Grant Budget Calculator
Build a proposal budget in the order a funder reads it, with the fringe, indirect and cost-share arithmetic done as you type.
Enter the project's costs. Every dependent figure updates as you type.
- Salaries
- $0
- Fringe
- $0
- Other direct costs
- $0
- Total direct costs
- $0
- Indirect base
- $0
- Indirect
- $0
- Total project cost
- $0
- Less cost share
- $0
A planning estimate. Every funder defines its own categories, its own indirect cap and its own rules on what the base includes, and their guidelines always win. Unit 5 works through the justification that has to accompany these figures.
Learn to build the budgetHow a proposal budget is put together
A budget is read as a test of whether the plan is real, and reviewers check it against the narrative before they judge either. The arithmetic is not difficult, but it is layered. Personnel drives fringe, personnel and fringe drive total direct costs, and total direct costs drive indirect, so changing a salary moves four other figures. That is where inconsistencies creep into a hand-built spreadsheet.
- Personnel and fringe come first, because most of a project budget is people and everything else is calculated on top.
- Indirect is a percentage of a base, not of the total request, and many funders exclude equipment or subawards from that base.
- Cost share is not part of the request. It is what somebody else contributes, so it raises the project total and lowers the ask, which is the distinction applicants most often get backwards.
- Every figure needs a justification that explains how it was reached. A reviewer who cannot follow the arithmetic assumes it was assembled backwards from the maximum award.
Grant writer rate calculator FAQs
What are indirect costs?
Indirect costs are the shared costs of running an organization that cannot be attributed to one project, such as rent, utilities and administration. Funders differ widely in whether they pay them and at what rate, so the guidelines decide this rather than the applicant.
What is a typical indirect cost rate?
It depends entirely on the funder and on whether your organization has a negotiated rate. Many private funders cap indirect at a modest percentage or refuse it, and several government programs allow a de minimis rate for organizations without a negotiated one. Check the announcement rather than assuming.
What is the difference between cost share and matching funds?
They are usually used interchangeably for the portion of a project cost covered by somebody other than this funder. It can be cash or in-kind, and it is often either required, encouraged, or explicitly not considered, so check which of the three applies before including it.
Will this match the budget form my funder uses?
It follows the structure most forms use, which is enough to plan with and to check your arithmetic against. The form itself always wins: some funders split categories differently, cap particular lines, or exclude costs entirely.
