Free kit · Finance and funding
Nonprofit Budget and Treasurer Report Workbook: free nonprofit budget template in Word, Excel and PDF
Build next year's budget in 12 weeks and report on it at every board meeting. Sort revenue by evidence, spread the year into a 12-month cash flow to find the thin months, send the board a one-page cover memo, then fill in a treasurer report the board can read in ten minutes. The Excel workbook does the arithmetic.
Word, Excel and PDF · 10 pages · For executive directors and treasurers
Your kit is ready
We also emailed these links to .
Your library is open on this browser.
What is inside
- Operating budget. Revenue sorted by evidence and restriction, expenses split by function, and five checks before the draft goes to the treasurer.
- Board cover memo. One page in four parts: what changed, the three assumptions that carry the most weight, the risks and the decision you need.
- 12-month cash flow. Cash in and out by month, months of unrestricted cash, the lowest month and what you will do before it arrives.
- Treasurer report. Six short sections – cash, budget against actual, restricted balances, variances, risks and decisions – and the executive director's three sentences.
How to use it
- Weeks 12 to 9 before the vote: pull last year's actual results and decide what next year should accomplish.
- Weeks 9 to 5: estimate each revenue source, sort it by evidence, and build the draft and the cash flow.
- Weeks 5 to 3: the treasurer and finance committee test the assumptions, and you revise.
- The last weeks: send the draft with the cover memo a week before the board votes.
- Every month: compare budget against actual in the treasurer report.
Not accounting or tax advice. This kit is a planning tool for leaders, not an accounting system. How to record restricted grants and in-kind gifts, how to split costs between programs, management and fundraising on Form 990, and whether you need an audit are questions for your accountant.
Questions
Is the kit free?
Yes. Enter your name, email and organization once, and every kit in the library opens on this browser.
Can I edit it?
Yes. The Word and Excel files are fully editable: rename the revenue and expense lines to match your accounts, set your own split between program, management and fundraising, and replace the example figures with yours.
Does it work in Google Docs?
Yes. Upload the Word file to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs; the tables and ruled lines carry over.
Can I share it inside my organization?
Yes. Copy it, adapt it and share it with your board and staff.
Read the guide
More kits for executive directors
Nonprofit Financial and Reserve Policy TemplatesSigning, reimbursement, gift and reserve policies, a controls checklist and a reserve worksheet
Nonprofit Scenario Planning Worksheet and Layoff Communication PlanBudget cases with trigger points the board approves, human scenarios and a layoff plan through to the team that stays
Fundraising Plan TemplateA revenue plan by source, a case for support, a donor and board plan and a stewardship calendar with the IRS gift rules
With a budget, the spreadsheet is rarely where it goes wrong. The assumptions are. A coach helps the executive director bring the board a draft built on money that is promised, and the question it should be asking: what if the largest grant is three months late?
Six sessions of executive coaching: $300, $400 or $600, set by your organization's yearly operating expenses.
