Project budgets

A budget at its simplest is a table that shows

• where the money for a project comes from (income)
• what you intend to spend the money on (expenditure)
• a breakdown of the amounts on each side

To be complete, every budget should show both income and expenditure.

All budgets must balance. What this means is that income and expenditure must be the same.

The support you are applying for from a funder may only be a part of the money you are bringing in to make a project happen. It will strengthen your application if you can show other funding is in place before you apply.

Other sources of income for project might include

• Public funding – such as Arts Council England Grants for the Arts
• Charitable funding
• Local council funding
• A contribution from yourself
• The time you will devote to the project with no pay, if applicable – calculate what you would be paid and show this as support for the project
• Any other support in-kind received from a private company.
• Selling tickets for an event
• Selling editions or multiples of work
• Selling drinks at a private view
• Selling exhibition catalogues or other publications

This means that some of your proposed income might not be confirmed. Find a way that suits whatever you are applying for to show this projected income clearly.

List all the sources for funding or income that you have received or are applying for. Be clear about what stage of the application process you are at.

List the various items you need to spend money on – which may include:

• Materials
• Assistant fees
• Rental of equipment or venues
• Travel
• Publicity: marketing, printing or websites
• Your fee
• An optional 10% ‘contingency’, listed as such, as the last item on the budget. This allows for a limited overspend should you need it.
• Any other materials or other costs specific to your project.

There is further information on budgets at the a-n Practical Guide on Budgets. (requires log-in / membership).

It is also useful to include preliminary research to show where you got your figures from. This could be quotes from suppliers for different services or goods.

Funders will be particularly alert to any misuse of the funds they provide. They may ask for extra safeguards to be in place, such as

• Particular types of bank accounts. (e.g. with more than one signatory to withdraw funds)
• Proof of expenditure (e.g. receipts and invoices relating to a project)