Similarly to when I ran for ID, I’m going to publish what it cost to run for Second Vice President, for the benefit of anyone who may follow in my shoes.  Here’s the entry for the ID costs.

The first step was the announcement at the end of the August 2010 convention.  I was an outgoing director, so the convention registration and hotel costs were reduced; most would probably not count that as part of the campaign.  However, I had announcement cards to hand out on Saturday night, since that would be my only chance to see most of the voters before the next annual convention.  2,500 cards cost $126 (M13 Graphics is great!).

I made a strategic decision to not attend any district conferences other than my own district.  The campaign rules limit me to attending only Toastmasters events in my home region, and I already had good relationships with the leaders in all eight districts.  I felt the expensive weekends that might be spent on those would be better used to reach out to other districts with phone calls.  This meant I had essentially zero travel costs (other than the convention itself), a sharp contrast to my ID campaign (which was mostly travel costs, within the region).

The November mailing (International Officer Candidate Survey, IOCS) was an e-mail, so no costs there.  I also avoided some costs by working with a talented campaign committee member to create the graphics, instead of hiring a designer.

For some fall and spring district conferences, I sent out tabletop signs (11×17 inches with folding wings, FedEx Kinko’s does a nice job of printing and dry-mounting on foamcore board) and announcement cards.  That’s an area where I could have done more.  The ones I did cost about $300 (with postage).  I also had 5,000 more announcement cards printed in preparation for the spring conferences, that was another $126 (yes, same price, they lowered prices and I ordered with more advance notice).

I hired a photographer friend to shoot some more photos to use ($250) — I didn’t end up doing much with them besides rotate them through my Facebook campaign page.  I primarily used the very nice professional photograph I did from my ID campaign.

I attended the February 2011 mid-year board meeting in Portland, Oregon, to hear the nominating committee (ILC) announcement first-hand, but it probably wasn’t necessary (neither of the two nominated candidates attended).  I thought it was a good chance to network, and a good excuse for a weekend getaway to a city I always wanted to see.  That was about $900 for airfare and hotel.

There was a lot of phone calls to trio members, but I did most of them on the weekend (free nights and weekends on my cell phone plan), and for the international calls, I signed up for a discounted international call program with my carrier, as well as using Skype.  This was maybe $200 total added cost.  My campaign committee was also making a lot of calls, but they used a similar strategy to control costs.

The August mailing to 600 voters (trios, IPDGs, and PIDs/PIPs) had three pieces in a customized envelope:

• a cover letter
• a trifold color campaign brochure
• a B&W biographical sheet (since as a floor candidate, that wouldn’t be included in the candidates brochure WHQ was providing at the convention)

That was $290 for 2,500 brochures (the rest were for the convention), and I printed the rest myself.  The postage was $400; maybe a third of the recipients were overseas and more expensive to send.

For the convention, I did a full registration, though didn’t get to attend any educational sessions.  That was $630, plus about $500 for the hotel (seven nights with some room service and restaurant charges), and the hotel also (unexpectedly) charged me $125 to receive the ten boxes with my campaign materials.

I found an on-line appointment booking service to handle trio interview requests, that was $36 for three months, very much worth it.  It worked well to access it on my smartphone, and it handled confirmation e-mails and rescheduling.

The main candidates corner handouts were the trifold color brochures and bio sheets that were included in the campaign mailing.  There were also 1,000 customized pens ($264) and 300 campaign pins split across 1.5″ and 3″ (with photo) sizes ($231).

Each district got a printed copy of the 2010-11 district directory (I’ve created these for four years now, and they were very popular the first year, when I ran for ID).  It also included a CD-ROM in the back.  I had a FedEx Kinko’s in Las Vegas near the hotel print those, that was $385, plus $130 for the report binders and CD-ROMs (I burned those myself at home).  12 districts didn’t meet with me, so I mailed those out afterwards for $49.

The key giveaway though, which was mainly for the trio members, was the 300 page-a-day calendars with Toastmasters tips and anniversaries and deadlines on most every page, which cost $2,244.  Not cheap, but very popular and widely appreciated.

Campaign workers had 25 printed vests to wear in an assortment of sizes, those were $300 with printing, but really looked professional and increased our visibility in the crowds.  The candidate corner tabletop had a poster for $197 (again, the local FedEx Kinko’s, much easier than trying to ship a 30″ x 40″ board, same as I did for ID in Calgary).  I also bought some plexiglas brochure display stands for the table ($30).

Grand total: $7,713

Was it worth it?  Yes, I think so, even though I didn’t win.  It did cost somewhat less than my ID campaign (back in the regional nomination days), despite having far more voters to cover.

I learned a lot about leadership in this past year, more than at any time previous in my Toastmasters experience (and I include service on the board when I say that).  It would have been nice to win, sure, but no regrets.  What would I have done differently or better?  That’s a different post.