How Nonprofits Can Budget With Confidence

Empower your nonprofit with strategic budgeting to directly address economic pressures with realism and creativity, potentially turning challenges into opportunities.

Set the tone, the pre-budget analysis:

• Analyze prior budgets and compare to actual results
• Prepare a forecast for the current year
• Examine expenses and sources of revenue against prior targets

Use tools like a budget calendar planning backward from the board’s final budget approval date and allow extra time for evaluating budget scenarios.

Learn the landscape, the budget preparation:

• Involve other departments to scenario plan
• Factor in inflation and other economic trends
• Estimate monthly operating reserve needs

Use templates to implement organization-wide cost-of-living increases and to make summarizing easier. To combat salary cost pressures, partner with resources dedicated to nonprofits – this can help provide volunteers, interns, specialized services, and board members. Leverage your community leaders or other similar nonprofits to achieve or amplify a collective mission.

Respond with planned strategies, the post-budget review:

• Evaluate using Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
• Produce board and management reports to monitor KPI
• Assess data to stay agile

Use graphics to convert your monthly financials into visuals that are easy to understand and quickly inform management and the board. These reports provide data to monitor budget vs actuals with KPIs.

Budget approval is only the beginning of the financial monitoring process. Producing timely financial reports is the next critical step in ensuring the organization’s fiscal health, responsible stewardship of its resources, and discerning decision-making.

YPTC is here to help!

The foundation to navigate your budget during these times of economic shift is a complicated topic and YPTC is available to assist with resources, data visualization, and experienced staff.  For more information about this topic, click here to watch the webinar or here to contact YPTC for assistance.