Nonprofit Budget Template

How to build a nonprofit budget

A nonprofit budget is your plan for one fiscal year: the money you expect to receive, what you will spend it on and what is left at the end. The board approves it, the treasurer tracks it, and grantmakers often ask to see it. The template above follows the steps most small nonprofits, clubs and associations use.

1. Start from last year’s numbers. Pull actual revenue and expenses from your books or last year’s treasurer’s reports. If you are new, list what your programs will need and get quotes for the big items.
2. List every revenue source. Dues, individual donations, grants, events, program fees and other income each get their own line. Budget grants only when they are awarded or very likely, and budget events at their gross income.
3. List every expense and assign a function. Program services, management and general, or fundraising. Split shared costs such as rent or staff time on a reasonable basis, for example time records or floor space.
4. Check the bottom line. A deficit needs a decision: cut costs, add revenue or use reserves. A planned surplus can build an operating reserve.
5. Approve and track. The board approves the budget, usually before the fiscal year starts. During the year, the treasurer compares actual numbers with the budget and reports the variance.

Example nonprofit budget

The template starts with the budget of a fictional youth soccer nonprofit, so you can see how the pieces fit before you enter your own numbers:

Notice that the gala appears twice: its income as revenue and its costs as a fundraising expense. Budgeting gross amounts, not just the net result, shows the board what an event really costs to run.

Program, admin and fundraising costs

Nonprofits group expenses by what they are for. The IRS uses three functions in Part IX of Form 990, the statement of functional expenses:

• Program services: the work you exist to do, such as classes, games, events for members, counseling or scholarships.
• Management and general: running the organization, such as insurance, accounting, audits, board meetings and general administration.
• Fundraising: raising money, such as appeal mailings, fundraising events, grant writing and donor software.

Organizations that file the full Form 990 report every expense in these columns. Smaller organizations that file Form 990-EZ or 990-N don’t complete Part IX, but grantmakers, donors and charity evaluators often ask for the split anyway. Budgeting in the same three columns from the start means your year-end numbers fall into place.

Shared costs are the hard part. If your coordinator spends 70% of their time on programs, 20% on administration and 10% on fundraising, split their pay the same way. The Form 990 instructions allow any reasonable method of allocation, as long as you apply it consistently.

Nonprofit budget template for Excel and Google Sheets

The download is a ready Excel workbook with formulas, so you can use it as your nonprofit organization budget template all year:

• Budget: every line with its function, the budget amount, a column for actual amounts and the variance in dollars and percent. Totals, the surplus or deficit and the functional split update automatically. Ten empty expense lines are ready for anything you add later.
• Treasurer’s report: receipts and disbursements for the period and year to date, compared with the annual budget, plus opening and closing cash.
• Event budget: income and costs for one event, with ticket sales and catering calculated from the guest count.

The workbook opens in Excel and Apple Numbers. To use it in Google Sheets, open Google Sheets and choose File > Import, then upload the file. It also works as an HOA budget template: add a line for reserve fund contributions and budget assessments as revenue.

Treasurer’s report template

A treasurer’s report tells the board where the money stands at each meeting. The template’s second sheet covers what boards usually expect:

1. Opening cash balance for the period, across bank accounts and petty cash.
2. Receipts by category for the period and the year to date, with the share of the annual budget already received.
3. Disbursements by category, again for the period, year to date and against the budget.
4. Closing balance: opening balance plus receipts minus disbursements. It should match your bank statements.
5. Notes on anything unusual: a grant that arrived early, a large repair, unpaid invoices.

Keep each report with the minutes of the meeting where it was presented. Our board meeting agenda and minutes generator includes the treasurer’s report as a standard agenda item.

Event and grant budgets

Event budget template: plan each fundraising event on its own before it goes into the annual budget. List income (tickets, sponsorships, auction proceeds, donations at the event) and costs (venue, catering per guest, entertainment, printing). The event sheet calculates net proceeds and the cost per dollar raised, which helps you compare events from year to year.

Grant budget template: funders usually want a budget for the project they fund, not your whole organization. Use the same lines, but include only the costs of that project, and show other funding for it, including in-kind support. Follow the funder’s own form and cost categories when they provide one, and keep project costs on separate lines in your books so you can report on them later.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• IRS: Instructions for Form 990

Last reviewed October 30, 2026. Figures as of October 30, 2026.