Capterra’s Nonprofit Grant Budget Template is designed to aid nonprofits in planning and managing their grant funding effectively. This template allows for precise allocation and tracking of grant funds, ensuring that each dollar is accounted for and spent according to grantor guidelines. It is especially useful for organizations looking to streamline their grant reporting process and enhance transparency with funders. While the goal is to maximize resources and achieve mission-driven objectives, nonprofits often encounter significant challenges in their financial planning. Below, we explore the major challenges of a nonprofit budget proposal and provide real-world examples of how organizations have successfully addressed them. The best way to determine nonprofit income for a budget is to review the organization’s financial statements from the previous year.
- Reliable accounting software makes it easier to generate these insights from your financial data.
- We empower those who champion the collective good to scale their impact online through branding, web design & development, integrated marketing, and technology.
- Finally, budgeting software programs like Xero or QuickBooks are excellent tools for creating nonprofit budgets due to their ease of use and robust features.
- Start with your known fixed costs like rent, utilities, salaries and insurance.
- Elizabeth Male is director of marketing and communication at StriveTogether.
- Although it’s never too late to make a budget, the process should ideally start two or three months before the beginning of your next fiscal year.
Program Expenses
If that is the goal, it’s worthwhile to make sure that the program and cost definitions match the setup of your accounting system. Any accounting software can be used to maintain program-based financials, but they each have their own structure and terminology. One benefit of structuring accounting this way is that you can control your chart of accounts – the list of income and expense categories. These two cost centers are important components of understanding true costs and are created in parallel with the programs. By organizing your budget and allocations this way, you’re also setting up the accounting system to track and report the three functional expense categories required on audits and the IRS Form 990. It is an important financial tool to manage the expenses and revenue of an organization.
Nonprofit Budget Templates: 3 to use NOW in Google Sheets or Excel
- Reviewing the organization’s past financial performance is another important step in creating a nonprofit budget.
- These organizations will devise processes for reviewing budget assumptions, developing on-going budget reports, and monitoring organizational performance against budgeted outcomes.
- Using the budgets, you can determine where you’re losing and earning the most.
- The stakeholder of a specific program makes some critical decisions based on its budget.
- Make sure each department is doing so and if issues arise, to notify management before something becomes a crisis.
Here’s a comprehensive, https://holycitysinner.com/top-benefits-of-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizati/ step-by-step guide to building a budget that supports your nonprofit’s mission effectively. Understanding nonprofit budgeting is only one part of the equation; accurate accounting practices are equally essential. There are many resources around best practices including the Council of Nonprofits and AAFCPAs.
- If your predicted revenue exceeds your expenses, think about where you can use those extra dollars to make a bigger impact.
- Regular comparison of budget versus actual figures highlights areas needing attention before they become problems.
- For example, your goal for 2025 can be to increase fundraising revenue by 20% to support a new educational outreach program.
- Make your goals SMART—specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound.
- Here you can include revenue from memberships, products, and other resources that you sell alongside your programs.
Monitor and Manage Cash Flow
It is good practice to monitor your budget every month and compare predicted numbers to the actual figures to look for differences and understand why they occurred. If you are not in line with your projected budget, look at what changed or what could have been controlled. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site.
Overview of the Process
This template should include line items for all of the above expense categories, as well as others that may be specific to your organization. Once accounting services for nonprofit organizations all expenses have been accounted for, you can then begin to allocate funds to each category. Budgeting is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling financial resources and how they are allocated to achieve organizational goals.
Nonprofit Budget Templates
Good budgeting for nonprofit organizations is critically important to success, as nonprofits typically have stretched resources, fluctuating funding, and/or heavy reliance on specific funding sources. A budget for non-profit organizations needs structure without unnecessary complexity. Well-designed budget templates streamline financial management while ensuring you capture all essential information for decision-making and reporting. Keep monthly and quarterly tabs on your nonprofit’s cash flow with this all-inclusive, customizable template.