Hāngi Fundraiser: Can the Rōpū Reach Its $1,500 Target?
Ngā Toi o Te Ara, a kapa haka rōpū from a Whakatāne wharekura, has been invited to a national festival in Tāmaki Makaurau and must raise $1,500 towards travel. Their plan is a hāngi. The pit can cook a maximum of 216 portions; a single pack is one portion and a whānau pack is three portions.
Before the day they have taken pre-orders for 60 single packs at $14 each and 30 whānau packs at $38 each. Variable costs are $5.50 per single pack and $14.00 per whānau pack, because the ingredients scale with the number of portions. Fixed costs are $180 for a hired marquee, $220 for firewood, and $150 for gas and equipment hire. All prices include GST and no further costs are expected.
The rōpū meets two nights before the hāngi to check whether $1,500 is realistic and to decide what to do about any shortfall. There is no other fundraising confirmed, and the pit cannot be used twice in the same week.
1. Calculate the profit the rōpū will make if they sell only the pre-ordered packs. Show revenue, variable costs, contribution and fixed costs separately.
Read the worked answer
Revenue
- Single packs: 60 × $14 = $840
- Whānau packs: 30 × $38 = $1,140
- Total revenue = $1,980
Variable costs
- Single packs: 60 × $5.50 = $330
- Whānau packs: 30 × $14.00 = $420
- Total variable costs = $750
Contribution (revenue − variable costs) = $1,980 − $750 = $1,230
Fixed costs = $180 + $220 + $150 = $550
Profit = $1,230 − $550 = $680
The key idea is that fixed costs are paid once no matter how many packs are sold, so they are subtracted only at the end. That is why the contribution figure, not the revenue figure, is the useful number when deciding whether extra sales are worth chasing.
2. The pit holds 216 portions. How many portions remain unsold, and what is the greatest profit possible if every remaining portion is sold at the gate as a single pack? Is the $1,500 target reached?
Read the worked answer
Portions already committed
- 60 single packs = 60 portions
- 30 whānau packs = 30 × 3 = 90 portions
- Total = 150 portions
Portions remaining = 216 − 150 = 66 portions
Best case - all 66 sold as single packs at the gate
- Extra revenue: 66 × $14 = $924
- Extra variable cost: 66 × $5.50 = $363
- Extra contribution: $924 − $363 = $561
Maximum profit = $680 + $561 = $1,241
The maximum is still $259 short of $1,500, so the target cannot be reached through hāngi sales alone, even with a perfect gate sale. Selling the 66 portions as whānau packs instead gives a contribution of 22 × ($38 − $14) = $528, which is worse, so single packs are the better use of the remaining pit space. Note also that 66 gate sales is itself optimistic - the pit limit is a ceiling, not a forecast.
3. Recommend to the rōpū how to reach $1,500, using your figures. Include one realistic risk and show what it would do to the total.
Read the worked answer
The gap is $259 ($1,500 − $1,241), assuming every remaining portion sells.
Option 1 - sell more hāngi: not possible. The 216-portion pit limit is already used in the best case.
Option 2 - raise prices: lifting single packs to $16 gives 66 × ($16 − $5.50) = $693 contribution, total $1,373 - still $127 short, and a 14% price rise on the day may reduce gate sales.
Option 3 - cut fixed costs: firewood donated ($220) plus free use of a marquee ($180) saves $400. Total becomes $1,241 + $400 = $1,641. This clears the target with a $141 buffer.
Recommendation: ask the marae and a local supplier for the marquee and firewood as a koha, and still sell all 66 gate portions. This is the only option that clears $1,500 without relying on extra sales volume.
Risk: gate sales may fall short. If only half the 66 portions sell (33), contribution drops to $280.50, and the total becomes $680 + $280.50 + $400 = $1,360.50 - $139.50 short. A fallback such as a raffle at $2 a ticket (about 70 tickets needed to cover the risk) should be arranged before the day.