Grant Budgets
Grant Budget Template and Examples: Four Complete Budgets
Grant Writing Service Editorial Team
June 12, 2026 · 7 min read
Table of contents
Key takeaways
- One template covers most funders: category, line item, calculation, amount requested, other sources and total project cost.
- Project, federal, capital and general operating requests each need a different budget shape, so pick the example that matches your request.
- Use your funder's required form when one exists and carry these figures into it.
A grant budget template is a reusable table that lists every cost by category, shows how each figure was calculated, and separates what you are asking this funder for from what other sources will cover. Below is a template you can copy, followed by four complete examples for the most common kinds of request: a foundation project budget, a two-year federal budget with a required match, a capital budget and a general operating request. All organizations and figures in the examples are illustrative.
The template
Copy this structure into a spreadsheet. Add rows under each category as needed, and keep the calculation column even if the funder's form does not ask for it, because it becomes your narrative justification.
| Category | Line item | Calculation | Requested | Other sources | Total project |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | Role, effort | Salary × effort | |||
| Fringe benefits | Rate on salaries | Salaries × rate | |||
| Travel | Purpose of trip | Trips × travelers × cost | |||
| Equipment | Item at or above threshold | Units × unit cost | |||
| Supplies | Item | Quantity × unit cost | |||
| Contractual | Contractor or subrecipient, purpose | Fixed price or rate × hours | |||
| Other | Item | Quantity × unit cost | |||
| Total direct costs | |||||
| Indirect costs | Rate and base | Base × rate | |||
| Total |
Two rules make the template work. Fill the "Other sources" column even when a funder does not require a match, because most foundations want to see the full project cost and who else is paying. And total every column so a reviewer can check the request against the whole.
The free grant budget builder produces this table and does the fringe and indirect arithmetic for you.
Example 1: Foundation project budget with income
An after-school robotics program for 60 middle school students, 30 weeks. The foundation funds up to $50,000 and allows 10 percent overhead on its share. It does not fund food.
Expenses
| Line item | Calculation | Requested | Other sources | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program manager | 0.5 × $54,000 | $15,000 | $12,000 | $27,000 |
| Part-time instructors | 2 × 6 hrs/wk × 30 wks × $25 | $9,000 | $9,000 | |
| Payroll taxes and benefits | 18% of salaries | $4,320 | $2,160 | $6,480 |
| Robotics kits | 12 × $350 | $4,200 | $4,200 | |
| Consumable parts | 30 wks × $60 | $1,800 | $1,800 | |
| Field trip buses | 3 × $650 | $1,950 | $1,950 | |
| Student snacks | 60 × 60 sessions × $1.25 | $4,500 | $4,500 | |
| Survey platform for evaluation | Annual license | $600 | $600 | |
| Classroom space (donated by school) | 240 hrs × $30 | $7,200 | $7,200 | |
| Overhead, 10% of cash costs | $3,687 | $1,866 | $5,553 | |
| Total | $40,557 | $27,726 | $68,283 |
Income
| Source | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| This foundation | $40,557 | Requested |
| City youth services contract | $16,026 | Committed |
| Corporate sponsor (snacks) | $4,500 | Committed |
| School district (classroom space, in-kind) | $7,200 | Committed |
| Total | $68,283 |
What makes it work: the food the foundation will not fund is visibly covered by another source, overhead is applied only to cash costs on each side, and income equals expenses to the dollar. Program officers at foundations look for that balance more than for line-level detail.
Example 2: Two-year federal program budget with match
A workforce training program placing 120 adults a year into welding and manufacturing jobs. The program requires a non-federal share of at least 25 percent of the federal share. The applicant has a negotiated indirect rate of 22 percent of modified total direct costs.
Federal request
| Category | Year 1 | Year 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel: program director 0.25 × $90,000; 2 career coaches × $48,000; employer liaison $55,000 (3% raise in year 2) | $173,500 | $178,705 | $352,205 |
| Fringe benefits at 30% | $52,050 | $53,612 | $105,662 |
| Travel: 6,000 local miles × $0.76; 2 staff to the required grantee meeting × $1,200 | $6,960 | $6,960 | $13,920 |
| Equipment: welding simulator, 1 × $28,000 | $28,000 | $0 | $28,000 |
| Supplies: 3 laptops × $1,300 (year 1); training materials 120 × $85 | $14,100 | $10,200 | $24,300 |
| Contractual: subaward to community college for instruction | $140,000 | $140,000 | $280,000 |
| Other: participant stipends 120 × $500; certification exam fees 120 × $150 | $78,000 | $78,000 | $156,000 |
| Total direct costs | $492,610 | $467,477 | $960,087 |
| Modified total direct costs base | $296,610 | $249,477 | |
| Indirect at 22% | $65,254 | $54,885 | $120,139 |
| Total federal request | $557,864 | $522,362 | $1,080,226 |
The base excludes the simulator (equipment), the stipends and exam fees (participant support costs), and all of the subaward except its first $50,000, which is counted once, in year 1. That is why the year 2 base contains no subaward amount at all.
Non-federal share (required: 25% × $1,080,226 = $270,057)
| Source | Valuation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Organization cash, from a private foundation grant | Cash | $121,000 |
| Employee time donated by partner employers as guest instructors | 1,200 hrs × $65 (regular pay plus fringe) | $78,000 |
| Training floor donated by a union local | 24 months × $3,000 fair rental value | $72,000 |
| Total | $271,000 |
What makes it work: years differ where the plan differs, the indirect base is computed correctly, and the match comes from sources that are verifiable and not federally funded. Note that the $943 committed above the requirement becomes part of the binding share too. Matching funds explains how match requirements are calculated, and our in-kind valuation examples show the documentation behind each in-kind line. On the federal form, these figures go into Sections A through C of the SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs.
Example 3: Capital budget
A food bank buying a walk-in freezer and a refrigerated van to double frozen protein distribution.
| Line item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in freezer, 10 × 12 foot | Vendor quote (attached) | $38,500 |
| Installation and electrical upgrade | Contractor quote (attached) | $9,200 |
| Refrigerated cargo van | Dealer quote (attached) | $72,000 |
| Permits and inspection | City fee schedule | $1,100 |
| Total project | $120,800 | |
| Requested from this foundation | $90,000 | |
| Board-designated capital reserve | Committed | $30,800 |
What makes it work: capital budgets are built from quotes, not estimates, and the quotes are attached. Overhead is usually omitted, and the funder will want to know who pays for operating the asset after purchase, which belongs in your sustainability plan.
Example 4: General operating support request
A $75,000 unrestricted request from a $1.2 million organization. Operating requests are shown against the whole organizational budget, not a project.
| Expenses | Amount | Revenue | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program services | $860,000 | Government contracts | $540,000 |
| Management and general | $210,000 | Foundations (including this $75,000 request) | $310,000 |
| Fundraising | $130,000 | Individual donors | $220,000 |
| Special events | $80,000 | ||
| Earned revenue | $50,000 | ||
| Total | $1,200,000 | Total | $1,200,000 |
What makes it work: the functional expense split matches the organization's audited financial statements or Form 990, and the revenue side shows the request is about 6 percent of the budget, so no single funder carries the organization.
Adapting a template to your funder
Use the funder's own form when one exists and transfer your figures into it; the template above is your working file, not your submission. Check the funder's list of unallowable costs and its indirect policy before filling anything in. For the step-by-step process behind these examples, see how to build a grant budget, and for how to name and classify individual lines, grant budget line items.
