Here are some high level examples of how you might present different budget scenarios to your team!

AI Prompt

Customize these with AI!

- Talk it out with AI — Upload the recommended docs (scroll down!) and start with: Prompt: "We’re about to start our budget process and want to build a few talking points for me and my managers to leverage building on this example that Helia is sharing (insert link). Interview me about my situation so you can help me customize it. Ask me one question at a time." Please make sure to include questions on our financial context, the biggest budget shifts we have had and key things I’m excited and/or worried about, including individual and/or team context + impacts.
- Paste & go — Upload the below prompt to your AI service (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) + the recommended docs (scroll down!), and ask AI to help you fill it in
- Last year's budget and/or actuals (including a previous budget memo you may have shared with the Board)
- Monthly/quarterly financial reports from the past year
- Any additional notes, presentations, emails, etc. from recent financial conversations with leadership or board
- Voice memo of you talking through what you’re thinking about in this year’s budget (optional)
- Link to this article(!) + any of the resources (automatically added to the prompt below!)
We’re budgeting for next year at our nonprofit and preparing to bring in the team and I want to prepare thoughtful talking points for myself and our broader team.
- Our financial context is: [abundance/steady state/contraction - describe briefly]
- Our biggest budget shifts this year have been: [describe - e.g. shifting funding landscape, inflation, rising expenses, uncertain government contracts, multi-year grants, etc.]
- Specific questions I think these team members might lift up: [list any specific questions or dynamics - e.g. specific projects or funder questions, raises/promotions/COLA specifics, etc..]
- Context for any specific team member or department that I want to be thoughtful around: [identify what these might be such as previous conversations you’ve had, experiences from last year, commitments in hiring processes, losing significant funding for a specific dept., etc.]
Based on the below draft scripts and Amy Omand's article about human-centered budgeting, help me create custom talking points I can share with my team.
Make this practical and specific to our organization's reality - pull only from the budgets and numbers I am providing and do not make anything up.

Additional links + resources to leverage as you answer the above -
- Helia’s article: https://www.theheliacollective.com/library/article/budget-building-that-delivers-ux-lgbnx
What questions do you have or additional information do you need to put this together?

Quick reminder: always remember to ask AI if there’s anything else they need to make this stronger and/or what else they might recommend!

Budget Conversation Scripts

The hardest part of budgeting is almost never the spreadsheet — it's the context and the conversation. Here are six scripts you can adapt for your toughest moments:

1. When explaining contraction mode to your team

"I want to be direct: we need to make strategic reductions this year to protect our financial health. Rather than across-the-board cuts, we're working together to identify where we can thoughtfully reduce while protecting our highest-impact work. This is hard, and we're going to get through it by being honest about constraints and strategic about choices."

Why this works: It's honest about the difficulty while emphasizing strategy over panic. The phrase "working together" signals collaboration rather than top-down mandates.

2. When a budget manager asks for way more than you have

"I love that you're thinking big about what your program needs. Help me understand which pieces are must-haves for this year versus what could wait or scale differently. I want to make sure we're protecting the work that drives the most mission impact while staying within our realistic constraints."

Why this works: It validates their thinking before redirecting. Asking them to prioritize puts the decision-making power in their hands while keeping realistic boundaries.

3. When presenting a tough budget to your board

"This budget reflects difficult trade-offs. We've prioritized [X, Y, Z] because they're most essential to our mission, and we've reduced or delayed [A, B] to maintain our financial health. We're confident this is a budget we can execute while positioning us for [strategic goal]."

Why this works: Boards need to understand both what you're protecting and what you're choosing not to do. The confidence statement at the end is crucial — it shows you've done the hard thinking.

4. When someone proposes a budget that ignores your financial reality

"I can see how much thought went into this, and I appreciate the ambition. Before we go further, let me share the financial context we're working with this year. [Explain abundance/steady state/contraction]. Given that, let's talk about what's possible within these constraints and where we might need to adjust expectations."

Why this works: It assumes good intent while resetting expectations. Sometimes people genuinely don't understand the financial context — this gives them the information they need to recalibrate.

5. When you need to explain why their department is being cut more than others

"I know this feels disproportionate, and I want to explain the thinking. [Department X] has restricted funding we can't touch, and [Department Y] is directly tied to our largest revenue stream. Your department has more flexibility in its funding, which unfortunately means we're asking more of you in this moment. That said, we're committed to [specific support/protection] because we know this work matters."

Why this works: People can handle hard news if they understand the reasoning. Transparency about the constraints builds trust, even when the news isn't good. The final commitment shows you're not just cutting — you're being strategic about what you protect.

6. When your budget managers need to report variances throughout the year

"Let's look at where we're tracking against budget. I'm seeing [specific variance] — help me understand what's driving that. Is this a timing issue that'll even out, or do we need to adjust course? Either is fine, I just want to make sure we're on the same page about what's happening and why."

Why this works: It creates psychological safety around reporting variances. The phrase "either is fine" signals that you want honest information, not perfect numbers. Regular check-ins like this prevent year-end surprises.

How to use these scripts

These are OBVIOUSLY NOT meant to be read verbatim — they're starting points you can adapt to your voice and situation. The key is:

Be direct about reality while maintaining respect for people's work
Explain your reasoning — people can handle hard news if they understand why
Create space for dialogue — these are conversation starters, not final words
Focus on mission impact — always connect back to protecting what matters most

These scripts pair with Amy Omand's article "Budget Building That Works" — check out the full piece for the complete process.

Take what’s helpful and make this your own!

Article & Resource Tags

Scripts for your Budget Convos!