Individual donations, corporate contributions, foundation grants and fee for services are some of many sources of income for nonprofits. While opinion varies as to what a nonprofit's "ideal" mix is, using several different sources to achieve sustainability is generally a good practice.

Nonprofits have different budgets for different needs. Although most of Candid's budget resources are for proposal budgets, this article provide brief information about other budgeting tools, such as organizational operating budgets and cash flow forecasts.

As with all questions having to do with tax law, please consult a legal, tax, or accounting professional for definitive answers to your specific question(s).

Keeping cash in reserve for a "rainy day" may seem like a luxury, but maintaining a nest egg can ensure your organization's long-term financial health.

Simply put, earned income is revenue generated from the sale of goods, services rendered, or work performed.

Both contingency and scenario planning are structured ways for organizations to think about the future.

For nonprofits, risk management may refer to assessing finances or insurance coverage, but it also may refer to screening volunteers, training employees and reducing liability, to name a few.

Although many foundations prefer to support direct programmatic activities, many do give grants to help nonprofits cover administrative costs, also known as general operating expenses or overhead costs.

Sometimes federal and state agencies and/or grantmaking foundations require nonprofits to provide audited financial statements. And sometimes nonprofits choose to undergo an audit to reassure supporters, board members, and other stakeholders that they are financially sound. For smaller nonprofits, a financial review is often enough to satisfy a funder.

The nonprofit annual report, although not a legal requirement, is often a valuable communications tool for nonprofits to get the message out about their activities over the course of the past year or years. It's also a great way to publicly recognize your donors.

Organizations perform a fundraising audit to comprehensively assess the status of their current fundraising efforts, to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to seek out areas for growth.

La mayoría de las fundaciones donantes prefieren dirigir sus fondos programáticos al apoyo de servicios directos. Sin embargo, sí existen muchas fundaciones que otorgan fondos para cubrir los gastos administrativos u operativos de una organización (que se conocen en inglés como "overhead" o "general operating costs").

Es difícil conseguir ejemplos de presupuestos (tanto de proyectos como institucionales) que se adapten bien al proyecto que llevará a cabo. Por un lado, no existe una obligación de hacer públicos los presupuestos de proyecto u operativos, como es el caso de los estados financieros que se incluyen en los Formularios 990, entonces escasean los ejemplos reales.