Background
Budgeting is the key to financial management of non profit organisation. The budget plays an important role in every stage of NGO work: planning new work, raising funds, implementing activities, monitoring work and evaluation. The programme cycle and the financial cycle go hand in hand.
This toolkit will help you plan, develop and use budgets effectively in your organisation. If you have a sound understanding of the principles of budgeting, you will be well on the way to sound financial management. If you use this toolkit in conjunction with other toolkits, as indicated, you will increase the capacity of your organisation to manage its finances effectively. You will also increase its ability to survive through foresight and planning. Who should use this toolkit? This toolkit is aimed specifically at people who have had little or no experience with budgeting. Perhaps you have not been involved in running an organisation, project or department before. Or perhaps you have not been involved in the financial management side of the work before. Now you are faced with the task of developing a budget, or budgets, and you are not quite sure where to start. If you are in a situation like this, then this toolkit will be useful for you
What’s in the tool
This toolkit provides guidelines on how to go about developing and monitoring a budget. It will help you with an overall organisational budget as well as with a budget for a specific project. It includes tools for estimating costs as well as tips for ensuring that your budgets meet the needs of your project or organisation. In the examples section we give actual examples of budgets and how they can be monitored.
It is divided in two sections; the first one covers basic principles, operation plans, budgeting rules, estimating costs and different budgeting techniques. The second section provides examples of budgets (consolidated and monthly breakdown).
Downloads
Download Part 1 in English
Download Part 2 in English