Support

University libraries or development offices can usually provide you with considerable assistance with grant writing should you choose to go this route. While a small number of funding sources now include terms like "conflict resolution" as one of their goals (such as the Hewlett Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, the US Institute for Peace), most do not. Thus you must search more broadly for granters who fund higher education initiatives that might logically be interested in supporting your work.

Your job is to present the mediation service in terms that a potential funding source can understand. So if the foundation is interested in violence prevention, you can highlight how mediation supports the early expression of difference, before it escalates to violence. If the funder is interested in campus civility, you can stress the quality of dialog that occurs in mediation sessions and the essential democratic nature of collaborative problem solving. If the funder is interested in innovation in higher education, or on improving the teaching and learning climate, you can stress the way that mediation can help resolve conflicts that emerge in times of change, or ways that mediation can reduce the level of tension on campus that may be interfering with the educational process. You get the idea.

You also want to stress to funders that you don't intend to be dependent upon their money indefinitely. You may show how the costs of the program will decrease over time as initial startup costs are no longer necessary, and highlight your plans to get the university to underwrite greater portions of the program expense as the program matures.

The process of securing internal funding varies on each campus and within different divisions. Gaining some awareness of how the budget process works for units that you hope may fund you can help you avoid missing important yearly or quarterly deadlines. In most cases you will need to prepare a proposal justifying your project and outlining your anticipated activities and your expected expenses. Similar to grant applications, proposals should demonstrate the need for mediation, the degree of support that exists for the program, and the benefits you expect from implementing it.