Organizational budgets are very important to grant funders for a few reasons:
- They want to ensure that your overhead costs are not too high.
- They want to see your Admin costs below 18%.
- They want to ensure that their grant money will be impactful.
Grant writers can write a perfect grant proposal but not be awarded because of an incomplete or concerning organizational budget.
Here is how I handle this…
When I begin working with a client, I carefully review their organizational budget. I calculate their administrative costs and make sure they categorize everything the way a grant funder would want to see it.
For example, it is typical to have a category for “Staff.” But, when organizations begin applying for grants, it is important to break out Program Staff, which is a program expense, from support staff, which is an Admin expense. It is also important to break out all fundraising expenses.
Grant funders want to glance at your budget and quickly see your Program, Admin, Fundraising, and Overhead expenses.
Many organizations overlook in-kind contributions as another important part of a budget. If the organization has a large volunteer base, donated space, or gifted equipment, that should count towards the budget’s income. I recently applied for a grant on behalf of a client, and the grant request amount could only be 25% of the program budget. I was able to use in-kind income for 50% of the budget.
Your organization should have the 2025 budget ready soon. Review it and advise your ED of any changes that should be made for grant success this upcoming year.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants
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