# Nonprofit And Fund Accounting Basics

> Apply fund accounting basics for nonprofits and restricted funds — net asset classes, donor restrictions, and grant compliance. Use when managing nonprofit finances, grants, or restricted funding streams.

- Skill: `itsual/nonprofit-and-fund-accounting-basics` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/nonprofit-and-fund-accounting-basics`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/nonprofit-and-fund-accounting-basics/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Finance & Business
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/nonprofit-and-fund-accounting-basics

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# Nonprofit and Fund Accounting Basics

## Overview

Fund accounting tracks resources by restriction and purpose. It ensures donor-restricted funds are used and reported correctly.

## When to Use

- Nonprofit financial management
- Grant accounting and compliance
- Restricted vs unrestricted net assets
- Board reporting for mission organizations

## Core Concepts

- Without-donor-restriction vs with-donor-restriction net assets
- Release from restrictions
- Grant budgets, allowability, and reporting
- Functional expense allocation (program, admin, fundraising)

## Principles

- Restrictions are legal and ethical obligations
- Commingling restricted funds operationally requires careful tracking
- Overhead allocation policies must be defensible
- Transparency supports donor trust

## Verification

- [ ] Restricted funds are tracked by purpose
- [ ] Releases are supported by qualifying spend
- [ ] Grant reports reconcile to books

