Go to
Calculating Your Technology Budget to download Lasa's technology budget calculator, which helps your organization budget for its technology needs by accounting for expenditures like hardware, software, Internet, training, support, and consumables.
How does your organization calculate technology expenses? Are there any tools you've found to be especially helpful? Help other organizations by sharing your experiences in our forums.
Joined on 05-03-2001
TechSoup Member
I think these sorts of tools can be very valuable. But I was hoping the author could explain: Why are there no line items that relate to technology planning?
Michael Gilbert
http://www.gilbert.org
Hi Michael,
The worksheet contains six categories of items related to technology planning, including hardware and infrastructure, software, Internet, training, support, and consumables. If you have additional categories you need to plan for, the worksheet offers space for you to factor those into your technology budget as well.
If you have any further suggestions for other organizations on what to include in their budgets, please feel free to include them here.
Thank you!
Why should technology planning be part of the technology budget. Technology planning should be part of the overall org budget. Maybe we call learn from the politico’s here. Stop making technology an line item, as such it is much more difficult to remove.
Be more inclusive rather than exclusive. If you can show technology as an integrated revenue producing department, your chance of getting a real budget may be far greater.
For most nonprofits having a technology line item in their budget is important. This is especially so in small nonprofits where a great majority of their technology is funded by outside foundations. It will be much easier to get grants for specific technology initiatives with a line item.
Secondly, putting tech planning as a line item is also important for smaller npo's that do not have much in house tech knowledge. You can get grants to assist you with planning, so the same theory as above applies for smaller nonprofit funding.
Businesses and large nonprofits might do better going the direction that Ozzie mentions, but my experience is with smaller nonprofits.
Joined on 06-06-2006
TechSoup Member
Thanks for making this available for all.
I'm just getting going with the tools provided by yourself and others so I'll have to come back and comment when I've had more time with this.