Grant budget template for nonprofits, with a filled example
Funders read the budget to check that the plan is real. Here is each line most foundation budgets use, with a fill-in template and a filled example, then the whole budget put together.
Follow the funder's own budget form first. If they give you a spreadsheet, their own categories or a cap on overhead, use theirs and move these lines into it.
The example: Harbor Table, a fictional volunteer food pantry asking the fictional Shoreline Community Fund for $7,500 toward a $9,200 project: a part-time Saturday coordinator and new shelving. Every name and number in it is made up.
Brackets mark what you fill in. In the examples, [FILL IN: ...] marks a fact left blank instead of guessed.
1. Personnel
What it answers: Who the grant pays, for how many hours, at what rate.
Template
[Role]: [hours] hours a week x [weeks] weeks x $[rate] an hour = $[amount].
Filled example (fictional)
Saturday coordinator: 6 hours a week x 52 weeks x $18 an hour = $5,616.
2. Payroll taxes and benefits
What it answers: What the employer pays on top of wages.
Template
[Taxes or benefits]: [rate]% of $[wages] = $[amount].
Filled example (fictional)
Employer Social Security and Medicare: 7.65% of $5,616 = $430. The coordinator is part time and gets no other benefits.
3. Training and other direct costs
What it answers: Smaller costs the project cannot run without.
Template
[Item]: $[amount] ([how you got the number]).
Filled example (fictional)
Background check and food safety training for the coordinator: $154 [FILL IN: vendor and course names].
4. Equipment and supplies
What it answers: Things you will buy, and where the price came from.
Template
[Item]: $[amount] ([quote, catalog price or past invoice]).
Filled example (fictional)
Food storage shelving for the Saturday stock: $3,000 [FILL IN: vendor quote and date].
5. Indirect costs (overhead)
What it answers: Rent, utilities, insurance and admin, if the funder pays for them.
Template
Indirect costs: [rate]% of $[base] = $[amount], or: We are not requesting indirect costs. [Who covers them].
Filled example (fictional)
Harbor Table is not requesting indirect costs. [FILL IN: who covers rent, utilities and insurance].
6. Other funding and in-kind support
What it answers: Who else pays for part of the project, in cash or donated goods and time.
Template
[Source]: $[amount] ([committed or pending]). In-kind: [what is donated], valued at $[amount].
Filled example (fictional)
Spring food drive: $1,700 (committed). In-kind: volunteer hours on the Saturday shift [FILL IN: hours and the value you use per hour].
7. Total and request
What it answers: The full project cost, what you ask this funder for, and how the rest is covered.
Template
Total project cost: $[total]. Requested from [funder]: $[amount]. Other sources: $[amount].
Filled example (fictional)
Total project cost: $9,200. Requested from the Shoreline Community Fund: $7,500. Other sources: $1,700 from our spring food drive.
8. Budget narrative
What it answers: A sentence or two per line on why it is needed and how you priced it.
Template
[Line item]: [why the project needs it]. [How you arrived at the amount].
Filled example (fictional)
Coordinator wages keep the pantry open six hours every Saturday instead of two; $18 an hour is [FILL IN: source of the local rate]. Shelving lets us stock enough food for a six-hour day; the amount is a vendor quote.
The whole budget (fictional example)
Personnel: Saturday coordinator, 6 hours a week x 52 weeks x $18 an hour: $5,616
Employer Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%: $430
Background check and training: $154
Food storage shelving: $3,000
Indirect costs: $0 (not requested)
Total project cost: $9,200
Requested from the Shoreline Community Fund: $7,500
Spring food drive (committed): $1,700
Straight answers
What is the difference between direct and indirect costs?
Direct costs belong to this project alone, like the coordinator's wages or the shelving. Indirect costs keep the whole organization running, like rent, insurance and bookkeeping. Many foundations cap indirect costs or do not pay them, so check the guidelines.
Should the budget match the rest of the proposal?
Yes, line for line. If the narrative says six hours every Saturday for a year, the budget should pay for six hours every Saturday for a year. Reviewers check.
Can I put this in a spreadsheet?
Yes. Use one row per line, with the amount in one column and how you got it in the next. If the funder sends its own spreadsheet, use theirs. Some funders call the written part a budget justification.
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