Karma Tycoon Video Game Study Guide Unit Cities and NonProfit Data

Post-Game Lesson Plan 1:
Devising a Budget for Your Nonprofit

Primary Subject – Social Studies
Secondary Subjects – Language Arts, Math
Grade Level – 7-10

A STUDY GUIDE
11) Post-Game Lesson Plan 1:
Devising a Budget for Your Nonprofit

Grades 7-10

 

Karma Tycoon rocks the gaming world by offering you a thrilling ride through the world of social entrepreneurship as you earn Karma in virtual communities across the US.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. UNIT INTRODUCTION
2. ABOUT US:
   • DO SOMETHING
   • THE JPMORGAN CHASE FOUNDATION
   • 9MMEDIA
3. KARMA TYCOON PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
4. LEARNING GOALS AND LINKS TO CLASSROOM LEARNING
5. HOW TO PLAY KARMA TYCOON
6. VOCABULARY
   • Nonprofit Terms
   • “Learn” Sections from Karma Tycoon Video Game for Grants, Foundations, Balance Sheets, Credit Cards, and Loans
7. CITIES AND NONPROFIT DATA
   • Cities
   • Types of Nonprofits
8. PRE-GAME LESSON PLAN 1
   • What is a Nonprofit Organization?
9. PRE-GAME LESSON PLAN 2
   • City and Nonprofit Internet Learning Hunt
10. PRE-GAME LESSON PLAN 3
    • The Importance of Managing Your Finances
11. POST-GAME LESSON PLAN 1
    • Devising a Budget for Your Nonprofit

    (SEE BELOW)

Note:

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POST-GAME
LESSON PLAN 1   

Devising a Budget for Your Nonprofit 

Devising a Budget for Your Nonprofit

INTRODUCTION

GOALS

• To understand financial aspects of running a nonprofit (start-up costs including expenses, rent, payroll, utilities, supplies) and what a budget looks like.
• To understand financial responsibility in your personal life.

OBJECTIVES

• Students will discuss the importance of taking responsibility for personal financial decisions.
• Students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of different payment methods.

VOCABULARY

MATERIALS

• Vocabulary Handout (See Lesson 6)
• Budget worksheet

INSTRUCTION

• Explain to students that the different nonprofits in Karma Tycoon were only five of the many types of organizations that exist in the United States (and across the globe). In addition, the game was simplified so that not every single cost that a nonprofit organization has to incur was captured in the game.
• Ask the students to work in pairs and pick a different type of nonprofit, that was not covered in the game and brainstorm every possible type of expense.
• Come together as a class and list all the different types of expenses that a nonprofit may have during an annual budget year.
• Have students use the list of expenses that they created and create a budget for the first year (or first month) of their nonprofit. Have them research how much things cost (if they don’t know) so that they can see a realistic value of a budget for a year.

Class Discussion:

• How can nonprofit expenses related to your everyday life? Have the class talk about what expenses incurred by a nonprofit are incurred by your family? By you?

Follow-up Activity:

• Have students make a list of what they think they spend in a week. Then have them create a budget factoring in their allowance, other money they get from their parents, money they get from their job, etc. for revenue and everything they spend (including charitable donations) for the expense side.

ASSESSMENT OPTIONS

• Collect budgets to evaluate student work.

AND BEYOND

• Hand out a budget (probably simplified) from an actual nonprofit so that students can see what they were missing from their own budgets and see how much it really costs to run a nonprofit for just one year.
• For the next month have the students use the personal budget that they created to chart their actual revenue and expenses. How did they do? Do they need to cut expenses, increase revenues, or not see so many movies on the weekends?
• Have students fundraise for a cause they care about.

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Budget Worksheet

 

Dollar Amount

Revenue

Individual Contributions

Donated Services

Gifts in-kind – goods

Donated use of facilities

Corporations

Foundations

Government

Other

Total revenue

Direct expense

Grant, awards & contract expense

Salaries & related expenses

Accounting

Other Prof fees

Interns

Web design

Evaluations

Donated Services

Training

Curricula

Printing & reproduction

Supplies

Donated materials & supplies

Telephone & telecommunications

Advertising

Public Relations

Marketing & promotions

Computer equipment & software

Equipment rental & maintenance

Books, subscriptions, reference

Occupancy expenses

Travel & meeting expenses

Miscellaneous expense

Total direct expense

 

Net: Revenue – Expenses

http://www.dosomething.org/karmatycoon

E-Mail karmatycoon@dosomething.org!