More on developing federal grant budgets: Stay in the proposal world, not the operations world

?? Proposal World vs. Real World – The Ultimate Grant Budget Showdown ?? Grant budgets: the art of making numbers look pretty so funders say YES. But let’s be real—proposal world math and real-world spending don’t always match up. ???? ?? Proposal World: ? Every cost is justified. ? Everything runs on “perfect projections.” ? Overhead? What overhead? ?? Operations World: ?? Reality hits. ?? Emergency expenses pop up. ?? “Wait, why didn’t we budget for that?” Moral of the story? If you’re writing grants, stay in your lane. Keep the budget clean, aligned with funding rules, and let operations worry about the real-world fire drills. ?? Funders want clear, structured budgets that fit their framework—not a finance team’s battle plan. Keep it tight. Keep it right. Get that funding. ???? ?? Who else has had to massage a budget to fit the grant world? Drop your best “funding magic” stories below! KDUBS ???? 4LIFE