💼 Grant Budget Allocation Calculator

Split a grant or program budget across categories by percentage, with a running total check to make sure your percentages add up to 100%.

Total grant/budget amount ($)

How each line is costed

Every category takes its share of one pot, with a running check that the shares add up:

category $  = total × percent / 100
check       = sum of all percents = 100

The starting example splits $50,000 three ways: program staff at 50% is $25,000, materials at 30% is $15,000, evaluation at 20% is $10,000, and the total row shows 100% with a tick. Drop materials to 25% and the tick becomes a warning at 95%, leaving $2,500 unallocated - nothing is rebalanced for you.

Building the budget

Rename any category and add rows to match your funder's template. The last remaining row has no Remove button.
Each line is rounded to cents on its own, so lines can land a cent or two off the total. Absorb the difference in the largest category.
Watch the denominator. These percentages are shares of the whole award. If a funder allows indirect costs as a percentage on top of direct costs, convert first: 15% on top of direct is 15/115, or 13.04% of the total.

What counts as an allowable category, and any ceiling on administrative or indirect costs, is set by the funder. Federal awards under 2 CFR 200 have used a de minimis indirect rate of 15% of modified total direct costs since the Uniform Guidance revision took effect in October 2024, up from 10%; private foundations set their own caps and some allow none. The tick here only means your arithmetic sums to 100%.

Frequently asked questions

How do I split a $50,000 grant across budget categories?

Decide each category's share as a percentage, then multiply the award by it. Half of $50,000 to staffing is $25,000, a fifth to evaluation is $10,000. Keep the shares summing to 100 so nothing is stranded.

What percentage of a grant can go to overhead?

It depends on the funder. Some publish a hard cap, some accept a rate you have negotiated with a federal agency, and some fund direct costs only. Find the figure in the guidelines before you build the split.

Why do the category dollars not add up to the exact grant total?

Each line is rounded to the nearest cent separately, so a three-way even split lands a cent short. Adjust the largest line so the budget ties out.