The budget is often the most challenging part of a proposal, even for fundraisers who've mastered the "writing" part of the process.

To answer that challenge, we've created this online course to walk you through each step in preparing a project budget for your next grant proposal. With templates and plenty of examples, we'll demystify the whole process and offer guidance on what funders really want to see in your budgets.

This self-paced, self-directed course goes beyond the basics to answer your most frequently asked questions on budgets, such as:

• How do I allocate time for staff working across multiple projects?
• When can I include indirect costs and how do I know how much to add?
• Why do funders ask for details on income and what do I need to show them?
• How do I account for in-kind donations?

Note this course focuses solely on project budgets created for grant proposals.

Length: Estimated time to complete this self-paced learning course is two to three hours.

How to Start Your Self-Paced Learning Course

Within one business day of your registration, you will receive an email with the subject line “Welcome! Learning awaits.” This email will have instructions on how to create your account in Bridge, Candid’s online learning platform, as well as a link to access your course.

Users may need to enable pop-ups in order to view the course. We recommend using Firefox as your browser. Visit these resources for more information on accessing courses, navigating through a course, and viewing its technical requirements.

Sample budgets and worksheets for completing your own budget.