Creating a Budget for a Grant Proposal
Besides submitting a written proposal, most grant funders require nonprofits to submit a budget to go along with their application. Typically, you will submit three different types of budgets on your grant proposals. (Not all proposals will ask for all three, but many will ask for at least two).
- Annual organizational budget. This is the budget you assemble before each fiscal year and includes your nonprofit’s income and expenses in three categories: operations, programs, and fundraising. Find more information on creating an organizational budget here.
- Program budget. This is the budget for one or more specific programs, pulled out of your operating budget. It should be identical to the operating budget, but just for one program instead of the whole nonprofit.
- “This request” budget. Sometimes funders ask you to get more specific and create a budget that includes only the line items that the grant you are requesting will fund. This may include just a few items pulled from a program budget. Typically, you have to make a new document to create this type of budget.
Budgets are just one small part of the grant application process. Learn more about our grant writing services.
