Lastly, it’s rare that nonprofits have unlimited funds, so they need to be realistic and thoughtful about setting restrictions on what they can spend money on. The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. Optimize your nonprofit marketing budget plan with this dynamic, plug-and-play template. A pie chart provides a quick breakdown view of your resource allocation (e.g., national marketing, local marketing, public relations, social media, etc.).

Resources

If you’ve written a grant before, then you’re probably familiar with program budgets. Program budgets are more limited in their scope than organizational budgets, since they only deal with the financials of one specific program. These organizations will devise processes for reviewing budget assumptions, developing on-going budget reports, and monitoring organizational performance against budgeted outcomes. If you’re hosting several fundraising events or focusing on a large campaign, create a separate budget for these ventures. Keep your main organizational or operational budget focused on your operations.

• Note the months and the sources that bring in more revenue and those that offer less funding.
• It also divides operating expenses by program and other overhead costs.
• Looking to create a well-crafted budget for your nonprofit organization?
• Once you’ve created your nonprofit budget, you’ll be on track to secure financial stability and sustainability for your organization.

Benchmarks & Insights for Growing Revenue and Constituents

• In a zero-budget approach, nonprofits plan their budgets as if they were brand new or from scratch.
• As you walk through your event list, add the amounts you'll need to make each one happen.
• It should include some typical sources of revenue and expenses, which saves you time on listing everything out.
• Once you’ve established a new nonprofit, one of your first considerations will likely be fundraising.

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). Budgeting a nonprofit organization is considered the hardest type of budgeting. Because in this article, we explain in detail what non-profit organizations are, what their budgets are, how they perform their budgeting, and why it is different from other profit organizations.

• This allows them to understand the financial health and history of your organization.
• The two most common methods for allocating indirect costs to programs are percentage of total direct costs and percentage of FTE.
• In addition, they should review the final draft against the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Get an idea of who the granting bodies are, who they typically choose to support, and how much funding they have to offer.
• It will cover all the expenses required to keep the organization running, from salaries and utilities to technology and insurance.
• Then, take some time to reflect on and learn from programmatic and financial successes and failures.

Steps to Creating a Best Practice Nonprofit Budget

Consider who’s available to give you the most useful insight—is there an experienced head https://nerdbot.com/2025/06/10/the-key-benefits-of-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizations/ of finance supporting you, or a treasurer? Checking in with multiple departments will help you better understand the big picture. Throughout the year, you’ll be able to track which avenues are working best for you.

Contracted services and fees

In a zero-budget approach, nonprofits plan their budgets as if they were brand new or from scratch. They start planning with no history to add to the process and the budget is based on future projections rather than historical data. Consider potential changes in your funding sources, program demands, or economic conditions. For each scenario, you should outline specific action plans to maintain financial stability. This proactive strategy enables quick, informed decisions when faced with financial fluctuations, ensuring your nonprofit remains resilient and mission-focused throughout the year.

Create separate budgets

• Discover seven powerful collaboration tools that transform chaotic nonprofit teamwork into streamlined fundraising success—helping you raise more while stressing less.
• But that’s where the estimated total revenue column on your organization budget spreadsheet comes in to play.
• Are you looking for more resources to support your nonprofit organization?
• Budgeting for non profit organizations is, perhaps, the most important financial document for your organization because it is a financial management and strategic tool.
• Congratulations – you now have the basics of your nonprofit operating budget!
• Your operating budget, also known as a broad scope budget, gives you a financial picture of the activities your organization has planned for the coming year.

Additionally, you’ll indicate whether these funds will come from program, management and general, or fundraising activities. Effective financial management is the backbone of a thriving nonprofit, ensuring stability, transparency, and informed decision-making. Our free courses provide in-depth knowledge on key accounting principles, budgeting strategies, and reporting requirements to help your organization thrive. There are many resources around best practices including the Council of Nonprofits and AAFCPAs. There are a number of tools that can assist in creating a nonprofit budget.