{
  "slug": "restricted-fund-drawdown",
  "title": "Restricted Fund Drawdown Calculator",
  "heading": "Restricted Fund Drawdown Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/restricted-fund-drawdown",
  "summary": "Plan how fast to spend down a restricted grant or fund balance.",
  "description": "Time-restricted and purpose-restricted funds, like a multi-year foundation grant or a designated program fund, need a spend-down plan so you draw the money down evenly against approved activities rather than either underspending and risking a no-cost extension request or clawback, or overspending early and running out before the grant period ends. This calculator takes the remaining restricted balance, the number of months left in the grant or fund period, and your current monthly spend rate, then tells you the required monthly spend to fully and appropriately use the funds on schedule, plus flags whether you're currently pacing ahead of or behind that target.",
  "formula": "Required monthly spend = remaining balance ÷ months remaining; pacing = current spend rate − required rate.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=restricted-fund-drawdown",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "remainingBalance",
      "label": "Remaining restricted balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 180000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "monthsRemaining",
      "label": "Months remaining in grant/fund period",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "currentMonthlySpend",
      "label": "Current average monthly spend",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "requiredMonthly",
      "label": "Required monthly spend",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "pacingDiff",
      "label": "Current vs required (per month)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "projectedEndBalance",
      "label": "Projected balance at period end",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pacingPct",
      "label": "Current pacing (% of required rate)",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Remaining restricted balance: 180000 $",
      "Months remaining in grant/fund period: 9",
      "Current average monthly spend: 15000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Required monthly spend: $20,000",
      "Current vs required (per month): -$5,000",
      "Projected balance at period end: $45,000",
      "Current pacing (% of required rate): 75%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter remaining restricted balance ($).",
      "Enter months remaining in grant/fund period.",
      "Enter current average monthly spend ($).",
      "Read your required monthly spend on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "remainingBalance": 108000,
        "monthsRemaining": 5,
        "currentMonthlySpend": 9000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "remainingBalance": 180000,
        "monthsRemaining": 9,
        "currentMonthlySpend": 15000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "remainingBalance": 288000,
        "monthsRemaining": 14,
        "currentMonthlySpend": 24000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What happens if we're underspending a restricted grant?",
      "a": "Most funders require either accelerating spend to use the full award on approved activities, or formally requesting a no-cost extension before the period ends. Silently carrying an unspent restricted balance past the grant end date without funder approval is a compliance problem in an audit."
    },
    {
      "q": "What if we're pacing to overspend before the period ends?",
      "a": "You'll run out of restricted funding early and either need unrestricted funds to cover the gap for remaining approved activities, or need to scale back program delivery to match the actual remaining balance, neither of which you want to discover with two months left in the grant."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can restricted fund purposes be changed if priorities shift?",
      "a": "Only with the donor or grantor's written consent for donor-restricted funds, or under narrow legal doctrines like cy pres for very old or impossible-to-fulfill restrictions. Don't unilaterally redirect restricted spending just because pacing looks off; that's a legal and trust problem, not just an accounting one."
    },
    {
      "q": "How often should we run this pacing check?",
      "a": "Monthly for grants under 12 months, quarterly for multi-year grants, and always immediately after any major unplanned expense or revenue change that could throw off the planned spend-down curve."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/endowment-spending-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/nonprofit-cash-runway"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Restricted Fund Drawdown Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/restricted-fund-drawdown)"
}