10 tips for creating budgets at nonprofit organizations

If you’re looking for a way to keep all those balls in the air, nothing is more valuable than a foolproof accounting services for nonprofit organizations nonprofit budget. At least once a quarter (but ideally bi-monthly or monthly), compare actual expenditures against the projected budget to make sure your nonprofit is on track. Remember that effective financial management looks different for every organization.

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You can also create graphs that display your financial data over time. With so many different revenue sources and expenses, it can be tough to manage your nonprofit budgets. That’s why Relay (that’s us! 👋) helps nonprofits organize cash across multiple checking accounts. Our online business banking and money management platform allows nonprofits to open 20 individual checking accounts for program budgets, operating expenses, and beyond. Editable fields enable you to overwrite example figures (including revenue and expenses) with your own. This fully customizable template helps you determine your organization’s monthly, quarterly, and yearly net income so that you can gauge the financial health of your nonprofit’s budgeted operations.

Startup Operating Budget

To truly stick to your budget—and ensure you have enough money to fulfill your nonprofit’s mission—you need an efficient way to manage cash flow and organize spending. Relay is an online banking and money management platform that can help you (and your team members) avoid overspending, get clear on income, and simplify financial management. By now, you’ve created a solid foundation for a super-effective nonprofit budget. The next step is to forecast your organization’s revenue for the upcoming year.

Fundraising

• This is also sometimes called a “broad scope budget” or an “annual budget” because it gives you a full picture of what the coming year should look like.
• It’s crucial that the budget be centered around the primary goals and objectives of the organization.
• You need to know how your nonprofit’s cash flows and what to do if the cash doesn’t flow.
• They can be one time, recurring, or anything in between—if it costs you, then it’s an expense!
• Operating budgets reflects the organization’s planned financial activities for the year ahead, showing how much revenue it expects from which sources and how much it will spend on operations.
• Executive directors should plan and make sure the budget plan is centered around the primary goals and objectives of your organization.
• The above simple template will help you produce your finances for a financial year.

There are different types of budgets intended for specific purposes, departments, or focused periods. Use this as a guide to ensure your financial activities contribute to your organization’s financial sustainability and long-term impact. Include program expenses in your nonprofit program budget template to ensure that your resources are used efficiently while achieving your mission goals.

• You want your budget to be a useful tool, not something you’re too intimidated to look at.
• Making an annual budget involves stabilizing an organization’s revenue or income with its expenses and make them work hand in hand.
• The summary table at the very bottom will help you see how you’re tracking as far as year-to-date, and year-to-date budget totals go.
• Create guidelines for when to adjust projections, shift resources between programs, or implement contingency plans.
• 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).
• Columns for projected expenses or revenue, what was actually received or spent, and how these differ from one another are also a must.

Be realistic in your projections and consider historical data to estimate https://nerdbot.com/2025/06/10/the-key-benefits-of-accounting-services-for-nonprofit-organizations/ future incomes. Yes, profit in a charity is perfectly acceptable as long as those profits are used for the nonprofit’s charitable purposes and not for the benefit of the Board or key staff. In fact, healthy nonprofits will do this to help fund 3-6 months of operating reserves. There are a number of tools that can assist in creating a nonprofit budget.

A budget for non-profit organizations must prioritize reserve building through intentional planning and disciplined execution. As mentioned at the outset, industry data shows that most nonprofits operate with dangerously low reserves, making this aspect of budgeting crucial. This balanced approach to cost management strengthens your organization’s resilience while ensuring resources remain available for mission-critical work.

For this reason, it’s important for nonprofit organizations to be flexible and to revise the budget upon the occurrence of significant unplanned events. Involve your Board, Executive directors, staff members, and even volunteers during the budgeting process. This will not only help create a more accurate and comprehensive budget but also ensures buy-in from key stakeholders. Proper budgeting can help make sure you use resources effectively, prevents overspending and ensures the financial health of your organization. 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. Budgeting is a crucial part of keeping your organization on track and solvent.