Our example we’ve been using is a nonprofit in New Mexico that serves pregnant teens and teenage parents.
In the article ‘R’ Research, we devised a problem statement:
The teenage pregnancy rate in New Mexico is the highest in the nation, with 62 out of 1,000 teenage youth pregnant compared to the U.S. average of 18.8 (CDC, 2017).
We then went onto ‘A’ Articulate the Goal, and defined the goal as:
The Project will increase fiscal management and job wages for pregnant teenagers and teenage parents.
In ‘N’ Narrow the Objectives, we devised three objectives:
- Objective 1: 100 pregnant youth or teenage parents will receive 20 hours of financial literacy training by July 31st, 2020.
- Objective 2: 75 pregnant youth or teenage parents will have completed their GED or High School diploma by June 30, 2020.
- Objective 3: 20 pregnant youth or teenage parents will be employed by December 31st, 2020.
In ‘T’ Timetable your Grant Activities, we developed a timetable for activities to reach objective one.
Now let’s see what our budget would look like for objective one:
BUDGET LINE BY LINE WORKSHEET |
PERSONNEL |
Position Title | Computation (Hourly rate x # of hours) | Grant Request Total |
Executive Director | ($35 per hour x 2080 hours) x 5% | $3,640 |
Project Coordinator | $25 per hour x 2080 | $52,000 |
Personnel Subtotal | The sum of all personnel | $55,640 |
| | |
FRINGE BENEFITS |
FRINGE BENEFITS | Rate | Grant Request Total |
FICA | Multiply the total of the personnel salary by 7.65% | $4,256 |
Workers Comp | Multiply the total by 1.5% | $835 |
Fringe Benefits Subtotal | | $5,091 |
| | |
TRAVEL |
Type | Computation | Grant Request Total |
Mileage for driving for work | Driving the van for five months – average 100 miles per week x 20 weeks x $ .535 per mile. | $1,070 |
Travel Subtotal | | $1,070 |
| | |
EQUIPMENT |
Items | Computation | Grant Request Total |
One Minivan | Purchasing a minivan | $20,000 |
Equipment Subtotal | | $20,000 |
| | |
SUPPLIES |
Types of Supplies | Computation | Grant Request Total |
Consumables | Paper, staples, ink, cleaning supplies at $100 per month x 12 months | $1,200 |
Supplies for financial literacy training | 110 pax x $25 book | $2,750 |
Participant supplies | Incentives such as gift certificates, pens, etc. @ $10 per 110 pax | $1,100 |
Supplies Subtotal | | $5,050 |
| | |
CONTRACTUAL |
Types | Computation | Grant Request Total |
Digital Advertising | 2 months x $1000 | $2,000 |
Financial Consultant | 100 hours at $25 per hour | $2,500 |
Contractual Subtotal | | $4,500 |
| | |
OTHER |
Types | Computation | Grant Request Total |
Computers | $1,000 x 1 computers | $1,000 |
Room for financial literacy | 150 sq. feet at $25 per hour for 100 hours | $2,500 |
Internet | $100 per month x 12 months | $1,200 |
Other Subtotal | | $4,700 |
| | |
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS |
| Computation | Grant Request Total |
Direct Costs Subtotal | Add up all subtotals | $96,051 |
| | |
INDIRECT COST |
Indirect Cost Rate | | Grant Request Total |
10.00% | | $9,605 |
| | |
TOTAL COSTS | Add up Direct Costs with Indirect Cost Rate | $105,656 |
So, there you go! That is how you create a strategic budget that aligns with all of your activities. Of course, you would hash out your other activities for your other two objectives as well.
You can see how simple this really is and that budgets do not need to be rocket science!
That wraps up our G.R.A.N.T.S. Formula!