Nonprofit Budget Free Google Sheets & Excel Template

If your nonprofit is new, you’ll need to use estimates for your first budget. Use Top Benefits of Accounting Services for Nonprofit Organizations You Should Know last year’s actual numbers as a starting place and get quotes from vendors for new or expanded expenses. Start early and give yourself plenty of time to gather data, think, plan, and put everything on paper. Alicia Radford, CPA (she/her) specializes in nonprofit accounting, consulting, and training. She is passionate about making the language of finance accessible and using it to build power for collective liberation. Because the budgets are generated programmatically, the tabs are locked to prevent editing.

Step 4: Track your financials carefully

• Remember that effective financial management looks different for every organization.
• Help stakeholders understand that effective administration actually multiplies the impact of their program investments.
• If the structure or mission of your organization seems to share some things with them, that’s a good sign that you should apply.
• You’ll thank yourself later for having worked towards a long-term plan from the start.
• The template includes a revenue summary section that calculates your total grant income and a net section to help you quickly determine your program’s financial sustainability.
• At the end of the budgeting process, you should have a detailed financial plan outlining the organization’s revenues and expenses.

If one line item makes up more than about 10-15% of the total expenses or revenue, break that item down and use sub-categories (especially helpful for items like staff and programs). Ananda Valenzuela (any pronouns) provides interim executive director leadership, facilitates organizational transformation, and coaches values-aligned leaders. He is passionate about nourishing joyful organizational cultures, supporting equitable self-management, and building liberatory practices. Ananda grew up in Puerto Rico and slowly made her way across the United States, holding a variety of consulting, governance, and activist roles along the way. In general, the steps to creating a grant budget, include identifying all your potential expenses, delineating between direct and indirect costs, and giving yourself some buffer for unexpected costs. Discover the ultimate guide to 2025 fundraising gala themes for nonprofits.

Tips to Follow When Creating a Nonprofit Budget

While not a template per se, The Canada Council for the Arts offers a great example of a capital campaign budget for a $10 million campaign. There are even detailed instructions about how to use all the features of the template which includes multiple sheets and self-calculating formulas. Often, liabilities are accounts receivable, or bills your nonprofit needs to pay.

Nonprofit Budget Free Google Sheets & Excel Template

Here’s a comprehensive, 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. Full Suite of Accounting, Payroll and Fund Raising and Fund Accounting applications for nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit Budgeting: Step-by-Step Guide + Free Template

• 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.
• We’ve separated payroll expenses into their own sheet, to give you fine-grained control over your staffing costs, including employer-paid benefits.
• This guide will cover the five important sections that every nonprofit budget should include.
• Early in my career when I was really getting the hang of fundraising, we ended a year with a $50,000 surplus.
• Many organizations include salary costs in grant proposals and build appropriate overhead into their program budgets.

There are a number of tools that can assist in creating a nonprofit budget. Some of the best options include Google Sheets, Excel, https://namesbluff.com/everything-you-should-know-about-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizations/ and budgeting software programs like Xero or QuickBooks. When determining how to allocate funds, it is important to consider the organization’s overall goals and objectives.

💸 If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try using your goals to prioritize expenses—and remember, you can always increase spending if you’re able to raise more revenue later in the year. Finally, the board or budget committee should be ready to present the annual budget to any necessary committees and the board for final approval. Budgets may be requested by parties involved in financial transactions with the nonprofits, such as banks, or by donors/grantmakers considering a gift to the nonprofit. Once all questions have been addressed with clarity, the finance chair moves to approve the annual budget. Now, if we had described that money as a rainy day fund and that our Board set a policy that we would have 3 months’ worth of expenses in the bank, that might have been different.

Downloadable Grant Budget Templates

Direct program costs include staff salaries and benefits, materials and supplies, dedicated facilities, transportation, marketing, participant materials, and essential equipment. As mentioned at the outset, industry data shows that most nonprofits operate with dangerously low reserves, making this aspect of budgeting crucial. Creating a budget for non-profit organizations often involves following historical patterns—budgeting based on last year’s numbers with minor adjustments. This balanced approach to cost management strengthens your organization’s resilience while ensuring resources remain available for mission-critical work. Let’s explore some key reasons why budgeting plays such a crucial role in nonprofit success. This alignment helps create more accurate forecasts and smoother cash flow management.