The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (w/CD) (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series) [Paperback]

Murray Dropkin (Author), Jim Halpin (Author), Bill La Touche (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a book every nonprofit needs." —Peter F. Drucker

"Provides clarity, strategy, and utility to the financial management and asset management of social sector organizations." —Frances Hesselbein

"This book is clear, insightful and required reading for all who are responsible for the success of not for profits. If you work for or run a not for profit agency you should read this book" —Peter Block, author of Flawless Consulting and The Empowered Manager

"The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits is a definitive and practical guide to the art of budgeting. It is well written and reliable as well as easily understandable." —Ron Werthman, vice president, finance/treasurer and CFO, Johns Hopkins Health System, The Johns Hopkins Hospital --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This book is the gold standard for providing executives and managers with information essential to making the best decisions for their organization and it will give them the confidence in their fiscal systems they need in the competitive world of nonprofit management.”--Don Sykes, former director, the Office of Community Services for the Clinton Administration, and president, Community Development Solutions

“Written in clear language easily understood by the layman, it contains guidance on both proper procedures and the real-world challenges of getting the organization to adopt them. The worksheets and sample forms alone are worth the price.”--Elizabeth Rosen, retired chief financial and systems officer, The Morgan Library and Museum

“Everything you ever wanted to know about budgeting and didn’t know who to ask is contained in this second edition of The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits.  It’s practical, sophisticated, and contains many useful forms and examples. Whether you are an experienced nonprofit executive, board member, finance person or new to the field, you will want to add this budget book to your library. It’s a tremendous resource for everyone who works or volunteers to support the nonprofit sector.”--Carol Wolff, executive director, Area Health Education Center, Camden, New Jersey

“The second edition of The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits presents a primer for managers with limited financial expertise and resources in nonprofit settings. In my 20 years of consulting to behavioral health systems, these kinds of adjustments are often the critical difference in the financial health of an organization. This book should be mandatory reading for the nonfinancial administrator of any nonprofit organization.”--Harvey E. Hoffman, president, Healthcare America, Inc.

“Too often the process of building a budget in nonprofit organizations fails to receive the attention and focus appropriate to its importance. When a properly constructed budget is used effectively it represents far more than a simple spending plan. Rather, it becomes a guiding statement of values and priorities and a road map for how the organization plans to achieve its goals for the budgeting period. That view—carefully honed by these highly skilled authors after many years of experience on the front lines—is well-captured in this second edition of The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits and forms the foundation for the practical methods so clearly presented. Nonprofit executives and their boards of trustees alike will be well-served by this edition and well-advised to make it their own.”--Alan G. Kaufman, former director, New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services, and president, Argus Solutions for Behavioral Health

“The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits is a clear, well-written guide for nonprofit managers, whether experienced or new to the job, and demonstrates the importance of the budgeting process. Using plain language and real-life examples, the authors provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to developing and monitoring the budget.  It should be required for all nonprofit managers and boards.”--Irwin Nesoff, associate professor and director of the New Jersey Institute for Nonprofit and Social Work Management, Social Work Department, Kean University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 2 edition (November 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787996033
• ISBN-13: 978-0787996031
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #38,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #39 in	Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
  #72 in	Books > Business & Investing > Finance > Corporate Finance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical "how to" guide for middle management, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (Jossey-Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series) (Paperback)

This book steps you through the terminology and methodology of preparing and using budgets in the special case of the Nonprofit organization. It is particularly useful for middle (program) managers - how to deal with the Board of Directors, and so on. The book could use a few more computational examples, but it has excellent worksheets and checklists to simplify the task and keep you on track. It says what it has to say very concisely, which helps you to focus on the tips and pointers. It is really like an annotated workbook, complete with a sample budget. If you have to do this stuff, this book is invaluable.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Budgeting Made Easy, December 8, 2001

By	Innergized! (tm) "Innergized!" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (Jossey-Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series) (Paperback)

This book is a must have for not-for-profit organizations wishing to improve their budgeting process. This book encourages a botttom up budget building process involving those people intimately familiar with each department. In easy to understand language Dropkin and LaTouche walk you through each step of the budgeting process from planning to monitoring. Helpful sample forms and practical resources are included. The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits takes the fear out of budgeting.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs Updating, May 12, 2007

By	Bukharin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (Jossey-Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series) (Paperback)

Contains some decent tips but disappointing overall. Lacks treatment of the issue of restricted funds, essential to non-profit budgeting. Does not provide insight into effective use of spreadsheet programs like Excel which are essential to budget building. Does not show modern methods for calculating overheads like the FTE system. Contains a plethora of forms that can be used in various stages of the budget building process.