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The Funding Matrix: Simplifying Complex Problem
by Sharon Charnell Gherman, President and CEO, Alaska Funding Exchange

Building a Personalize Funding Matrix
Part One

In the middle of planning a large educational program years ago, I realized I needed a way to "wrap my brain" around the complexities of the project

The first challenge was that the program was very large and would be funded through a variety of sources. Secondly, although I was receiving many grant announcements and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) each day, I needed a way to quickly determine whether any given RFP was something for which we wanted to apply. And finally, I needed an effective way to present this complex program plan to my Board in a simple and easy-to-understand format.

The funding matrix that follows is the result of my experimentation. It successfully addresses all the challenges listed above and even provides a few additional benefits. I've used it many times since that initial project, and I've found it to be useful in a wide variety of planning situations on nearly every topic.

I designed the funding matrix in Microsoft Excel so that I could add and tabulate using formulas, and use multiple worksheets that all feed into a single funding matrix on top. We'll see how to accomplish this in a minute.

Budget Descriptions
Looking at the sample funding matrix above, the far left column (Column A) lists every category of your program's annual budget. You create this column by listing each budget category found within your project budgets, such as Personnel, Travel, and so on.

Annual Budget Totals
The second column (Column B) shows the total annual amount budgeted for each category. If your program includes multiple projects with a separate annual budget for each, MS Excel's layered worksheets can accommodate each budget. The numbers in the second column are the totals in that category for all the projects listed on the worksheets beneath.

Combining Multiple Budgets
To combine multiple budgets into one funding matrix, leave the top worksheet blank (for now) and start with the second worksheet (locate the "tab" to the right of the top worksheet tab on the Excel desktop). Place the annual budget for each project on a separate worksheet, and as you build your funding matrix, total the cell information from each project budget into the funding matrix budget.

You may need to visit Excel's "Help" tutorials to learn how to accomplish this, but it's worth the extra effort to learn. It's not as hard as it sounds, and the result will allow you to update a budget number once and have it transfer all the way through the worksheets to the funding matrix, saving you loads of time in the future.

Funding Sources
Beginning in the third column (Column C, on the example above), each funding source is listed separately in its own column. Funding sources may include "restricted" funds, which must be spent in a designated budget category only, and "unrestricted" funds which are flexible and can be spent on any aspect of the program. Typically, grant funds are restricted funds - they must be spent exactly as outlined in your grant application budget. Income from sources like membership fees or general operating funds is flexible, and these numbers will become a powerful tool in your funding matrix, as we'll see later.

List each source of funds in a separate column, using headers like "USDA Grant," "Membership Fees," or "Product Sales." Shade any worksheet cells that contain unrestricted funds so they can be easily identified later (see Column G above).

Using the Matrix
Next week, we'll learn how to use the funding matrix to simplify your funding research, identify areas of remaining need, and prepare presentation materials that clearly and simply describe your program for your Board, employees, or constituents.