Storytelling for Grantseekers: A Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

A budget translates the proposal’s narrative story into numbers, forecasting projected income and expenses. In contrast, a current financial statement is an accounting of your agency’s most recent fiscal history. Think of financial statements as historical documents. They inform the reader of what actually happened with the agency’s money—where it came from (revenue) and how it was spent (expenses)—and report the total amount of agency assets at the beginning of the fiscal year and their value at the end of that period. A thorough review of a nonprofit agency’s recent financial statements reveals trends and can indicate whether an agency is fiscally sound or swimming in a sea of red ink. Depending on what they report, ...