Topic 8 of 15 · Fundraising and financial management
Nonprofit fundraising and financial management
Free nonprofit fundraising guides, budget and cash flow templates and financial management tools for nonprofits and NGOs.
- 13 resources
- 12 free
- 5 tools and templates
- 3 sub-topics
Money problems sink more good organisations than bad programmes do. Usually it's a mix: too much restricted funding, budgets that hide real costs and no one raising unrestricted money.
This shelf covers fundraising from individuals and local sources, the financial basics every director should know, and how to price your work at full cost so you stop subsidising funders out of your reserves.
You need this shelf if
- You rely on 1 or 2 big grants
- You don't know the true cost of running each programme
- Your reserves keep shrinking even when projects are funded
- You want to raise money locally but have never done it
Key questions for leaders
- What does each programme really cost, overheads included? Full Cost Resources →
- How many months could you run if your biggest grant ended tomorrow? Cash Flow Projection Template →
- How much of your income is unrestricted, and how could you grow it? Fundraising for Social Change →
- Would your finances pass a basic health check today? Financial Health Check Assessment Tool →
- Who raises money in your organisation, and is it planned or ad hoc? Fundraising for Success →
- Does your board get clear, regular financial reports it understands? Internal financial controls for charities →
What's on the shelf
8.1 Fundraising
- 8.1C104
Fundraising for Social Change
A 496-page how-to handbook for small and mid-sized nonprofits that want to build a broad base of individual donors, written with racial, economic and climate justice groups in mind. It covers fundraising infrastructure, hiring a development director, working with consultants and coaches, budgeting and planning, and handling financial trouble. Spotlight sections carry reflections from working fundraisers. Teachers get a free instructor's manual and online extras.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideBook - 8.1C103
Fundraising Bright Spots
A research report from the Resetting Development project, which grew out of the UnderDeveloped study of nonprofit fundraising. It tells the stories of social change organisations that raise steady money from individual donors. It is for nonprofit leaders, boards and fundraising staff. Readers use the cases to rethink who owns fundraising in their organisation. A 2017 companion, Fundraising Bright Spots in Action, follows programme participants as they change their approach.
ClassicResearch and evidenceFree with sign-up - 8.1C202
Fundraising for Success
A short guide from INTRAC's Common Ground Initiative for small and diaspora NGOs that have little time, staff or fundraising experience. It explains why fundraising needs a strategy, and how a small organisation can plan where its money will come from, who will raise it and how. It is part of a series of guides for small NGOs that includes one on governance.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 8.1C105
Change the Game Academy
A free online learning platform for community-based organisations that want to raise money and support from their own communities. It has 2 self-paced courses. Local Fundraising covers proposal writing, fundraising communication and donor relations. Mobilising Support covers winning commitment from stakeholders and decision makers, lobbying, social accountability and communication. Users create an account and follow the courses at any time. A Green version for groups managing natural resources launched in 2025.
CurrentKey online resourceFree with sign-up
8.2 Financial management
- 8.2C106
Financial Management for Humanitarian and Development Professionals Guide
A free guide to the basics of financial management for projects in development, humanitarian and conservation work. It is written for staff who are not finance specialists, such as project managers and programme leads. It links to an optional certification exam in English and Spanish. The guide is released under a Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 licence, so teams can adapt and reuse it for internal training.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree - 8.2C107
StrongNonprofits Toolkit
A free set of financial management tools for nonprofit finance staff and leaders. It is organised by topic: budgeting, navigating uncertainty, cash flow, operations, data and analysis, audit readiness, and governance and strategy. Downloads include a financial risk self-assessment, an equity in financial management self-assessment, a financial infrastructure self-assessment and a fiscal management activities calendar in Excel. Short videos from BDO explain equity in the finance function.
ClassicTool or templateFree - 8.2C199
Financial Health Check Assessment Tool
A free self-assessment for small and medium NGOs, first published by Mango as Mango's Health Check and now kept by Humentum. Any staff member or trustee can complete it without finance training. It scores the organisation on 6 areas: planning and budgeting, basic accounting systems, internal controls, staffing, grant management and financial reporting. The result is a score with recommendations and a glossary of financial terms.
ClassicTool or templateFree - 8.2C108
Internal financial controls for charities
Regulator guidance for charity trustees on the internal controls that protect funds and assets from fraud and loss. It explains how controls help trustees meet their legal duties, manage financial risk and keep proper accounting records. The page has 3 parts: the CC8 guidance, a separate page on protecting a charity from fraud, and a downloadable checklist that trustees and finance staff use to test their own controls.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 8.2C200
A Budgeting Guide for NGOs
A free guide to budgeting for NGO managers and finance staff. It sets out a plan, do and review cycle for building and running a budget, a checklist for monitoring spending against the budget during the year, and tips from experienced NGO finance professionals. Managers use it to prepare annual and project budgets and to keep them on track.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree with sign-up - 8.2C201
Cash Flow Projection Template
A free Excel template from Nonprofit Finance Fund for projecting cash coming in and going out each month across the year. It shows the expected cash balance month by month, so you can spot periods when cash will run short and estimate how much working capital you need to cover them. The page includes a short video on how to use it.
CurrentTool or templateFree
8.4 Full cost and budgeting
- 8.4C110
Full Cost Resources
A free collection of Nonprofit Finance Fund materials on the full cost of running a nonprofit. It contains the Full Cost Framework, 3 practices for getting started and building a full cost budget, a page on the 6 full cost areas, a short video series, and the Full Cost Communication Guide. The guide gives tips and sample scenarios for conversations between nonprofits and funders about grant terms.
Start hereCurrentTool or templateFree - 8.4C109
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
A short article on why nonprofits underfund overhead such as IT, finance systems, training and fundraising. It describes a 3-stage cycle: funders expect low overhead, nonprofits feel pressure to match, then underspend and underreport their costs. It cites data on real versus reported overhead rates. Closing sections set out what funders can do, such as general operating support, and what nonprofit leaders and boards can do.
ClassicShort readFree - 8.4C111
True Program Costs
A free guide and editable Excel template for working out the real cost of each programme. It follows 11 steps, from defining programmes and setting up cost centres to allocating salaries, direct costs, administration and fundraising, then reviewing the whole. An allocation methods chart helps teams choose bases such as staff time, floor space or client numbers. Leaders use the results to price services and see which programmes need subsidy.
CurrentTool or templateFree
Related project ideas
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Cash flow forecasting & financial modelling
“You can't get a reliable picture of your cash position three months out — so every late payment or budget decision feels like a gamble.”See project
Fundraising strategy development
“You chase whatever funding comes up rather than pursuing the right donors with a clear ask — and it shows in your results.”See project
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