Nonprofit budget template
A one-month operating budget for a small nonprofit: grant and donation income at the top, then Program costs, Fundraising, Admin, and Reserves as the four sections. Numbers are seeded with realistic proportions so a board treasurer can edit rather than build from scratch.
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How the sections map to a nonprofit budget
- Program costs — direct spending on delivering your mission: program staff, supplies, participant support, venue.
- Fundraising — event costs, grant writing, donor communications. Also often called "development".
- Admin — bookkeeping, insurance, software, board expenses. Often the target of a program/admin ratio in board reports.
- Reserves & obligations — operating reserve top-ups, loan repayments, restricted-fund set-asides.
Preparing a monthly treasurer's report
- Update the Actual column at month end from your bookkeeping records.
- Rename the Planned column mentally as "Board-approved budget".
- Note variances above a threshold (10% of category is a common rule).
- Download as Excel; attach it to the board packet.
What this tool isn't
It isn't fund accounting, it doesn't produce a Statement of Activities in GAAP format, and it doesn't handle depreciation, in-kind donations, or restricted-fund release schedules. It's a monthly planner and variance report. For anything beyond that, use dedicated nonprofit accounting software like QuickBooks Nonprofit, Aplos, or Xero with appropriate tracking categories.
- Excel budget template— The underlying export format
- Zero-based budgeting— Fits well with grant-funded programs
Common questions
›Is this suitable for a board packet?
For a small organisation, yes. The exported .xlsx has real formulas, clean formatting, and prints to a single page width — enough for a monthly treasurer's report. Larger organisations with restricted-fund tracking, class-based accounting, or audit requirements will want dedicated software.
›Can I track restricted vs unrestricted funds?
Not natively. The workaround is a section per fund class (e.g. rename Bills to 'Program A costs' and add a new section 'Program B costs'). It's a simple month-by-month planner, not a full fund-accounting system.
›Where do grant income and pledges go?
In the Income block at the top. Add one row per grant so the total is auditable. For multi-year grants, enter the monthly recognised portion, not the full award.
Take it with you.
Download as Excel