Free grant budget template for nonprofits
Both budgets funders ask for, in one spreadsheet: the project budget for your proposal, with indirect costs, cost share and a check against the funder’s maximum, and your organization’s operating budget. A Budget narrative tab drafts the justification for every line, so the math and the words always match.
- ✓ Personnel math: salary × FTE × months, plus fringe
- ✓ Indirect costs on total or modified total direct costs
- ✓ Red and green checks against the funder’s limits
- ✓ Organization budget with a program expense ratio
What’s inside the grant budget template
Six tabs, including a Start here guide. The example is a fictional youth literacy project asking a community foundation for $42,262 toward a $69,822 project, the same one written up in our sample grant proposal.
Budget summary: totals, indirect costs and funder limits
Enter the funder’s maximum request, your indirect rate and base, and the funder’s maximum indirect rate. Everything else totals itself from the Personnel and Direct costs tabs.
| Category | Total project cost | Requested | Other sources | % of request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salaries & wages | $40,400 | $22,800 | $17,600 | 54% |
| Fringe benefits | $5,536 | $2,976 | $2,560 | 7% |
| Supplies & materials | $6,000 | $6,000 | $0 | 14% |
| Contractors & consultants | $3,600 | $3,600 | $0 | 9% |
| Equipment · Rent (in-kind) | $7,400 | $0 | $7,400 | 0% |
| Indirect (10% of MTDC) | $3,706 | $3,706 | $0 | 9% |
| Total | $69,822 | $42,262 | $27,560 | 100% |
| Request vs. maximum | Within the limit ($2,738 to spare) |
Example figures, simplified. Shaded columns are formulas.
How to use the Budget summary tab
- Fill in the grey cells at the top: funder, project, grant period, maximum request, indirect rate, indirect base and the funder’s maximum indirect rate.
- Each category shows the total project cost, the amount requested from this funder and what other sources cover.
- Indirect costs are calculated on the request, using total direct costs or modified total direct costs (MTDC).
- The checks turn green when you’re within the funder’s limits and red when you’re over, and show your cost share.
How to build a grant budget
- Read the funder’s budget rules first. Look for a required form, allowed and disallowed costs, the maximum request, whether indirect costs are allowed (and the cap), and whether a match is required.
- List every activity in your project design, then what each one needs: people, time, supplies, travel, space. Every budget line should trace back to an activity.
- Price each line with real numbers: salaries from payroll, quotes from vendors, your actual mileage rate. Show the math as quantity × unit cost.
- Separate the request from cost share. Show what other grants, your own funds and in-kind donations cover. It shows the project is bigger than one funder.
- Add indirect costs at your rate, within the funder’s limit, on the base they specify. For federal grants, see 2 CFR 200.414 on indirect costs.
- Write the budget narrative and check that the numbers, the narrative and the proposal all tell the same story.
Budget justification examples
A good budget narrative gives the calculation and the reason for each line in one or two sentences. From the example project:
Program Director (Dana Morales), 20% FTE for 12 months at an annual salary of $72,000 = $14,400, plus fringe benefits at 24% ($3,456). She leads the initiative, trains and supervises four reading coaches, and manages school partnerships and reporting. We request 50% ($8,928); the remainder is covered by our general operating funds.
Literacy assessment consultant: 40 hours × $90/hour = $3,600 to design pre- and post-assessments, train coaches to administer them, and analyze results for the final report. The rate is in line with what we have paid for comparable evaluation work.
Coach mileage: 2,400 miles × $0.70/mile = $1,680. Four coaches rotate between three school sites twice a week during the school year.
Leveled reader sets: 120 sets × $35 = $4,200, one per student group, matched to reading level. The sets are reused in future years, so this is largely a one-time cost.
Classroom space: 10 months × $500 = $5,000, donated by the school district and valued at the district’s standard rental rate. Shown as cost share; not requested.
From budget to proposal
The budget is one piece of the application. Grantable is an AI workspace for the rest of it: it pulls the budget and attachment requirements out of the funder’s guidelines, drafts the proposal and budget narrative from your organization’s own documents, and runs a review pass that flags budget lines the narrative doesn’t justify.
Once a grant is funded, track spending against the approved budget in our free grant tracker template.
Grant budget questions
What should a grant budget include?
A grant budget lists every cost of the project by category (personnel, fringe benefits, contractors, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs and indirect costs), shows how each was calculated, and separates what you’re asking this funder for from what other sources cover, including in-kind contributions. Most funders also want a budget narrative that explains each line, and many ask for your organization’s annual operating budget as a separate attachment.
What is the difference between a project budget and an organization budget?
A project budget covers only the work in this proposal, for the grant period. An organization budget (or operating budget) covers everything your nonprofit expects to raise and spend in a year. Funders use the project budget to judge whether the request is reasonable, and the organization budget to judge your size, financial health and how much you depend on grants. This template has both.
What is a budget narrative or budget justification?
A budget narrative explains each budget line in words: how the amount was calculated (for example, 40 hours × $90/hour) and why the cost is needed for the project. Some funders call it a budget justification. The Budget narrative tab in this template drafts one sentence per line from your numbers, which you then edit into prose.
How much can I include for indirect costs?
It depends on the funder. Federal awards allow either a negotiated indirect cost rate or the de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs. Many foundations cap indirect costs at 10 to 15%, some pay more to cover the full cost of the work, and some pay none. Check the guidelines, then enter your rate, base and the funder’s maximum on the Budget summary tab.
What is cost share or match in a grant budget?
Cost share is the part of the project paid by someone other than this funder: other grants, your own funds, or in-kind contributions such as donated space or volunteer time. Some funders require a match (for example, one dollar for every two they give); others just like to see it. The template counts anything below 100% from this funder as cost share and shows the percentage.
Does this nonprofit budget template work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Use “Make a copy in Google Sheets” at the top of this page to get your own editable copy in Google Drive, or upload the .xlsx to Drive yourself. The formulas use only functions Excel and Google Sheets share, so totals, checks, dropdowns and the drafted budget narrative all carry over.
More free grant templates
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A 10-section proposal outline with guidance, prompts and a full annotated sample proposal.
A one-page cover letter for your proposal, paragraph by paragraph, with a sample letter.
The master argument for giving to your organization, with statement of need examples.