Is budgeting a waste of time? A very definitive maybe.

• Download Presentation: CPA Ambassador – Non-Profit Budgeting
• Download Notes: CPA Ambassador – Non-Profit Budgeting

Alberta CPA Ambassadors

As part of this group’s outreach, they asked me to develop a presentation on budgeting for the non-profit. A challenging topic because:

• Non-profits come a variety of shapes and sizes.
• Budgeting is a subordinate to planning, so you really ought to discuss that first.
• Non-profits have unique challenges such as managing volunteers or finding donors.
• Technology is central to budgeting, which is big topic itself.

A Presentation with Optional Rabbit Holes

With the challenges in mind, the following material was created:

1. Presentation: Budgeting in the Non-Profit – 2020-11-18 Presentation.
2. Notes: A Non-Profit and a Rabbit Hole Walked into a Budget…
3. Further Reading & Links (see below).

The following material is referenced in the above material and provides additional reading.

• Alberta Board Development Program: budgeting for not-for-profit organizations.
  • A practical summary document which generally parallels the more detailed material in the above notes.
• Volunteer Alberta – Financial Responsibilities of Not-for-Profit Boards.
  • A board development workbook for managing financial records including a checklist of financial responsibilities and assistance with reading financial statements.
  • This guide includes a section on budgeting as well as other financial operations. It is a bit prescriptive and many of the suggestions need to be scaled down for smaller non-profits.
  • Be sure to check out the other resources available on this site.

Attendees to the November 2020 are encouraged to download and skim the notes prior to the event. The conference will have a talking head (hey, that’s me!), and lots of virtual conversation.

The material was written to be enduring long after the presentation. Non-profit and governmental organizations may share and distribute the document without charge. Please provide attribution referencing this web page.

Use Notice

The core material of the notes can be read in about an hour. There are annexes and footnotes which will happily lead you down rabbit holes (and not part of my word count, just saying). Enjoy the diversions and hopefully you find the material useful. It was interesting and fun putting the it together.

I plan to update the material periodically so your comments are appreciated and useful!

Notes and Further Reading

There is an impressive amount of material available to non-profits but its digestion is the challenge. I added to that indigestion by creating my own content. Bon appetite!

1. Myorgbio – Volunteerism. A collection of blogs about volunteering, most of which made it into the above notes.
2. Alberta Board Development Program: There is both material your organization can download (including a fact sheet on budgeting) and Alberta based non-profits can have a volunteer come in to improve board governance.
3. Volunteer Alberta. Provides a number of Canadian and Alberta relevant resources.
4. Volunteer Canada. Excellent resources for managing volunteers including a self-evaluation resource. Some of the material is getting a bit dated but still worthwhile.
5. CPA Canada – Non Profit Governance: A series on topics ranging from cyber security to resuming operations post-COVID.
6. CPA Canada – Financial Literacy: Budgeting-knowledge is a form of financial literacy. This material can help non-profits understand business and finance concepts.
7. Running a Charity in Canada. I read a LOT of material for this presentation. Out of the bunch, I recommend this one. Without earning commission, I would go so far as buying a copy to new board members as part of the welcome package… or borrow it from the library if you are cheap like me.