How much should family reunion dues be? Add up the costs everyone shares, add a 10% buffer, and divide by the number of paying people, counting children as half. In the worked examples below, a one-day park reunion for 60 people comes to $40 per adult, and a two-night cabin weekend for 40 people comes to $300 per adult with lodging included. Travel and optional extras are usually paid separately.
Dues are where reunions quietly go wrong. Set them too low and the organizer covers the gap from their own pocket. Set them too high and the relatives who are stretched thin stay home. There’s no standard number, because a picnic and a beach week have nothing in common. There is a standard method, and it takes about an hour once you have quotes.
01 / SCOPE
What Do Family Reunion Dues Usually Cover?
Dues cover the costs everyone shares: the venue, group meals, shared lodging booked by the committee, supplies, and often a T-shirt. They usually don’t cover travel, hotel rooms each household books for itself, or optional outings. Write the list down in the invitation so nobody is surprised.
Our family reunion invitation wording templates include a line for what dues cover, and our T-shirt ideas post covers whether to fold shirts into dues or sell them separately.
| Usually in the dues | Usually paid separately |
|---|---|
| Venue, pavilion or hall rental | Flights, gas and rental cars |
| Group meals and catering | Hotel rooms each household books itself |
| Shared lodging the committee books (a cabin or house) | Optional excursions with limited spots |
| Decorations, plates, name tags and printing | Restaurant meals on free evenings |
| Games, prizes and kids’ activities | Extra T-shirts and souvenirs |
| One reunion T-shirt per person (optional) | Personal spending |
Whether lodging belongs in the dues depends on who books it. If the committee rents one big house, its cost is shared and goes in. If families book their own hotel rooms from a block, it stays out, and the dues stay small.
02 / THE FORMULA
How Do You Calculate Family Reunion Dues?
Total the shared costs, add 10% for no-shows and surprises, then divide by “paying units”: one per adult or teen, a half per child, zero for children under five. Round the result up to a whole dollar amount, then set the child price at half of it.
To skip the arithmetic, enter your costs and headcount in our free family reunion budget calculator.
The dues formula
Adult dues = (shared costs × 1.10) ÷ paying units
Paying units = adults + teens + (children × 0.5) + (seniors × your senior rate)
- Get real quotes for lodging, venue and food. Estimates from memory run low.
- Estimate the headcount by age from your guest list, and assume 10–15% of “maybes” won’t come.
- Add the 10% buffer. It covers the cousin who cancels after the caterer has the count, and the last-minute ice run.
- Divide and round up. Uneven amounts like $37.40 look like guesses. $40 looks like a plan.
03 / WORKED EXAMPLES
What Do Dues Look Like for a Real Reunion Budget?
For a one-day park reunion with catering, dues of about $40 per adult cover the costs. For a two-night weekend in shared cabins with groceries and one catered dinner, dues of about $300 per adult cover lodging and food. Your numbers will differ by region, but the method is the same.
Example 1: One-Day Park Reunion, 60 People
38 adults and teens, 12 children aged 5–12, 6 children under 5, and 4 seniors.
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Park pavilion rental | $250 |
| Catered barbecue (60 × $18) | $1,080 |
| Supplies and decorations | $150 |
| Games and prizes | $120 |
| Printing and name tags | $50 |
| Shared costs | $1,650 |
| 10% buffer | $165 |
| Amount to collect | $1,815 |
Counting children at half and seniors at three-quarters gives 47 paying units. $1,815 ÷ 47 = $38.62, rounded up to $40 per adult, $20 per child, $30 per senior, and free under 5. That collects $1,880, which covers the costs and buffer.
Example 2: Two-Night Cabin Weekend, 40 People
30 adults and teens, 6 children aged 5–12, 2 children under 5, and 2 seniors paying the adult rate.
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Two large cabins, 2 nights, with taxes and cleaning | $6,200 |
| Groceries for four shared meals | $1,600 |
| Catered Saturday dinner (40 × $22) | $880 |
| Group pontoon boat rental | $600 |
| Supplies | $200 |
| Shared costs | $9,480 |
| 10% buffer | $948 |
| Amount to collect | $10,428 |
That’s 35 paying units. $10,428 ÷ 35 = $297.94, rounded up to $300 per adult and $150 per child, with children under 5 free. A household of two adults and two children owes $900 for two nights’ lodging and most meals.
Lodging is most of this budget, so the destination decides the dues. Our state planning guides include per-person lodging and dining costs to plug into the formula.
“The dues aren’t a price. They’re the family’s share of a bill the organizer has already signed.”
04 / FAIRNESS
Should Kids and Seniors Pay Less?
Usually, yes. A common structure is free under five, half price for ages five to twelve, and full price from thirteen. Some families also discount seniors on fixed incomes. Every discount raises the adult price slightly, so decide the bands first and calculate the adult rate last.
Age bands also stop the awkward conversations. When the invitation says “Ages 5–12: $20,” nobody has to ask whether their eleven-year-old counts as an adult.
On AmazingReunion you set a price for each age group: infants, kids, teens, adults, seniors, or a custom group. As relatives RSVP and add each person in their party, they see an estimate of their household’s share update as they go. If you haven’t priced a group yet, it shows as “not priced yet” rather than free.
Set Your Dues Once. Stop Doing the Math for Every Household.
Price each age group, and every family sees its own total when it RSVPs.
Launch My Reunion Site05 / COLLECTION
How Should You Collect Family Reunion Dues?
Collect online, open payments with the invitation, and let households pay in parts before a firm deadline four to six weeks out. A $900 family bill is hard to pay at once and easy to pay over three months. Online payment also gives you a live record of who has paid, so you only chase the people who haven’t.
- One link, one deadline. Put the RSVP and payment in the same place, and put the deadline in every reminder.
- Allow part payments. On AmazingReunion, relatives can pay part now and the rest later, with a $10 minimum per payment. Each extra payment adds about 57¢ in card processing.
- Know who pays the fees. On AmazingReunion, card processing and a $2.50 handling fee, charged once per household balance, are added on top. A household paying $300 in dues pays $312.10, and the reunion receives the full $300.
- Track by household. Each household shows as paid, part-paid or unpaid, so you know exactly who still needs a reminder.
- Keep the money separate. Payments go to the organizer’s own Stripe account, not a personal checking account or a cousin’s payment app.
For the step-by-step setup, see how to collect reunion fees online.
06 / HARDSHIP
What If Some Relatives Can’t Afford the Dues?
Build a small sponsorship fund into the plan and handle requests privately. Many families invite relatives who can afford it to sponsor a household, or add an optional “pay it forward” amount. Name one trusted person to receive requests, and never discuss who was helped.
- Ask for sponsors in the invitation: “If you’re able, consider sponsoring a child’s place for $20.”
- Offer a quiet route: “If the dues are a barrier, message Aunt Denise. No questions asked.”
- Keep a low-cost option. On a cabin weekend, let families who book their own rooms nearby pay meals-only dues.
07 / SURPLUS AND SHORTFALL
What Happens If You Collect Too Much or Too Little?
Say in the invitation what happens to a surplus, and publish a one-page account after the reunion. If you fall short, cover the gap from the buffer first, then ask sponsors. Don’t raise dues after people have paid unless costs changed for reasons everyone can see.
Many families roll a surplus into a seed fund for the next reunion’s deposits, which means the next organizer doesn’t start out of pocket. Others give it to a scholarship or a memorial gift in the name of a relative who has passed.
Collect Dues Without Chasing Anyone
Set prices by age, let households pay in parts, and see who has paid at a glance.
Launch My Reunion SiteFree to start. Includes RSVP, Payments & Photo Sharing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should family reunion dues be?
Enough to cover shared costs plus a 10% buffer, divided by the number of paying people. In our worked examples, a one-day park reunion for 60 comes to $40 per adult, and a two-night cabin weekend for 40 comes to $300 per adult with lodging included.
Should children pay family reunion dues?
A common approach is to let children under five attend free and charge children roughly half the adult rate, because they eat less and often share beds. Teenagers usually pay the adult rate. Set the age bands before you send invitations so nobody negotiates later.
When should family reunion dues be due?
Open payments with the invitation, four to six months ahead, and make the final deadline four to six weeks before the reunion. That gives you paid-up numbers before the caterer needs a final count and before most lodging balances are due.
What happens to leftover reunion money?
Decide in advance and say so in the invitation. Common choices are a seed fund for the next reunion’s deposits, a scholarship or memorial gift, or a refund if the surplus is large. Publish a one-page account of income and costs either way.
Need real numbers for your budget? Our state guides list lodging, dining and activity costs per person. Start at the Reunion Planning Guides hub, or follow the month-by-month planning timeline.
Ken O.
Founder of AmazingReunion and veteran reunion organizer who has coordinated 50+ family gatherings across the US.
