DEI Program Budget Calculator
Wondering what a first year actually costs? Tick the lines your programme will carry and get a figure you can take into a budget conversation.
Tick the lines your first year will actually carry. Adjust the mix as the plan firms up.
A planning estimate in cash terms, and it excludes the internal hours, which are the largest real cost and belong in the plan separately. Unit 3 covers costing those hours and defending the whole figure.
Learn how to build the budgetWhat a first year actually needs
A first year needs less money and more sequencing than most people assume. What it does need is a way to find out where the organization actually stands, training for the people who make hiring and promotion decisions, and somewhere to report from so a second year can be argued for. Almost everything else can wait until the first result is visible.
The figure above is cash only. Internal hours are the larger cost and belong in the plan as their own line, because a budget that hides them is one somebody will later say was overspent. The course covers costing both, and the conversation where the whole figure is approved.
Budget FAQs
How much does a DEI programme cost in its first year?
The cash lines are usually smaller than people expect, often a few thousand dollars for assessment tooling, training and reporting. The cost that dominates is internal hours, which this calculator deliberately leaves out because a figure attached to somebody else's salary turns the conversation into one about that salary. Cost the hours separately and present both.
Can you run a DEI programme with almost no budget?
For a while, yes, and the first year often has to. Publishing pay ranges, fixing an application form, sending interview questions in advance and training the people who make hiring decisions cost close to nothing. What no budget cannot buy is external facilitation for the sessions where being the employer is a disadvantage.
What is the biggest line?
Manager training, in almost every version of this. It is also the line with the most leverage, because the people it reaches are the ones making the decisions your measures will report on.
Is this budget calculator free?
Yes, completely free with no sign-up. For the full planning method, including costing internal hours and getting the figure approved, see the courses.