The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards

by Murray Dropkin, Jim Halpin, Bill La Touche

This best-selling nuts-and-bolts workbook, now in its second edition, has become the gold standard for nonprofit managers and boards who must work through the budget cycle. The book offers practical tools and guidance for completing each step of the budgeting process. Designed to be comprehensive and easy to use, The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits provides everything budgeters and nonfinancial managers need to prepare, approve, and implement their own budgets. Includes new chapters on Zero-Based and Capital Budgeting as well as an accompanying website with spreadsheets, worksheets and a new budget-building software, the CMS Nonprofit Budget Builder , designed to help you implement the concepts in the book. The software includes an expandable standard chart of accounts (COA) and will aid in building, organizing, tracking and planning budgets. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Library Science

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 1998

Reviews

[Martin Smrek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know who is supposed to be the target group of this book. Unless you've never heard what a budget is, there is not much you can learn from it. You'll receive trivial advise like you shoud count all your expenses and income and when you are running a deficit you should cut spending and increase your income. Well, duh! However, there are a couple of useful parts, such as instructions for board review of annual budget.

[Kirk Lowery]

This is not really a book about budgeting. It is more of a workbook or templates. The budget process is described in outline; but I found many of the templates to be less than useful or obvious.



Budgeting requires a log of data about past spending and the art is using that data along with the implications of future goals and objects and how they impact spending.

[Angela Taylor]

Very informative

I liked the book, but not having access to the firms which were formerly on the CD makes the Kindle version less useful. Is there somewhere we get access to those forms?

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

counting it because I had to read the whole thing for class. it's practical and offers good step by step instructions for many aspects of budgeting. I'll pull it out if I'm ever in charge of budgeting. 4 four stars for utility.

[Shannon Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's exactly what it sounds like. I had to read it for a class.

[Amanda-Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really useful tool for anyone who's seriously considering starting a nonprofit.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, basic overview of budgeting. How basic? Early on in the book you find this sentence: "Your organization should always try to create a budget resulting in a surplus" (19). :) But really, it's a nice summary of the different stages of making a budget. For new academic admin and faculty, I would recommend this book along with Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education, by Margaret J. Barr.

[Sidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's easy reading. finished it in one day with 200 pages.

lots of excel sheet, very down-to-earth skills and useful points towards budgeting for nonprofit org.

but i didn't remember that much after reading, since there is not too many case studies to apply the "formats" or the "principles" with practical world.

[Amy Christine Lesher · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I purchased this book I thought it would help me understand how to put a budget together for a small organization. This book is tailored for someone stepping into at least a program manager's position in a large nonprofit. It didn't help in the way I'd hoped.

[Bing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended if you need this sort of information. Very, very practical.

[Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

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