Nonprofit Budgets : Guides and Best Practices

Nonprofit organizations (NPO) wrestle continually with maintaining and improving their operations, especially during today’s uncertain economy. In short, NPOs must constantly strive for sustainability. A well-planned budget will focus on the primary goals and objectives of the organization and provide financial and programmatic adaptability — key ingredients to maximum sustainability.

Ask any nonprofit about their biggest challenges and you’ll hear this over and over: no money, no time, no staff. In other words, not enough resources. If you’re starting a nonprofit, you’ll be reciting this mantra soon enough. The good news: you don’t have to break the bank to start a nonprofit. If you know what you’re doing (and depending on your nonprofit’s needs), you CAN bootstrap a nonprofit with very little money.

The annual budget is the financial reflection of what a nonprofit business expects to accomplish over a 12-month period. For many nonprofit leaders, budgeting is the most comfortable and interesting part of financial leadership.