Eastern’s Homecoming, one of the biggest events of the year, is a collaborative effort financially.

Ceci Brinker, the director of Student Programs, said funding comes from several different departments.

“Our office oversees a lot of the central activities, especially the ones that are student-centered,” she said.

Brinker said she estimates that there are between 15 and 20 major Homecoming events, and the Student Life office is in charge of around eight of them.

“The bulk of the budget is provided by University Board because they have a Homecoming committee,” she said.

The committee’s budget is around $20,000, give or take, Brinker said.

“It’s not a very large budget, but they’re very resourceful,” she said.

The Homecoming committee is co-sponsored by Student Community Service for some events, which helps with their budget.

Brinker said athletics has expenses from the football game and the tailgate, and housing and dining also has some general expenses.

“We have partners like minority affairs and get support from the Vice President of Development,” she said.

Brinker said overall, if she had to estimate the amount of money that will go into this year’s Homecoming, it would be between $30,000 and $40,000.

The major expenses the UB handles include prizes, giveaways and awards for the weekend, which cost around $1,500, Brinker said.

The awards include trophies and plaques for Homecoming winners and awards for the band competition in the Homecoming parade.

She said another large expense for the UB includes the spirit T-shirts sold before Homecoming.

The T-shirts cost about $10,000, but Brinker said they largely pay for themselves.

“This year, they decided to offer the T-shirts in three colors instead of the usual one color,” she said. “Usually, the sales of the shirts are part of their fundraising to offset their other expenses, but because they chose this year to make a nicer shirt, they’re actually losing money, which they’re OK with.”

Brinker said the UB chose to do this even though they would not make as much because they wanted to do something more for the Eastern community.

The UB has been selling the shirts to local schools along with departments at Eastern.

“The shirts themselves bring in another $2,000 to $3,000 that can be applied toward operational costs,” she said.

The UB does not have many operational costs for Family Weekend and Homecoming because many operational departments within the university offset the cost, Brinker said.

Other expenses include marketing and entertainment for the weekend.

Marketing for the weekend, including posters and advertising, is usually around $500.

Entertainment costs for the Homecoming weekend are about $1,000 and include inflatable bounce houses for Throwback Thursday.

“All of these are projected costs, however,” Brinker said. “We know the university is in a tight situation financially, but when it’s about school spirit, everyone feels like they want to play a role.”

Brinker said money has never been a reason why they have not been able to make Homecoming work.

“We always find a way to pool our money and our resources to make it work through sponsorship and support,” she said. “You always have to find a way to do more with less.”

Brinker said costs always go up, but Eastern makes it work.

“It’s never stifled the spirit for Homecoming,” she said. “People are always willing to go the extra mile because it’s Homecoming, and it’s our time to shine and go the extra mile for the great place Eastern really is.”

Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or redexter@eiu.edu.