There’s always something that can throw your organization’s budget off track. Some crises are worse than others – the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, for example, brought completely unforeseen challenges – but even if internal or external factors don’t rise to that level, you can count on some type of shift. Today’s episode covers how to prepare for budget shifts so you are ready when they come. Listen in to hear Mary Aquino and Melissa Rancour from Blackbaud University talk about how to identify potential causes of budget changes, understanding the legal process for budget shifts, and anticipating and handling fundraising impacts.   Topics Discussed in This Episode: How COVID-19 impacted budgets and how organizations responded Causes of budget variance The legal obligations that organizations have for using donations Education about restricted and endowment funds Documenting the budget process Questions to ask yourself to get your policy documented   Resources: Mary Aquino Melissa Rancour Webinar: Keep Calm & Carry On: Handling Unplanned Budget Changes Article: Budget Changes? Keep Calm and Carry On with These Tips! Article: Annual Planning in an Ever-Changing World   Quotes:  “When the economy’s up, most of the time donations tend to go up with it. But when the economy’s down, then donations normally decrease too.” “Sometimes people don’t realize there’s a domino effect that kind of goes on with these shifts.” “Word of mouth is not a budget update process.”