We know from experience that allocating time based on general estimates or gut feeling is often inaccurate. The goal of program-based budgets and allocations is to gain a solid understanding of the true costs, and staff cost is too important to leave to guesswork. A nonprofit budget is a financial document prepared by the organization’s leaders, which details their plans and the money they will spend on each. Moreover, a sample nonprofit budget will serve as a guide for organizations as they take steps forward to reach their plans. This document is a necessity for the said entity because it helps them evaluate their financial health.

A beginner’s guide to accounting for nonprofits

To make sure you don’t forget anything critical, here’s a look at several key areas you need to include in a program budget plan. You may want to create both types of budgets to help your team stay on track and avoid overspending. For even more detailed planning, you can also create a capital budget (used for long-term projects) and various grant budgets (for defining how you’ll use funds if your grant proposal is accepted). This nonprofit startup operating budget template features sections for total one-time startup expenses, monthly expenses, and total funds required to operate. Use this operating budget template to ensure that your nonprofit has accounted for every single cost and expense. By doing so, you can keep an eye on your big-picture forecast with the assurance that every detail of your accounting is in order.

Sample Brochures

These goals, presented and endorsed by your board, should lead you to a budget (not the other way around). Trust me on this one — the next time you’re presenting a budget to your board, keep referring back to https://nyweekly.com/business/accounting-services-for-nonprofits-benefits-and-how-to-choose-the-right-provider/ goals of your organization and I bet you will get exponentially fewer weedy questions. Your nonprofit’s first budget is a critical tool for both planning purposes and managing finances as the organization grows. Administrative expenses might not be the most exciting part of running a nonprofit, but they’re absolutely necessary. These costs cover the behind-the-scenes essentials that keep everything moving smoothly.

Allocate fundraising costs

A budget plan helps you plan and control the finances in your organization. There are many sample budget templates available for you so that you do not have to take the effort to create a simple budget for your nonprofit organization from scratch and waste a lot of time. They also develop new programs regularly as their communities’ needs change.

• If there are any changes you need to make now and then, then do not forget to do so.
• Contact us if you have any questions about this donation letter template or any of our free not-for-profit templates.
• Total up your professional support costs for accounting, legal advice, grant writing, human resources, and more.
• Make your goals SMART—specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Are you looking to expand a program, hire additional staff, or purchase new technology?
• The above template is an example of a Grants budget template that specifies how to form a budget on the basis of grants, how to make effective use of the grants, and so on.

Nonprofit Operating Budget Template

These become part of the overall organizational budget and are used to evaluate the program’s financial effectiveness. Program budgets also create a paper trail of accountability, enhancing a nonprofit’s financial transparency. Take the guesswork out of building a program budget with this free, easy-to-use template from Grassroots Grants! A budget is a guide that can help a nonprofit plan for the future as well as assess its current financial health. It is good practice to periodically review the budget as well as compare it to the actual cash flow and expenses, to determine whether they are playing out as expected during the course of the year. The primary purpose of nonprofit budgeting is to ensure that the organization can meet its goals without running out of money.

Choose a Nonprofit Budget Template

Stay ahead of grant deadlines and boost your funding success with a customizable grant calendar template. This guide shows nonprofits how to track key details, stay organized, and never miss an opportunity—plus how tools like Instrumentl can help streamline the process. However, a small nonprofit may only have one program, and that’s the one exception when no program budget is needed. Simply include the program’s expenses in the overall operating budget. A proposed operating budget is prepared by your organization’s staff, but then needs approval by your board of directors.

Plus, you can use any funding you don’t spend to build your organization’s reserve funds, which contribute to long-term sustainability. They also simplify monitoring financial progress and adjusting strategies as needed, proving indispensable for both new and established organizations. Explore a range of nonprofit budget templates available for download to enhance your financial planning and ensure your organization’s sustainability. Looking to create a well-crafted budget for your nonprofit organization? Look no further than these nonprofit budget templates, which are designed to help you plan and track your expenses effectively. America’s 1.5 million nonprofit organizations are at the heart of our communities, from supporting arts and culture to providing essential services for people in need.

• Program expenses cover everything tied directly to the services you provide—whether that’s offering housing, healthcare, or meals in your community.
• Once everything’s set, finalize your nonprofit budget by appropriately distributing your organization’s current funds to your predicted expense items.
• We’ve created each free non-profit template and downloadable resource to support the great work that charities, nonprofits, and NGOs do.
• Your board of directors will see your budget at some point, but it’s important to know how involved they’ll be!
• For templates exclusively in Microsoft Excel formats, check out our collection of Excel Budget templates.
• As important expenses and new positions are cut, it’s important to make sure the board feels that same pain.

Its founders have to make plans and write budgets to ensure a smooth-sailing operation. If creating a budget seems like a challenging task for you, you may download a nonprofit budget proposal template and nonprofit budget template in Google Sheets. With a professionally written template at your disposal, budgeting will be quick and easy. The existence of organizations centers on the will of several individuals who share a unified goal. With that, there are two types of organizations—business and nonprofit.

Sample Contracts

• Building a budget can be complex, but by following a sequential plan, you’ll find creating a nonprofit budget isn’t as daunting as you might have thought.
• If you don’t have a financial history to review, tally up the expenses you expect to incur.
• Trust me, it will make your life easier and it shows you’re serious about your nonprofit and its future.
• From grant budgets and organizational budgets to program budgets and more, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
• Like any small business, your nonprofit needs enough cash flow to cover all its operating expenses—paying staff salaries, keeping the lights on, and covering upfront costs for fundraising events.

To calculate year-end budget totals, contrast income (e.g., sales, contributions, fundraising, etc.) with expenses (e.g., office equipment, transportation, utilities, etc.). After completing the full program-based budget or financial analysis it’s worthwhile to take a fresh look accounting services for nonprofit organizations for both accuracy and a gut check. Do the formulas, amounts, and financial results match what you expected, or do they surprise you?