A Curated Guide to Budgeting Tools

Building a budget — whether it’s for a specific program or a nonprofit’s entire operation — can be a daunting task. Luckily, there are lots of free tools available to help get you started. We’ve assembled a few here to help you budget for a variety of different scenarios.

Guides to Budget Basics

NorthSky Nonprofit Network: “Budgeting Basics” (PowerPoint presentation)

Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants: “Budgeting: A Guide for Small Nonprofit Organizations” (booklet)

Society for Nonprofits: “Create a Budget That Works for You” (article)

Foundation Center: “Proposal Budgeting Basics” (tutorial)

The Wallace Foundation: “A Five-Step Guide to Budgeting for Nonprofits” (webinar)

Third Sector New England : “Nonprofit Budget Tips for a Healthy New Year” (article)

Nonprofits Assistance Fund: “Balance Sheet Cheat Sheet” (tool)

Tools for the Budget Planning Process

Greater Washington Society of CPAs Educational Foundation: “The Budgeting Process” (checklist and interactive tool)

Nonprofits Assistance Fund: “10 Step Budgeting Checklist”

Budget Templates

The Wallace Foundation: “Program-Based Budget Builder” (interactive tool and instructional video)

Nonprofit Works: “Multiple program budget” (interactive template)

Sample Budgets

New York Hall of Science: Projected budget for outreach programs

Recovery Resources: Budget request for a project

The Community Resource Exchange: Several budget examples, including a budget allocating grant resources, one involving several different grants applied to several different programs, and one that analyzes differences between projected and actual revenue and expenses.