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Today, let’s talk about creating budgets for your grant proposals.

Budgeting for a grant proposal doesn’t have to be confusing. In fact, it’s no different from budgeting for your household. You have to plan your income and then (ideally) you plan to spend less than or equal to the amount of money that you bring in.

What makes this a little bit more confusing is that nonprofits don’t know *exactly* how much money we will raise. Will we meet the full budget or will we fall significantly short?

The thing to remember is that your budget is a plan. That’s all! It guides how you raise and spend funds. It helps you make decisions and sets you up for financial success.

I have never heard of a budget that was 100 percent accurate. There’s just too much we can’t predict, especially when we are looking out a year in advance.

So when you're budgeting, do your best to accurately estimate your income and expenses—and then start raising the funds to make it happen.

Throughout the year, you'll adjust how you're spending money based on how much income you bring in.

Actionable tips:

1. Capture all allowable staff costs. Make sure you’re including administrative staff who oversee and support project work.
2. Include allowable overhead expenses. These include expenses such as rent, utilities, insurance, etc.
3. Consider building in reserves. Include a line item to build your organizational reserves if allowable.
4. Don’t be afraid to estimate. A budget is your best guess at a specific point in time. It can always be updated when you have access to new information.

What else do you want to know about budgeting?

A few weeks ago I took a poll on Instagram to learn what grantwriting topic people had the most questions about. The winner? Budgeting.

So here are my questions for you:

1. What are your biggest budgeting questions?
2. If I were going to create a short class on budgeting for grant proposals, would you be interested?

Let me know by replying to this email!

National funder of the week

​BOTOX® Cosmetic and IFundWomen are partnering to support the women leaders of tomorrow with the tools they need to succeed today. This grant program is for women entrepreneurs. Winners will receive a $25,000 grant, coaching, and mentorship. The deadline to apply is March 19, 2024.

In case you missed it

That’s all for this week!

Tracy

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Founder, Tracy Babler & Associates LLC
​@nonprofitgrantmagic​

6417 Penn Ave S, Ste 7-220, Minneapolis, MN. 55423
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