Determining a budget is one of the most complicated feats for a nonprofit organization. With the organization’s money depending on donations, you want to ensure your funds are being properly allocated. 

Make sure you have enough for overhead.
This should be a no-brainer. Overhead includes your organization’s administrative expenses, such as employee salaries and office and fundraising expenses. These should be first on your budget to-do list. Many nonprofits wonder about an acceptable amount to spend on overhead. After all, people donate their money to the cause your organization or station supports. According to The Nonprofit Times, the acceptable amount of a nonprofit’s money spent on overhead is approximately 23 percent. 

Determine the year’s goals.
When determining a budget, it’s important to consider the year’s goals and commitments. If your station is celebrating its 10th anniversary and you’ll be hosting a fundraising party to celebrate it, you’ll want to budget a bit more on fundraising than you did last year. Meanwhile, if you overspent last year, you’ll likely want to keep your budget more conservative this year.

Utilize volunteers wisely.
While you don’t pay volunteers for their work, they may still cost you money. Most of the time, organizations supply volunteers with uniforms or food while they’re working on an event. Other organizations will reimburse them for travel expenses if they go to another city for something related to the station. Remember how utilizing volunteers may affect your bottom line, and strategize accordingly.