Annual Operating Budget and Program Budget Development for a U.S. Nonprofit

Drop of Water is seeking an experienced CPA, nonprofit accountant, or finance professional to help us develop our first comprehensive annual operating budget and program budget aligned with nonprofit financial management best practices.

As a newly established U.S. nonprofit organization, we have QuickBooks Online, active grant funding, and growing fundraising activities in place. We are looking for a skilled volunteer who can help us build a practical budgeting framework that will guide organizational decision-making and support long-term sustainability.

The volunteer will work with us to:

Develop a realistic annual organizational operating budget.
Create one or more program budgets that align with our current initiatives and grant-funded activities.
Establish clear budget assumptions and allocation methodologies.
Develop a budget monitoring template that compares budget versus actual performance.
Recommend best practices for annual budget development and ongoing budget management.
Ensure the budgeting process supports nonprofit accounting standards and future organizational growth.

The final deliverables should include editable budget templates that our leadership team can update annually and use for planning, Board approval, and grant management.

Drop of Water works to expand sustainable access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for underserved rural communities across Ethiopia. Every dollar entrusted to our organization helps build and rehabilitate water systems, strengthen local capacity, improve public health, and create opportunities for communities to thrive.

A strong budgeting process is fundamental to responsible nonprofit stewardship. As our organization grows and manages larger grants and partnerships, we want to ensure every financial decision is intentional, transparent, and aligned with our mission.

By helping us build a comprehensive budgeting system, this volunteer will strengthen our ability to plan strategically, allocate resources effectively, communicate clearly with our Board and donors, and pursue larger funding opportunities with confidence.

The systems created through this project will become part of our long-term financial infrastructure, enabling Drop of Water to responsibly manage future growth and ultimately extend safe water access to thousands more people in rural Ethiopia.

Drop of Water is well prepared to make this project successful.

We have QuickBooks Online in place, current financial records, grant agreements and organizational governance documents. The Executive Director will serve as the primary point of contact throughout the engagement and is available for regular meetings to review drafts, answer questions, and provide timely feedback.

We will provide all relevant financial information, organizational priorities, and anticipated funding plans. Recommendations developed during this project will be reviewed with leadership and implemented into our annual planning and financial management processes.

Our goal is not simply to create a one-time budget, but to establish a budgeting framework that can be maintained and refined as the organization grows.