--- title: "Daily Buzz: Outlining Your Nonprofit’s First Budget" id: "45838" type: "post" slug: "daily-buzz-outlining-your-nonprofits-first-budget" published_at: "2019-03-04T23:17:49+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T23:45:04+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/03/04/daily-buzz-outlining-your-nonprofits-first-budget/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/03/04/daily-buzz-outlining-your-nonprofits-first-budget.md" excerpt: "When your nonprofit is just starting out, a budget is a critical tool to managing and growing your organization. Also: when to put out a post-event recap." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "event planning" - "Meetings" - "recap" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Daily Buzz: Outlining Your Nonprofit’s First Budget Starting a new nonprofit can be exciting but, financially speaking, uncharted territory. “It’s easy when you’re just starting out—and you’re super excited about the future—to operate on a lot of hope,” [says Sandy Rees in a post on Get Fully Funded (opens in a new tab)](https://getfullyfunded.com/2019/03/01/how-to-create-your-new-nonprofits-first-budget/) . “Now, hope is not a bad thing. But you need some practicality and planning to go with it.” And that means a budget. To start your nonprofit’s financial plan, you’ll need to first decide on your program activities for the year, Rees says. From there, estimate all associated expenses and potential revenue—and then compare. Take the time to get accurate projections. If you guess, you risk throwing off your entire budget. “Be careful not to overestimate your revenue just to get a zero bottom line,” Rees says. “Next year, when you have a year’s experience and historical numbers to pull from, you can use your actual numbers as estimates.” ### Get Your Post-Meeting Recap Out on Time > A post-event recap provides useful information to your stakeholders and community on key takeaways from the event. Find out how to create a perfect event recap below.[https://t.co/GajqEljA3a (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/GajqEljA3a) > [#meetingprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/meetingprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#eventprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/eventprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — SmartMeetings (@SmartMeetings) [March 3, 2019 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/SmartMeetings/status/1102232666093600768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **A post-event recap** is an important way to highlight the key takeaways of your meeting for your community. “This essential tool is most useful in the days after the event,” *Smart Meetings* contributor [Sherie Raymond explains (opens in a new tab)](https://www.smartmeetings.com/events/114971/how-to-create-a-perfect-event-recap) . “In fact, the best time to publish this report is within 48 hours of the event ending.” To be ready share a post-event recap on this tight schedule, you’ll need to generate content from your meeting in real time. Take notes, photos, and videos during the event, or crowdsource using your meeting’s unique hashtag—just make sure to verify photo permissions before you publish. ### Other Links of Note **Leading a remote team?** [These three management mistakes can affect your employees’ productivity (opens in a new tab)](https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/3-management-mistakes-that-hurt-remote-team-performance/) , according to *CMSWire*. **An analytics strategy** [requires the right people, technology, and process (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.memberclicks.com/guest-post-building-blocks-for-creating-an-analytics-strategy) , the MemberClicks blog explains. **Need inspiration** for how to retain members and donors? *Network for Good* suggests asking this one question: [What would Netflix do? (opens in a new tab)](https://www.networkforgood.com/nonprofitblog/what-netflix-would-do-to-retain-your-donors/) (Natee Meepian/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Jeff Hsin](https://associationsnow.com/author/jeff-hsin/) [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/jeff-hsin/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#recap](https://associationsnow.com/tag/recap/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [Video2017 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition Monday Recap videoSeptember 8, 2017](https://associationsnow.com/2017/09/08/2017-asae-annual-meeting-exposition-monday-recap-video/) - [Video2015 ASAE Great Ideas ConferenceMarch 16, 2015](https://associationsnow.com/2015/03/16/2015-asae-great-ideas-conference/) - [VideoASAE Look Back Video 2014December 19, 2014](https://associationsnow.com/2014/12/19/asae-look-back-video-2014/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2019%2F03%2F04%2Fdaily-buzz-outlining-your-nonprofits-first-budget%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !