Скачать или смотреть Budget mistakes in your grant application that will get you an automatic NO

Budget blunders that got them instantly REJECTED 💀 (And you’re probably doing the same thing) Let’s start with Sasha. She wanted $25,000 to run a community art workshop. Beautiful concept, strong photos, heartfelt mission. But her budget had a line item that said:
“Supplies – $9,000 (estimated).”
Estimated? Baby, funders don’t fund vibes. You might as well write “manifested in the future.” Her total didn’t match the narrative, her profit margin screamed “personal income,” and the math rounded off like a wish list. Rejected before the second page.

Then came Malcolm. Tech founder, sharp pitch, all the right buzzwords. But his budget listed “consulting fees – $10,000” … with no explanation. Who’s the consultant? Doing what? For how long? Funders saw “consulting” and read “cash grab.” When you don’t define it, they define it for you. Straight into the no pile.

And then there was Lena. An artist-educator hybrid who used a budget template she found online. Looked fancy. Had categories she didn’t even need. She plugged in numbers that “felt right.” Her totals didn’t match her application narrative, and she had more spent on marketing than the actual project. The panel called it “financially unclear.” Translation: we don’t trust this applicant to manage money.

All three of them came to me after those rejections, burnt out, confused, and ready to swear off grants forever.

And here’s the thing they weren’t lazy. They were doing what everyone tells you to do: copy a template, round some numbers, hope for the best. They didn’t realize that your budget isn’t paperwork — it’s your credibility test. It tells funders if you can handle the responsibility before they even meet you.

So when they worked with me, we didn’t just fix a few lines — we built budgets that told a story. Budgets that made funders say, “Finally, someone who gets it.”

But that’s another story for another day.

Just know this: the next time you’re tempted to throw numbers together and call it a day… remember Sasha, Malcolm, and Lena. Their ideas weren’t the problem — their budgets were.

Because sometimes the difference between “Congratulations!” and “Unfortunately…” is the math you didn’t take seriously.

#GrantWriting #FundingMistakes #SmallBusinessGrants #ArtistGrants #EntrepreneurLife


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