Senators fund outcomes, not talent. Before you say who you want to book, say what the event does for campus. A marquee moment for a quiet semester, a draw for prospective students during admitted-student weekend, or a chance to fill a gap left by a canceled tradition. The artist is the vehicle, but the impact is the ask.
"Somewhere between $15,000 and $40,000" reads as unprepared and invites a debate about the range instead of the event. Come with one figure, broken into artist fee, production, security, marketing, and contingency; and be ready to show where that figure came from.
Ask your agent first
A quick call before the meeting gets you a realistic quote and confirms the date is actually available so the number you present is one you can stand behind if asked to defend it on the spot.
Full funding requests are a harder sell than partial ones. If ticket revenue, a co-sponsorship with another department on campus, or a rollover from an underspent line can cover even 20% of the cost, say so. It signals the board did its homework and isn't treating student government as the only funding source.
Senators will ask why this act and not a bigger or cheaper name. Have the comparison ready: what similar-sized schools have booked this artist for, what the availability window looks like, and why the timing lines up with your campus calendar. A one-page artist comparison beats a verbal defense every time.
Venue capacity, security plan, insurance, load-in — these need to be answered, not narrated. Senators want to know the board has thought it through, not sit through a full production timeline. One clean slide or handout with the essentials. Let them ask if they want more depth.
The most common pushback on a big-ticket event is 'how do we know students will show up?' Past turnout data, RSVP or interest-form numbers, and comparable events at peer schools all help here. If this is your board's first swing at something this size, say that plainly and explain the demand signal you're going on instead.
Weather contingencies, a minimum-attendance clause, what happens if the artist has to reschedule — addressing this before it's asked reads as competence, not doubt. Boards that skip this section usually get stopped here.
Keep it to one paragraph
You don't need a full risk-management appendix in the room. A few sentences showing you've considered the downside case is usually enough to move the conversation forward.
"We'd like your support" isn't something a board can act on. "We're requesting $28,000 from the programming allocation, with a vote needed by [date] to hold the artist's availability" is. Give them the exact motion you want them to make.
The pitch is easier when it isn't the first time anyone on the board has heard about it. A short conversation with the finance chair or advisor beforehand — walking through the number and answering early questions one-on-one — means someone in the room can vouch for the request when it's your turn to present.
A concert pitch gets approved when the board has clearly done the work the senators would otherwise have to do themselves: sized the ask, stress-tested the logistics, and shown the payoff. Walk in with those answers already on the page, and the meeting turns into a formality instead of an interrogation.
Working on a pitch for an upcoming board meeting? Your Degy agent can help build the budget breakdown, pull comparable bookings, and confirm artist availability before you present. Reach out anytime.