Blackbaud

JUNE 16, 2025

For finance teams in donor-focused and grant-funded organizations, working hand-in-hand with fundraising partners is critical to crafting reports that truly engage and tell a story. Finance and fundraising teams must collaborate closely to ensure data pulled from the CRM aligns with financial records.

Finance

Blackbaud

JULY 23, 2025

Why this is important Public funding may only constitute a small portion of your budget, but it could mean the difference between having programs and accommodations or not. Run budget scenarios to understand your short and long-term challenges. Update forecasts and budgets to reflect any changes.

Policy

The NonProfit Times

MAY 28, 2024

By Jackie Sue Griffin Securing grant funding is crucial to a nonprofit’s growth, and it starts with crafting a well-planned and realistic budget. Understanding the specific requirements and limitations outlined in the grant application is crucial for developing a budget that aligns with the funder’s priorities and expectations.

Budget

Grant Writing Made Easy

AUGUST 3, 2022

At our most recent Grant Writing Made Easy workshop, we did a deep dive into nonprofit program budgets. Of all the topics I teach inside the course, the budget is the one that students have the most anxiety and confusion around. (By Follow this 3-step process for creating nonprofit program budgets. Understand the key terms.

Budget

Get Fully Funded

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

As your nonprofit starts to blossom, don’t be surprised if you are conflicted over how much to spend on nonprofit administration, especially fundraising. And fundraising. As the costs add up, you might be asking: How much of a nonprofit’s annual budget should be spent on administrative tasks and fundraising? The training.

Fundraising

Blackbaud

APRIL 4, 2024

Let’s face it—budget planning can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for nonprofits. Most organizations face frequent budget cuts, which creates organizational uncertainty and a scramble for new funding options. Calculating indirect costs can be challenging. Do we have the funds this year to maintain our programs?

Finance

Blackbaud

DECEMBER 20, 2023

Working with a lean budget means even the slightest unexpected expense can create a stressful situation. Lead a Revenue-Wise Strategy Session As a financial leader, you touch all areas of your nonprofit organization through budgeting, forecasting, and expense management. So many nonprofits found 2023 to be particularly stressful.

Indirect Cost

Get Fully Funded

NOVEMBER 24, 2010

Many nonprofit Fundraisers focus on writing grants to bring in dollars. Unfortunately, the thought of creating a budget to go with the narrative or the application strikes fear in the hearts of the bravest Fundraisers. Here are some ideas to help you overcome the fear and be on your way to creating a successful budget.

Budget

Qgiv

APRIL 11, 2023

At Virtuous, we believe that the Responsive Fundraising Framework is foundational in helping fundraisers cultivate meaningful relationships with donors that increase generosity. The Four Phases of Responsive Fundraising Listen Listening is where effectively reading donor signals is incredibly important. What are Donor Signals?

Indirect

Candid

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

At Candid, we recognize that nonprofit leaders and fundraising professionals, particularly those working at small or under-resourced organizations, need access to the nonprofit training and resources that equip them to do good. Creating a Sound Proposal Budget.

Training

Candid

JULY 13, 2023

Letters of inquiry (LOI) If you’re new to fundraising and grant writing, you may have not heard the term letter of inquiry , or LOI. Proposal budgets Proposal budgets may seem a bit dull, but many funders say it’s the first part of a grant proposal that they read. Proposal budget. Honestly, when you do, it’s good news.

Proposal

Get Fully Funded

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

If your fundraising is flat (or worse, declining) there are reasons why. You want to bring in big bucks, but the truth is your fundraising results are mediocre at best. Consider the Cycle of Mediocre Fundraising. Be sure to include both direct and indirect costs. You’re at a loss as to what to do next. Down to the penny.

Indirect Cost

Blackbaud

AUGUST 20, 2024

There are several exciting times of the year for nonprofit finance professionals—budget season, audits, year-end close. Connected Systems Speaking of interoperability across our NXT solutions, there will be a few sessions highlighting the benefits of having your fundraising and fund accounting systems work together.

Finance

Planned Giving

DECEMBER 16, 2023

The firm has expanded to offer just about any marketing product a fundraiser could dream up. I’ve surveyed thousands of industry leaders, and their answers are always the same: lack of time and lack of budget. Research shows fundraisers who even have a minor focus on planned giving earn 50-100 percent more than those who do not.

Indirect

Tech Soup

APRIL 26, 2017

The grantseeking challenge of organizational lack of time and staff relates to indirect and administrative cost control techniques; almost two-thirds of our respondents (65 percent) reported reducing staff in order to control overhead. Respondents were asked, "How did you reduce your indirect/administrative costs?"

Grantstation

Blackbaud

APRIL 8, 2024

Many don’t cover operating costs or have a small allotment for indirect costs such as salaries, insurance, and utilities. An organization might do a fundraising campaign specifically for new equipment or apply for a grant that aligns clearly to their goals. Restricted funds often outline what they will fund and what they won’t.

Funding

Blackbaud

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Nonprofits use the Statement of Cash Flows in several key ways: Planning and Budgeting: Forecasts cash needs and plans for future expenses. The main difference lies in what makes up the cash flows: nonprofits focus on donations, grants, and fundraising, while for-profits emphasize sales and profitability.

Finance

Tech Soup

JANUARY 29, 2015

Firms limit their audit of expenses to comparing current year to prior year or budget, which is customary in a for-profit environment, simply because most audit programs are not tailored to nonprofits, or auditors do not have sufficient nonprofit experience. Budgeting, fiscal policies, and internal control resources. More Resources.

Indirect Cost

Tech Soup

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

For many organizations, the terms "transparency" and "accountability," when uttered in the same sentence as "indirect/administrative costs," mean only one thing: it's time for another round of belt-tightening. We were able to utilize volunteers for fundraising projects. We stopped services.

Grantstation

Tech Soup

AUGUST 31, 2017

One of the participants asked this question, which I feel sure is on the top of your mind as well: "Program grants have a budget directly related to them, and for the most part do not cover operations or overhead costs. Indirect and administrative costs remained the same or decreased for 70 percent of respondents.

Grantstation

Greater Giving

JANUARY 21, 2025

Also called administrative or indirect costs, theyre typically not tied to specific programs or activitiesmeaning they indirectly support your mission. Then, regularly review your expenses to ensure you adhere to your budget and understand how much you typically spend on overhead. Negotiate with vendors.

Management

Get Fully Funded

JANUARY 16, 2024

Budgeting Your nonprofit’s annual budget is a key financial planning document that guides your organization’s spending and fundraising efforts. Most nonprofits break down the revenue side of their budget by source. These categories may include: Individual donations of all sizes and varieties.

Policy

Get Fully Funded

JULY 8, 2024

Perhaps your nonprofit started with you wearing dozens of hats, from fundraiser to marketer to program officer. Recruitment obstacles : Because of their small budgets, nonprofits face more challenges when it comes to recruiting top talent. Think back on your nonprofit’s growth journey. But it’s a different story for nonprofits.

IT

Assel Grant Services

JULY 14, 2024

For many funders, costs to prepare an application (or pre-award costs) and fundraising expenses are not allowable direct or indirect expenses. The best practice is to reduce risk by accepting a salary or fee for grant writing services that are not included in the proposal budget. Why is this addressed so thoroughly?

Ethics

Grant Writing Made Easy

MAY 20, 2024

This skill enhances an organization’s ability to fundraise successfully and develops its reputation for professionalism and credibility in the competitive world of grant acquisition. Budget: A clear and detailed budget is essential to assure funders that their money will be spent wisely.

Grant Writing

Peak Proposals

FEBRUARY 16, 2020

In the process of developing your grant strategy, you’ll be forced to consider how many opportunities you can reasonably pursue given your current budget and staff. a payment on an existing grant) or can be assumed with a high degree of confidence (proceeds from annual fundraisers, fees from clients, etc.) Absolutely not.

Grant

Pamela Grow

JULY 24, 2024

Auctions are among the most engaging and lucrative fundraising events your nonprofit could host. However, successful auctions require careful planning—even more than most other fundraisers. Your team will need to manage many moving parts, budget carefully, and stay organized to achieve your event fundraising goal.

Procurement

Candid

AUGUST 29, 2023

deadlines, fundraising goals, meetings, customer complaints, toxic coworkers) outweigh the resources you have to meet the demands (e.g., budget, team members, skillsets, technology, time, emotional support). Consider increasing resources by providing more funding to cover indirect costs and general operating support.

Burnout

Get Fully Funded

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Q: What would you recommend as the “first step&# to getting started in fundraising to build a base? A: Telling your story is essential to good fundraising. If we break our budget down by number of families, months, days, etc. Transformational fundraising is about the donor’s desire to change a life.

Electronics

The NonProfit Times

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

At its core, functional expense reporting segments a nonprofit’s costs into three main categories: program services; management and general activities; and, fundraising efforts. Fundraising: This category includes all expenses related to soliciting donations, grants, and other forms of financial support.

Indirect