When it comes to grant management, financial accountability is critical.

But in the midst of multiple projects, it’s easy to lose track of expenses or have reporting deadlines sneak up on you.

One of the best ways to set yourself up for success is by having a grant financial report template on hand.

In this guide, we’ll share:

• An overview of grant financial reports and their importance
• Tips and best practices so you can create your own grant financial report template
• Grant reporting examples that you can learn from

Sound good?

Let’s jump in!

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What Is a Grant Financial Report 

Let’s take a moment to ground ourselves in the basics of grant financial reporting.

A grant financial report breaks down how your organization is spending grant funds. They’re often required by funders on a quarterly or annual basis to prove your spending aligns with the grant’s requirements and what you originally outlined in your proposal.

It should include your:

• Expenditures (direct and indirect operating costs)
• Matching funds
• Discrepancies
• Revenue

Often presented in a spreadsheet, a financial grant report helps promote transparency, ensuring funders that you are a good steward of their dollars and that you are in compliance with their grant requirements. They are one of the most important documents you’ll put together to help you maintain funding.

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The Importance of Accurate Grant Reporting 

Grant reporting is more than simply balancing your books.

Here’s why accurate grant reporting is so important:

• It drives accountability: You set a budget, and it’s up to you to stick to it to make sure you accomplish what you said you would.
• It builds trust: Funders appreciate the open dialogue, even when things aren’t going exactly according to plan. When you’re transparent with them, it builds a strong rapport. As a bonus, funders may even be able to share advice on how to get back on track if needed!
• It impacts future funding: How you use the funds you have today can impact the grants you can secure tomorrow. Poor grant reporting or misuse of funds can damage your nonprofit’s credibility and ability to win future funding. This is especially true when it comes to government grants, which often have strict compliance requirements that you need to meet in order to maintain funding.

Funders don’t expect perfection. They understand that things happen, but they want to be kept in the loop when they do.

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How to Prepare Financial Reports for Grants

Now that you know what a grant financial report is and why it’s important, we’ll walk you through best practices for preparing your own.

Key Grant Reporting Requirements

While grant reporting requirements vary from grant to grant, the most common elements are as follows:

• Expenditures: These are the actual costs to execute your proposed program. They should include a detailed list of the actual direct and indirect expenses that you incurred during the reporting period, such as staff salaries, program supplies, travel, equipment, rent, utilities, etc.
• Matching funds: Matching grants may require nonprofits to provide funds toward the award. The specific requirements would be outlined in your grant agreement.
• Discrepancies: Any significant variances in your spend should be addressed for transparency. This could be unexpected costs or even savings that would impact your overall budget.
• Revenue: If you’ve raised any additional funds that are related to the grant or project, make sure to track them to provide a comprehensive financial picture.

Your grant may have specific compliance and reporting requirements, so make sure that you review your grant agreement carefully. If you have any questions about the grant reporting process, connect with your grant officer for clarity.

How to Create a Grant Financial Report Template

You can create your own grant financial report template based on the categories listed above. Tools you can use include:

• Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets work great with text and data. You can set up formulas in your columns that will automatically populate cells with total spending, expenses, discrepancies, and more.
• Microsoft Word and Google Docs allow you to create tables manually. They work well for grant financial reports that require more text explanation.
• Canva has great visual presentations and engaging financial reports that you can adapt to your nonprofit’s needs.

With a template, tracking this information will soon become routine and will help you streamline your grant financial report process.

Instrumentl makes this process even easier with its robust award-tracking features. You can view the award, grant period, how much you’ve received, deadlines, and notes to help you collaborate with your team.

This information is visible to your entire team on Instrumentl, so you can all hold yourselves accountable and never miss another deadline.

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Grant Financial Report Examples

All of this sounds great, but what does it look like in practice? Below, we’ll share a few grant financial report examples to help inspire you.

Archstone Foundation

The Archstone Foundation offers a free downloadable grant financial report template on its website. This editable Excel file provides prompts on the information that’s needed, including any examples that nonprofits may overlook, like staff salaries, benefits, and consultant spend.

It provides a comprehensive view of the entire year, allowing you and your funders to gather a complete picture of your grant financials.

The Miami Foundation

The Miami Foundation grant reporting template allows nonprofits to go deeper than the numbers. It shares a comprehensive view of quarterly or annual grant expenses. It also provides a spot to briefly summarize expenses, which is an excellent place to be transparent with funders if there are any discrepancies.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a Microsoft Word grant report template. It’s a hybrid of the first two examples, not only tracking quarterly expenses on one sheet but also listing more detailed budget categories based on the grant requirements.

This report is great if you have unique reporting needs. By listing them out individually, you can ensure you remain in compliance.

Canva Cash Flow Statement

Get creative with Canva! They have plenty of financial report templates that you can search for and adapt to your nonprofit’s needs. Cash flow statements can easily be transformed into a grant report template. Even better, you can visually plot your quarterly spend to budget to help your funders understand the data better.

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Grant Reporting Best Practices

Our team of grant experts shared some best practices to help you with your grant financial reporting. Here’s what they had to say.

As soon as you receive the award, track your reporting deadlines and leave wiggle room.

Arnisha Johnson, Owner and Lead Strategist of Manifesting on More, immediately goes to her grant tracker on Instrumentl to add her reporting deadlines to her grant calendar—but she always adds a buffer.

“When awarded, log the report due dates. Make sure to submit the report as soon as the funded program is complete or no later than 1 week before it’s due.”

Ensure that program administrators understand the importance of keeping detailed financial records.

Matt Hugg, educator, eLearning specialist, online trainer, and CEO at NonprofitCourses, reinforces the importance of building strong relationships between the program administrator and the grant writer.

“The biggest challenge I've seen is getting accurate spending information from those tasked with running the funded program. In their enthusiasm for running the program, they misunderstand the parameters of the grant, don't bother keeping receipts, forget about reporting deadlines, and more. Often, they don't have the relationship with the funder (the grant writer or executive director does), so they don't connect the need for good record keeping with a person who wants it.”

Be transparent…even when things don’t go according to plan.

Mary Gladstone-Highland, Founder of Spark Group Consulting, knows that grant professionals worry when their plans don’t align with the reality of a project, but she encourages them to be open and honest with their funders.

“It's essential to understand that unexpected changes happen, and it's okay to communicate openly with the funder. If project details evolve or specific objectives become challenging to meet, contact the grantor and explain the situation. Most funders understand and are willing to collaborate on adjusting the project plan to something more feasible. Remember, you and the funder share the common goal of effecting positive change, and transparency is critical in maintaining a solid relationship.”

Focus on fostering relationships, even if there are no reporting requirements.

Zoe Harrold, Owner at Clear Horizons Consulting, encourages nonprofits to send reports, even if they’re not explicitly required.

“If they do not require a report, send along a thank you after the funding is awarded and again after it is spent with a short report on how the funds were spent. Include some photos to make the investment come alive. This will go a long way to building a relationship with the funder and, ideally, open an avenue for future funding.”

By following these expert tips, you’ll set yourself up for success throughout the grant financial reporting process.

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Wrapping Up: Grant Financial Report Template

Creating a standardized grant financial report template will help transform your reporting process, driving transparency and accountability. This can help you build trust with funders and ultimately win more grants.

In this article, we shared:

• What a grant financial report is and why it’s important
• How you can prepare your grant reports
• Grant report examples to help you get started
• Best practices from industry experts

Instrumentl has fantastic tools available that can support you through your end-to-end grant management, including navigating the financial reporting process.

Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Instrumentl to check it out for yourself.