Where can I find examples of nonprofit budgets?
Nonprofits have different budgets for different needs. Given our focus on foundation grants, most of Foundation Center's budget resources are for proposal budgets. You can also find information here about other budgeting tools, such as organizational operating budgets and cash flow forecasts.
Proposal project budget
Keep in mind that there's no one-size-fits-all budget for grant proposals. In fact, some grantmakers have their own budget format.
Take a look at our Proposal Budget sample documents. You can use ideas from examples of nonprofit budgets to create the one that's right for you.
Take our free course, Introduction to Project Budgets, offered as an in-person class or a live/recorded webinar. Build on those basics with our more in-depth, self-paced learning course, Creating a Sound Proposal Budget. Its step-by-step instructions offer templates and plenty of examples.
All budgets have two common elements: your estimate of the true costs of the project and your anticipated income to meet those costs. Your expenses will be direct costs -- any personnel and non-personnel costs that you wouldn't have if you didn't have the project -- and indirect or hidden costs, also known as administrative costs or overhead. Your income consists of any grants or contributions plus any earned income earmarked for the project, such as ticket sales or fees for services.
Some different approaches to budgeting
- Income-based budgets first determine how much income you realistically think you can count on and then include expenses that can be covered by that amount.
- Incremental budgets are a percentage increase or decrease of an existing budget.
- Zero-based budgets start at the very beginning, examining priorities and testing all assumptions about where money will come from and how it will be spent.
Remember a budget describes your project in numbers just as your proposal describes it in words. To create an effective budget, make sure you know your project thoroughly. Many funders will look at the budget component of your proposal before they read anything else.
Other basic nonprofit budgets
- Organization-wide Operating Budgets. For small nonprofits with just one program, the proposal budget and organizational budget might be the same. For larger nonprofits, an organization-wide operating budget accounts for everything the nonprofit spends to carry out, evaluate and administer all its programs and activities.
- Capital Budgets. Used for construction and other big, one-time spending projects that often take more than a fiscal year to pay for.
- Cash Flow Budgets (Cash Flow Forecasts). An essential planning schedule that tracks when money is expected to come in and go out.
- Opportunity Budgets. An expansion planning tool that can be used whenever extra funding becomes available.
As you can see, budgeting is a process. Here is a checklist to help you get started.
Topic(s) Management Finances
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Ask UsStaff-Recommended Books and Articles
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Budgeting and Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations
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The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide...
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Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers
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Staff-Recommended Websites
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University of Scranton Online Resource Center
Accounting Considerations for Non-Profits
All organizations have a capital structure. When it comes to accounting considerations for non-profit organizations, it's important to know what separates the accounting practices from those of for-profit entities.
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VSCPA
Budgeting: A Guide for Small Nonprofit Organizations
A free resource provided by the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, this booklet outlines the steps in the budgeting process and includes a sample operating budget for a nonprofit.
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Staff Pick
Society for Nonprofit Organizations
Create a Budget that Works for You [PDF]
Reproduction of an article from Nonprofit World that discusses how to create a budget.
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Nonprofit Accounting Basics
A project of the GWSCPA Nonprofit Financial Accountability Task Force, Nonprofit Accounting Basics is a resource designed to help you produce accurate records and reports, encourage and measure accountability, and successfully manage and sustain your nonprofit organization.
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Staff Pick
Document downloads
Nonprofit Works Inc.
Contains downloadable templates and sample documents for proposal writing, grants management, budgeting, board development, and strategic planning. Provides access to documents related to grantseeking. Scroll down to the section on budgets.
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The Wallace Foundation
Program-Based Budget Builder
Tool for building a nonprofit organization's budget and listing revenue sources on a programmatic/functional basis, including allocation of personnel and direct and indirect non-personnel expenses. Provides a nonprofit budget template as well as a how-to video for filling out the template.
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Fieldstone Alliance
The Busy Person's Guide to Four Essential Finance Reports
Get accurate and timely information so you know exactly where you stand and what corrections are needed. NOTE: This is an archived version of the original page.