Phase 3: Allocate funds

The following actions are taken from this screen:

• Add a Top Level Category / Reserve Fund: You can add new top-level Categories and Reserve Funds.

  Note: Line Items cannot be added to the top level of an Annual Budget.

  To add sub-Categories, Reserve Funds, or Line Items under a particular Category, access its Category menu and select the correct option. These are described below.

• Sort Top Level Items: Sorts top level items: First, all top level Categories are listed in alphabetical order, followed by Reserve Funds in alphabetical order.

• Open Budget: Once budget planning is complete and you have allocated the budget total to Categories, Reserve Funds, and Line Items, you must open the budget. Once the Annual Budget is open, users can begin appropriating funds from it to cover the Payments scheduled for that fiscal year.

• Modify Budget Setup: You can change the settings you put in place when adding the Annual Budget.

• Delete Budget: You can delete an Annual Budget while it's in planning status.

• Export: Clicking the Export exports the budget to Excel.

You can work with Categories in a planning budget by clicking to open its menu. In the menu you find the following options:

• Edit: Opens the Category edit form.

• Delete: Deletes the Category (and all its child items).

• Add Child Category: Click to add a Category as a child of the selected Category.

• Add Child Reserve Fund: Click to add a Reserve Fund as a child of the selected Category.

• Add Child Line Item: Click to add a Line Item as a child of the selected Category.

• Sort Child Items: Sorts the Category's child items: First, all child Categories are listed in alphabetical order, followed by Line Items, then Reserve Funds.

• View Details: Opens the Category details window, enabling you to view and edit the Category's child Line Items and Reserve Funds.

You can work with top level Reserve Funds in a planning budget by clicking to open its menu. In the menu you find the following options:

• Edit: Opens the Reserve Fund edit form.

• Delete: Deletes the top level Reserve Fund.

A Category is an amount of money allocated to a specific fund, program, or purpose, but not to any specific organization. Categories are further allocated at the next level of the budget. Users cannot appropriate funds from Categories to cover Payments; rather, they enable you to build the hierarchy of your budget tiers, then add child Reserve Funds and Line Items to cover Payments.

To add a Category, open the new Category page by clicking the Add Top Level Category link on the planning or open budget page, then select the Add Child Category menu item next to the would-be parent Category.

Enter a Description for the Category, then enter either an Amount or a % of Parent Category (or budget total). Grantmaking recalculates the second field when you edit the first.

When the budget is open, a new Category amount is $0.00 and cannot be edited here. This is because Grantmaking does not permit unallocated amounts in open budgets. (Unallocated amounts in an open budget can't be used to cover payments and risk being forgotten rather than given.) If you need to add a Category to an open budget, add it with an amount of zero and then add Reserve Funds and Line Items to it as needed. The total of those child items becomes the Category amount.

Enter Appropriation Filter codes, which default from the parent Category. When appropriating funds for Payments, users can narrow their choices of budget items by these filters. (Since users don't appropriate directly from Categories, these settings serve as the default for child Reserve Funds and Line Items you add.)

Note: If your Grantmaking system employs the optional Branch Security feature and this is a second level Category, you are required to select a Branch. Children of the Category inherit the same branch. If the Category is being added to a lower level of the budget hierarchy, it inherits its parent Category's branch.

Click + Authorized Users to assign authorized users to the Category. This link does not appear if your Annual Budget was not set up to employ the authorized users feature.

To save the new Category, you can click Add and return to the Annual Budget page. If you want to add another sibling Category under the same parent, click Save and Add New: The Category is saved, and the form refreshes, permitting you enter details for the next Category.

A Line Item is a dollar amount assigned to a specific Organization, often used for grants that are given annually. Throughout the year, users appropriate these funds to cover Payments for those planned grants, or even new grants for the Organization. Line Items are added as the children of Category at any level of the hierarchy.

To add a Line Item, select the Add Child Line Item menu item next to the would-be parent Category.

Each Line Item must be linked to single payee Organization; enter search criteria in the Select Organization window and in the search results click the name of the payee Organization.

Enter a Description for the Line Item, then enter either an Amount or a % of Parent Category. Grantmaking recalculates the second field when you edit the first.

Enter Appropriation Filter codes, which default from the parent Category. When appropriating funds for Payments, users can narrow their choices of budget items by these filters. For example, the Line Item in our example is not available for appropriation if the user 1) chose to filter by Payment Type and 2) the Payment Type was other than Charitable Contribution.

Note: If your Grantmaking system employs the optional Branch Security feature and this is a second level Line Item, you are required to select a Branch. If the Line Item is being added to a lower level of the budget hierarchy, it inherits its parent Category's branch.

To save the new Line Item, you can click Add and return to the budget page. If you want to add another sibling Line Item under the same parent, click Save and Add New: The Line Item is saved, and the form refreshes, permitting you enter details for the next Line Item.

Note: If your Annual Budget is set up to employ the authorized users feature, you cannot assign Line Items to those users. In Grantmaking, Line Item authorized users are set in the parent Category. That is, Line Items which are all children of the same parent Category shares the same authorized users, which were set when you added the parent Category.

A Reserve Fund is often a “leftover” dollar amount in a given Category that is not allocated to a specific Organization. Throughout the year, users appropriate these funds to cover Payments for new discretionary grants. Reserve Funds are added to the top level of a budget, or as the children of Category at any level of the hierarchy.

To add a Reserve Fund, open the new Reserve Fund page by clicking the Add Top Level Reserve Fund link on the planning or open budget page, then select the Add Child Reserve Fund menu item next to the would-be parent Category.

Enter a Description for the Reserve Fund, then enter either an Amount or a % of Parent Category (or budget total). Grantmaking recalculates the second field when you edit the first.

Select Allow a negative balance if you want to give users the option of appropriating amounts for Payments greater than the Reserve Fund's available balance. This causes the Reserve Fund's balance to "go negative."

Enter Appropriation Filter codes, which default from the parent Category. When appropriating funds for Payments, users can narrow their choices of budget items by these filters. For example, the Reserve Fund in our example is not available for appropriation if the user 1) chose to filter by Program Area and 2) the Request's Program Area (level 1) was other than Arts and Culture.

Note: If your Grantmaking system employs the optional Branch Security feature and this is a first or second level Reserve Fund, you are required to select a Branch. If the Reserve Fund is being added to a lower level of the budget hierarchy, it inherits its parent Category's branch.

Click + Authorized Users to assign authorized users to the Reserve Fund. If authorized users were set up for the parent Category, those users are set here by default, but cannot be changed.

Note: This link does not appear if your Annual Budget was not set up to employ the authorized users feature.

To save the new Reserve Fund, you can click Add and return to the Annual Budget page. If you want to add another sibling Category under the same parent, click Save and Add New: The Category is saved, and the form refreshes, permitting you enter details for the next Category.

Budget Categories, Line Items, and Reserve Funds are moved from one parent Category in the budget hierarchy to another during planning stage.

When the budget is open, these same movements are made if your budget setup permits it. The preference to "Allow movement of budget items in the hierarchy" must be turned on or budget items are locked into their place during open status.

Note: Once the Annual Budget is closed, the budget hierarchy is locked and you can no longer move items.

You can move budget items by dragging the Category button to a new location.

If you want to move a Reserve Fund or a Line Item to a different parent Category, you need to view the budget item under its current parent first; then you can drag the Line Item or Reserve Fund to the a different Category. (Reserve Funds you can drag to the top level.)