Storytelling for Grantseekers: A Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising

TAKE ONLY ONE BITE OF THE APPLE

Now one caveat: you can’t take two bites out of the same budget apple. Two methods can be used in allocating what would otherwise be overhead costs to a program. You must choose only one of them. The first is what I have already described: a calculation based on estimates of actual costs (such as the percentage of the executive director’s time devoted to a particular program). This method is easiest to use when costs and budgets are relatively small and when you can easily attribute specific costs to a program.

The second method is to use a single percentage for all overhead costs. This method is often selected when programs and their accompanying budgets are large and complex and when it is difficult, if ...