When it comes to your nonprofit’s budget, it is extremely important that your team has a clear and accurate understanding of your organization’s income and expenses. Sound financial management is essential for any successful nonprofit, and two key ingredients to that success are solid planning and budgeting skills.

A lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to your organization’s budget can lead to bad habits that will ultimately hinder your nonprofit’s chances of success. One way to stay on top of your nonprofit budget practices is to utilize some of the many budget templates that can be found online. Countless thriving nonprofits are leveraging budget templates to assess monthly and annual expenses, track donations, determine the annual budget, and project revenues and expenses for the upcoming fiscal year.

This article briefly discusses three of the more commonly used nonprofit budgets, a corresponding budget template that you can use to create your budget, and a summary of how that specific template is typically used.

Popular Types of Budgets for Nonprofits

There are several types of budget sheets used by nonprofit organizations. The following section will go over three of the most commonly used types of budgets. We also provide a downloadable template for each of them that you can customize based on your nonprofit’s needs.

Nonprofit Operating Budget

What Is a Nonprofit Operating Budget?

The primary purpose of a nonprofit operating budget is to provide a breakdown of the annual projected revenues and expenses for your organization. The main objective is to provide a broad idea of the nonprofit’s financial plans for the upcoming year. Ideally, you want to review this on a regular basis so you have a clear idea of your nonprofit’s financial health.

Sample Nonprofit Operating Budget (click to download template)

Ideas for Leveraging This Nonprofit Template

Some ideas for how to use this nonprofit budget template include:

• monitoring revenue related to grants, dividends, gifts, fundraising, and membership
• comparing budgets to YTD actuals
• overseeing expenses, such as office supplies and equipment, utilities, salaries, and insurance
• analyzing total expenses against actual revenue
• assessing operating costs and fiscal wellbeing

Nonprofit Cash Flow Projections

What Are Nonprofit Cash Flow Projections?

These projections are useful for tracking your nonprofit’s cash flow on a monthly and quarterly basis. This sheet will help you easily calculate the rolling cash balance, total cash payments, the month-ending cash position of your nonprofit, and a few other handy projections.

Sample Nonprofit Cash Flow Projection (click to download template)

Ideas for Leveraging This Nonprofit Template

This template can help you with:

• overseeing monthly and quarterly income
• tracking additional expenses
• determining your nonprofit’s cash on hand

Nonprofit Marketing Budget Plan

What Is a Nonprofit Marketing Budget Plan?

The purpose of this plan is to help the user map out a strategy for their marketing needs while providing a clear picture of the kind of budget your campaign will require. The template below does an excellent job of evaluating your nonprofit’s strengths and weaknesses when it comes to marketing by utilizing SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat).

Sample Nonprofit Marketing Budget Plan (click to download template)

Ideas for Leveraging This Nonprofit Template

This template can help you with:

• resource allocation
• marketing budget projections
• tracking monthly expenses related to marketing

Other Nonprofit Resources

Here are some additional tools for nonprofits that may come in handy:

• Advanced accounting and budgeting reports: You can budget by fund, generate donor reports, and more. Try Aplos free for 15 days.
• MailChimp: It’s free if you have fewer than 2000 email subscribers, and it provides great value for nonprofits that are new or have limited funds.
• Asana: This is an excellent task management software that is free for up to 15 users.
• Buffer: This social media management platform offers a 50% discount to verified nonprofits.

Free Recorded Webinar: Advanced Tips for Budgeting

Since nonprofits and churches focus on accountability rather than profitability, having a budget for your organization is crucial. But landing on the right budget for your organization may take some time and energy. During this webinar, we show you:

• Tips and tricks for creating a meaningful budget
• How to update the budget as circumstances change during the year (sometimes called a rolling forecast)
• How to report on variances in your budget