The thing I noticed right off the bat from this chapter is that this section is ultimately the most important in the grant writing process because it details what will be done with the money. Funders are reading your grant proposals in order to give your organization money. So you definitely want to make sure you are using that money wisely. This chapter also makes a distinction between two main types of budgets funders may ask for: operating and program. Operating budgets list all of the income an organization is taking in as well as all of the expenses taking money out. This is helpful for funders because it can see where the money in an organization generally goes to see if their money will go to the place they believe it will be (especially if the grant is just for general funding). Program budgets show where the funding for a specific project will be going. So if a funder is going to be giving you money for a project, it’s good for them to know where their money is specifically going and thus they’ll know it’s going to a place where it will help your cause. I also haven’t really thought about a budget showing the funder how professional and prepared your organization is. Someone may know how to explain themselves in the rest of the grant but may be lacking the skills to explain themselves financially. Finally, the fact that a budget should have a period of time tied to it stood out to me. This is something else that I haven’t really thought about but it makes sense. By having a budget period to stand by shows your funder what you plan on accomplishing by that end date.
