Week 5 – Discussion 1
Zero-Based Budgeting
Zero-based budgeting is very common in non-profit agencies. Discuss the pros and cons of this type of budgeting related to mental health service provision based on answering the five ZBB questions on page 92 of your text. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Resources
Readings
1. Textbook:
Dropkin, M., Halpin, J., & LaTouche, B. (2007). The budget-building book for nonprofits (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 16: Allocating Administrative, Overhead, and Shared Costs
Chapter 17: Revising Draft Operating Budgets
Chapter 18: Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)
Chapter 19: Capital Budgeting
2. Video:
Rae, W, [ehowfinance]. (2009, February 6). Making a Budget: How to Create a 0-Based Budget [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4HNFnNrSNjA (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Readings
1. Websites:
SAMHSA. (n.d.) Grants. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/Grants (Links to an external site.)
National Institute of Health (NIH). (2015). Grants and funding: NIH’s central resource for grants and funding information. National Institute of Health (NIH). Retrieved from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm
Week 5 – Discussion 2
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Capital-Equipment Budgeting
Capital-equipment budgeting is typically related to the expansion of current services. This type of budget must be justified and requires a viability or return on investment analysis. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of financing options (e.g., mortgages and loans; lines of credit, leases; bond financing) for a specified capital improvement or equipment project. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Resources
Readings
1. Textbook:
Dropkin, M., Halpin, J., & LaTouche, B. (2007). The budget-building book for nonprofits (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 16: Allocating Administrative, Overhead, and Shared Costs
Chapter 17: Revising Draft Operating Budgets
Chapter 18: Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)
Chapter 19: Capital Budgeting
2. Video:
Rae, W, [ehowfinance]. (2009, February 6). Making a Budget: How to Create a 0-Based Budget [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4HNFnNrSNjA (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Readings
1. Websites:
SAMHSA. (n.d.) Grants. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/Grants (Links to an external site.)
National Institute of Health (NIH). (2015). Grants and funding: NIH’s central resource for grants and funding information. National Institute of Health (NIH). Retrieved from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm
Week 5 Instructor Guidance
“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love it.” – Henry David Thoreau
Week 5 Overview
Zero-based Budgeting and Capital Budgeting
The two most important concepts in your readings this week are Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) and capital budgeting. Dropkin, Halpin, and LaTouche (2007) also discuss how to allocate certain costs in the budget and how to adjust or revise budgets. I won’t repeat the information in your text, but please pay close attention to all four chapters this week. Each of them provides very useful, practical information that every director will need to use at some point in their careers. Answers are provided to questions such as:
1.) What are the benefits of using zero-based budgeting?
2.) What elements should be considered when budgeting for capital expenditures?
3.) How best are administrative, overhead, and shared costs allocated?
4.) What methods are suggested for reducing costs?
You have one video to view this week, which helps to further explain ZBB. Hopefully, this makes the concept easier to understand. Please let me know if you have questions about ZBB after reading the materials and viewing the video. There are also two recommended websites for you to examine this week. Both provide information about federal grants- one link will take you to the National Institute of Health and the other to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Federal grants fund many nonprofits and also require a great deal of planning, management, and reporting. I opened one Request for Application and was provided 40 pages of information about the grant requirements! As you examine the websites this week, consider the resources necessary to successfully adhere to grant requirements. This is an important exercise as you plan your own budgets!
I’ve added one additional resource that I believe will be helpful to you. Both of these relate to overhead costs. As most of you have noted in your assignments, determining how to pay for overhead costs is challenging.
Finding the right overhead ratio for your nonprofit
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/resources/nonprofit-management/find-right-overhead-ratio/ (Links to an external site.)
References
Dropkin, M., Halpin, J., & LaTouche, B. (2007). The budget-building book for nonprofits (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
