Budget
Requests for budget information will take different forms. They range from simple — a single spreadsheet showing major expense categories — to complex. The most intricate may require, for example, allocating staff and contractor expenses across each activity proposed or detailing which expenses are incurred by the recipient, and which by other partners or sub-grantees.
Be Realistic About True Costs
Some donors declare they’ll fund “projects,” but not what they consider “overhead.”
Project Budget
Staff & Contractors
Payroll, contractor costs, benefits, don’t forget to include taxes and insurance.
Direct Costs
Anything you’ll spend on the project itself – from planning to planting.
Indirect Costs
Don’t neglect charging for indirect costs: rent, computers, software, utilities.
Before the now-common trends toward transparency and credentialling, they saw it as a way of guarding against inflated salaries and rents. If you can demonstrate your indirect costs are reasonable and allocated sensibly among projects, it becomes harder for them to say no.
Good ratings from evaluation services (like Charity Navigator) will confirm that you’re managing efficiently.
I managed large and small non-profits for decades and never found one that could turn out quality work without paying rent, buying desks and computers or simply paying postage. For a funder to think otherwise suggests they don't understand how their own organization works.
Laurence Wiseman
Founding and Former President and CEO
American Forest Foundation
American Forest Foundation