4 Examples of Grant Budget [With Template]

When it comes to writing grants, there are few things more important in your application than an accurate budget. But if the proposed project seems so far off, how do you develop a sound budget for your application?

If you're looking to start building your own nonprofit budget, get started quickly by using our Nonprofit Budget Template. The template is made in Canva, an easy-to-use creative design tool. You can jump right in, change colors, add your logo, and adjust the copy so it fits your brand. Why start from scratch when you can use one of our templates?

In this article, you’ll learn how to develop your grant budget, define project expenses, learn from grant budget examples, and note tips on how to develop winning budgets.
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We all have managed household budgets to keep the rent paid and the lights on. A budget for a grant application is very similar, though, of course, very specific to the project or purpose outlined in the proposal.

A grant budget is essentially a snapshot of projected expenditures and revenue for your proposed project. It is designed to be comprehensive and detailed, covering all aspects of proposed spending. It is also presented in your grant proposal. You can see how a budget looks within our grant proposal template.

The relevance of a grant budget in funding and project management cannot be overstated. For the grantor, it provides a clear overview of how funds will be utilized, allowing for objective evaluation and comparison of different proposals.

It ensures financial transparency, facilitating trust between the funding source and the recipient organization. For the grantee, it aids in tracking expenses against the planned budget, enabling effective control and management of resources.

In essence, a well-prepared grant budget is crucial for securing funding. It communicates a nonprofit’s capacity to manage funds responsibly and its commitment to achieving its project goals. Understanding the concept of a grant budget and its foundational elements is essential for those creating grant proposals.

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A grant budget is a crucial component of any grant application.

A grant budget provides a detailed breakdown of the expected costs and expenses associated with the proposed project or program.

Both funders and nonprofits rely on the grant budget to make informed decisions regarding funding allocation and financial feasibility.

• Funders use the grant budget to evaluate the financial viability and sustainability of the project. They assess whether the proposed budget aligns with their funding priorities, guidelines, and available resources. Funders also use it as a tool for assessing cost-effectiveness, ensuring that funds are allocated efficiently toward achieving desired outcomes.
• Nonprofits use the grant budget to demonstrate their financial planning capabilities and justify their funding needs. It allows them to outline how they intend to allocate resources across various project components such as personnel, supplies, equipment, overhead costs, evaluation measures, and other related expenses. Nonprofits use grant budgets to present a clear picture of how they will manage funds responsibly and achieve measurable impact.

Furthermore, nonprofits also utilize grant budgets as internal management tools. It helps them track expenditures throughout the duration of a funded project or program. By comparing actual spending against projected figures outlined in the budget, nonprofits can ensure accountability and make necessary adjustments if needed.

Essentially, a grant budget informs the organization's strategic initiatives, enabling it to align its objectives with the available resources and ensure the optimal use of the grant funds.

Moreover, a grant budget instills accountability and acts as a control measure by setting financial boundaries for expenditures. It deters the misuse of funds, promotes financial discipline, and safeguards the organization's credibility.

Overall, crafting a grant budget is an indispensable process that bolsters strategic planning, ensures accountability, and enhances transparency in fund management.

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As we mentioned earlier, a grant budget is essentially a snapshot of projected expenditures and revenue.

A grant budget should include the total cost of the project or program, including both direct and indirect costs. In the following sections, we’ll go over examples of direct and indirect costs, as well as some items that are often missed when constructing a budget sheet.

Direct Costs

Direct costs are expenses that can be directly attributed to a particular project or activity. They form an integral part of the overall budgeting process and are essential for the successful implementation of a project.

These costs are explicitly associated with your project and can be accurately measured and charged for each activity your organization performs under the grant. For example, direct costs in a research project grant may include salaries for the research staff, the purchase of lab equipment, research supplies, travel expenses related to the research, and any subcontractor expenses if necessary.

In a grant budget, these direct costs are usually itemized and detailed separately under different categories.

This detailed approach provides transparency and allows grantors to understand how their funds will be utilized. Each cost item is typically accompanied by a justification explaining why the expense is necessary for the project, which boosts credibility and trust between the grantor and grantee. It's crucial to note that all direct costs must adhere to the funding agency's rules and regulations.

Other examples of common direct costs in grant budgets include:

• Personnel salaries (if working directly on the project/program)
• Equipment purchases
• Supplies
• Travel expenses related to the project/program

A well-structured grant budget template helps in presenting these details efficiently and ensures that all costs are accounted for correctly. Therefore, understanding the specifics of direct costs and their presentation in a grant budget is fundamental to securing and managing grants effectively.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs, often referred to as 'overhead' or 'administrative' costs, are not directly linked to a specific project but are necessary for the nonprofit’s operation.

These costs usually include expenses such as utilities, rent or mortgage payments, administrative staff salaries, and office supplies.

To illustrate this concept further, consider this scenario: in a grant budget for a community development project, the salary of the project coordinator would be a direct cost. However, the salary of the organization's Executive Director, who oversees multiple projects, would be an indirect cost.

The same goes for office rent. Unless the office is used exclusively for this project, its cost is spread over all projects making it an indirect cost.

Understanding the distinction between direct and indirect costs is a crucial aspect of effective budget planning, particularly when preparing a grant budget template.

Commonly Forgotten Costs

Commonly forgotten costs refer to those expenses that are often overlooked when preparing a grant budget.

These could include costs related to data analysis, report writing, or marketing the project. Additionally, contingencies for unexpected expenses should also be factored into the budget. These might encompass unforeseen operational costs or changes in economic conditions that could impact project implementation.

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Budget justifications are another crucial element of grant proposals. 

The budget justification section of a proposal provides space for the nonprofit to explain how funds will be allocated and why. This section gives grant applicants the opportunity to justify the financial aspects of their project or program and demonstrate that they have carefully considered the budgetary requirements.

It is important for applicants to provide clear and concise explanations in their budget justifications. They should include detailed line-item descriptions, justify any significant costs, clarify any assumptions made in estimating expenses, and ensure that calculations are accurate.

Ultimately, your budget justification should give context to the numbers, transforming them from abstract figures into concrete plans for expenditure. It should provide a rationale for why certain costs are necessary and how they contribute to the overall goals of the project.

For instance, in a grant budget template, it's not enough to simply state that a certain amount of money will be spent on personnel or equipment.

Stakeholders need to understand what roles these personnel will play in achieving project objectives, what equipment is needed, and why it's crucial to the project's success. Without this narrative element supplied by budget justifications, these costs can seem arbitrary or wasteful.

Furthermore, grant budget justifications also help funders assess the feasibility and sustainability of a project. They provide an opportunity for applicants to explain why certain expenses are necessary and how they align with the goals and objectives of the grant. This helps grantors determine whether the requested funding is reasonable in relation to the expected outcomes.

Overall, budget justifications help to establish trust between nonprofits and grant funders.

When nonprofits provide clear, detailed explanations for expenses, grantmakers can be confident that their funds will be managed responsibly and strategically. This transparency can lead to greater support, as these funders feel confident that their investments will be put to good use.

Now that we’ve gone over the importance of grant budgets and what they should include, it’s time to explain how you can create a budget at your own organization.

Identifying All Potential Expenses

The first step towards developing an effective budget is identifying all potential expenses.

This process involves listing out all the costs that are expected in the project, including personnel salaries, equipment purchases, travel expenses, and any other costs related to the project. It is crucial that every potential cost is considered to ensure accurate budgeting.

Determining Direct and Indirect Costs

Once you have listed all potential expenses, the next step should be categorizing those expenses into direct and indirect costs.

Remember: direct costs are those that can be directly attributed to the particular project or activity outlined in your proposal. Indirect costs, on the other hand, are overhead or administrative costs that are not directly linked to the specific project but are necessary for the nonprofit’s operation.

Accurately categorizing these costs is essential for a transparent and accurate grant budget.

Factoring in Unexpected Costs

Next, make sure to include unexpected costs in your budget as well.

Unforeseen circumstances may arise during the execution of the project resulting in additional expenses. Setting aside a contingency fund to cover these unexpected costs can help ensure financial stability and continuity of operations.

Though easily overlooked, factoring in unexpected costs is a critical step in drafting a robust and sustainable grant budget.

Drafting the Budget

Finally, it’s time to draft the budget by putting all of these costs together into a clear and organized chart.

Using a grant budget template can help streamline this process, ensuring all expenses—both direct and indirect—as well as any unexpected costs, are accounted for systematically and logically. It's important to present a clear and detailed budget that accurately reflects the financial needs of the project.

Later on in the article, we’ll provide you with examples and steps to create your own grant budget template.

Review and Revision

The final phase in formulating a strong grant budget involves review and revision.

Once the initial draft of the budget is complete, it should be thoroughly examined to identify any oversights or miscalculations.

If necessary, revisions should be made so that the budget is both accurate and complete. This step is vital in ensuring that the grant budget is sound, justified, and ready for submission.

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There are many resources to assist you with creating your own budget after you’ve considered the direct and indirect costs of your project.

This list contains helpful links to specific grant budget examples that you can use as a guide:

1. Grant Budget Example from SAMHSA: this budget addresses direct care services for mental health or social service. This sheet provides a great sample of staffing and personnel needs for a proposed project and walks the reader through a budget justification. It also outlines how to record matching grant funds (often a requirement for federal and other grants) in a budget justification.
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2. Grant Budget Example from the Fund for Public Education in Teton County, WY: this easy-to-understand example outlines needs for an educational project. It includes all of the categories for materials, personnel, and travel. Plus, it makes room for extra needs not covered in other lines. Because it is in Excel, it keeps a running tab of your inputted values, ensuring they meet the projected totals.
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3. Grant Budget Example from Get Fully Funded (pictured below): this is a basic budget template, reflecting both expenses and revenue. This general example is helpful because it is comprehensive in that it covers all the necessities, but universal enough to be used as a guide for most projects. Plus, it importantly includes both expenses and income. (Remember— a complete budget example should include both).
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4. And don’t forget to check out Instrumentl’s Ultimate Guide to Grant Budget Proposal Budgets which contains many other details and insight on budget development. It covers what a grant budget should look like as well as more budget templates and examples. Indirect costs are generally unseen costs, not directly related to the specific project but that contribute essentially in some way to the nonprofit’s mission, economic vitality, or employee productivity.

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Creating a grant budget can be so much easier when you have a template to work off of. Follow these steps to develop your own successful budget template you can use at your nonprofit.

Predicting Expenditures

The first step in crafting an effective grant budget template is predicting expenditures.

When working on multiple projects, it is common to encounter similar or overlapping costs. To streamline your project management process and ensure consistency in budgeting, creating a template that includes these typical expenditures can be highly beneficial.

By identifying the recurring costs across your projects, you can develop a comprehensive template that encompasses all the common and necessary expenses. This allows you to save time and effort by avoiding the need to recreate budgets from scratch for each new project.

Typical expenditures that may be included in such a template could range from materials and supplies to labor costs, equipment rentals, subcontractor fees, travel expenses, and any other relevant costs specific to your industry or field of work.

Having a pre-established template not only helps in accurately estimating project budgets but also provides a clear overview of anticipated expenses. This enables better financial planning and ensures that all essential costs are accounted for upfront.

Moreover, utilizing a template for overlapping costs promotes consistency and standardization across your projects. It reduces the chances of overlooking important expenditures and helps maintain transparency when communicating budget details with funders or stakeholders.

Incorporating Indirect Costs

As a reminder, indirect costs are expenses that are not directly associated with your project but are necessary for its completion.

These overhead/administration costs are likely to be very similar from project to project. For example, you may include administrative costs, facility maintenance, utilities, or other overhead expenses in your template that will be consistent across different proposals.

By incorporating these costs into your budget template, you ensure transparency and demonstrate to grantors that you have considered all potential expenses.

Detailing Potential Revenue Sources

Another essential step in crafting your grant budget template is detailing potential revenue sources.

Apart from the grant itself, there may be other sources of income that can contribute to the project. These may include donations, in-kind contributions, or other grants.

Detailing these sources in your budget shows a diversified funding strategy, which can increase confidence in your project's sustainability.

Undertaking Essential Investigations

Undertaking essential investigations is a key component in crafting a comprehensive grant budget template.

This involves researching similar nonprofits to understand their costs and revenue sources. It also includes consulting with experts or stakeholders to gain insights into potential unforeseen expenses or income streams. Those should then be incorporated into the template document, which will become increasingly robust with further iterations.

Scrutinizing and Polishing the Budget

Finally, scrutinizing and polishing the budget is an important final step in creating your grant budget template.

This involves reviewing each item on the budget to ensure accuracy and completeness. It also includes adjusting any estimates that may not be realistic or sustainable. By scrutinizing and polishing your budget, you ensure that it is both comprehensive and convincing, increasing your chances of securing the desired grant funding.

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Developing an accurate budget for your project is a key component to securing grant funds, and, if awarded, keeping track of your spending. Creating a budget template, discerning indirect and direct costs, and identifying potential sources of revenue give the project direction from its onset.

Overall, having clearly explained and sound financials will instill confidence in the ultimate success of your proposed project.

Up next, learn the best practices for how much to ask for in a grant. Likewise, watch a recording of our workshop that provides a run down on financial planning to mast forecasting.