Many of us are initially drawn to work in nonprofits because of a commitment to the causes our organizations work toward. At some point we may find ourselves responsible for helping to develop and manage the financial resources of the organization, with little experience with the tools and language of finance.

This workshop is designed for people who are new to budgeting and want to get a baseline understanding of the components of a nonprofit budget. We will demystify some of the terminology around budgeting, share examples of different types of budgets and when they are useful, and practice reading and interpreting both organizational and program-level budget-to-actual reports.

By the end of this workshop you will:

• Increase your understanding of the terminology and concepts of budgets including: Revenue, Support, Release from Restriction, Full Program Costs, Overhead/Indirect, Fixed Costs/Variable Costs, Cost Allocation, Projections;

• Build a customized step-by-step checklist for your organization or program’s budgeting process;
• Practice reading different budgets and budget to actual reports and identifying the right format for your organization or program;
• Begin to identify the connection between organizational values and the budget including how power dynamics influence financial decision-making.

Note: This workshop contains the pre-requisites needed before taking Nonprofit Budgeting Part 2: Building Better Budgets.  If you have questions whether this workshop is appropriate to meet your needs please contact us at workshops@compasspoint.org.