Skip to content
The Funder File
Essentials

Grant Budget & Justification Kit

Build your grant budget once. The workbook totals every line, applies your fringe and indirect rates, flags common errors and drafts a justification sentence for each cost, ready for your narrative.

4 files · Word and Excel · $29

$29

Secure payment with Stripe. Instant download. Your link works 5 times over 30 days.

What's inside

Word files

  • Essentials_BudgetJustification_User_Guide.docx

    Your step-by-step guide to this kit, with official sources and the final checklist.

  • Essentials_BudgetJustification_Budget_Justification_TEMPLATE.docx

    Budget narrative by category, ready to receive the draft sentences from the budget workbook.

  • Essentials_BudgetJustification_AI_Prompts_TEMPLATE.docx

    Copy-ready prompts that make any AI tool work from your own facts, with ground rules.

Excel files

  • Essentials_BudgetJustification_Budget_TRACKER.xlsx

    Budget workbook with formulas: budget lines, totals, checks, a draft justification for every line, and budget vs actual.

Who it's for

  • Small nonprofits without a finance team
  • Program staff who must produce a budget and a budget justification for a foundation, corporate or government application
  • Organizations in the US, UK or Canada (choose USD, GBP or CAD)

How the documents work together

  1. The Settings tab holds the funder's maximum, your fringe rate and the indirect cost method.
  2. The Budget tab calculates each line (quantity x unit cost) and the share you request.
  3. The Summary tab totals by category and runs seven checks; the Justification tab writes a sentence per line that you paste into the Budget Justification template.
  4. After the award, the Budget vs Actual tab already holds the approved amounts.

Is this the right kit?

Need the whole application, not just the budget? Every full kit includes this workbook.

General information

Templates and general information only, not legal, tax or fundraising advice. No template can guarantee funding: each funder decides on its own priorities and budget. Always follow each funder's own guidelines.

What's not included

  • Writing, reviewing or submitting your application for you
  • Legal, tax or accounting advice for your situation
  • A list of funders or a database subscription
  • Any promise of funding
  • Salary, rate or price figures: every amount comes from your own records

Format & delivery

Instant download after payment: one ZIP with editable Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx) files, personalized with your order details. Made for Microsoft Word and Excel; the files also open in Google Docs, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Apple Pages or Numbers, where some formatting, drop-downs or checkboxes may behave differently. Your download link works 5 times over 30 days.

Questions about this kit

Does the workbook include sample amounts?

No. Every amount, rate and date is an input cell, because salaries, prices and indirect rates depend on your organization and each funder's rules. The workbook calculates from what you enter.

Can it handle US federal indirect costs?

Yes. You can choose a modified total direct costs base and mark which lines belong in it. The guide explains the de minimis option of up to 15% of modified total direct costs under 2 CFR 200.414(f), and when a negotiated rate applies.

Does it work for UK or Canadian budgets?

Yes. Choose GBP or CAD in Settings and rename the categories on the Lists tab. The guide covers irrecoverable VAT in the UK and the GST/HST rebate for Ontario charities.

Helpful guides

Bundles that include this kit

Bundle of 6 kits

UK Bundle

For UK charities and community groups: preparation for National Lottery Community Fund applications, trust and foundation applications, and the Essentials tools for budgets, reports, calendars and boilerplate.

Kits bought separately: $174. You save $95 (55%).

$79View bundle
Bundle of 6 kits

Canada Bundle

For Canadian charities and non-profits: foundation applications, preparation for Ontario Trillium Foundation applications, and the Essentials tools for budgets, reports, calendars and boilerplate.

Kits bought separately: $174. You save $95 (55%).

$79View bundle
Bundle of 16 kits

US Complete Bundle

Every US kit: the six Essentials, the four US funder kits (private foundations, community foundations, companies, government) and the six sector kits.

Kits bought separately: $544. You save $395 (73%).

$149View bundle
Bundle of 20 kits

All-Access Bundle

All 20 kits: Essentials, US funders, UK, Canada and the six sectors. For organizations working across borders and for teams that want every tool.

Kits bought separately: $700. You save $521 (74%).

$179View bundle

The Funder File is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any funder or government agency named on this site. All trademarks belong to their owners.

$29Buy now