This Funding Strategy example shows how Alex Morgan, PMP, and MCG's leadership structured the overall approach to funding Project Phoenix — a $72,250 website launch managed using the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition. While the Funding Proposal documented the specific request, the Funding Strategy defined the broader framework: where money would come from, how it would be released, and how financial risk would be managed across the project lifecycle.

What Is a Funding Strategy?

A Funding Strategy is a high-level document that describes an organization's approach to sourcing, releasing, and managing project funds. It addresses questions like: Will the project be funded internally or externally? Will funding be released all at once or in tranches? How will cash flow be managed to match project spending needs? What happens if the project overspends? In PMBOK 8, funding strategy considerations appear in the Planning Performance Domain and are closely linked to the Cost Management Plan and Risk Management Plan. For organizations running multiple concurrent projects, a consistent funding strategy also informs portfolio-level resource allocation decisions.

What's Inside This Funding Strategy Example

This Funding Strategy example for Project Phoenix includes:

• Funding source: 100% internal funding from MCG's FY2025 digital transformation budget allocation — no external borrowing or grant funding required
• Funding release schedule: 40% at project kickoff (March 17), 40% at Design Approval milestone (targeted April 14), 20% at go-live (targeted June 13)
• Cash flow planning: detailed monthly spend profile across the 13-week project, showing how the $72,250 would be consumed across labor, vendor fees, and infrastructure costs
• Contingency strategy: $9,148 reserve held by Riley Park (Sponsor), released only upon written PM justification linked to a specific risk event or approved change request
• Cost control governance: weekly burn rate review by Alex Morgan; bi-weekly joint review with MCG Finance for any period with actual costs exceeding planned by more than 5%
• Funding closure: $10,000 of the approved budget was returned to MCG's operating budget on June 16, 2025 — the day project resources were formally released

How Alex Morgan Used This Funding Strategy

The Funding Strategy was established before the project even had a formal charter — it was part of the pre-project financial planning that allowed MCG's Finance Director to allocate the budget with confidence. During execution, the strategy's cash flow plan became a practical tool: Alex Morgan used it every two weeks to project the upcoming spend and ensure MCG's accounts payable team had the necessary approvals in place before vendor invoices arrived. When BrightFrame submitted its final invoice on May 2, the payment was processed within 5 business days because the Funding Strategy had pre-authorized that payment tranche. The $10,000 surplus returned at close reinforced the strategy's conservatism and set a precedent for future project funding approvals.

Download and Customize

This Funding Strategy example is available as a free download. Use it as a reference to build your own funding strategy, or start with the blank template and fill it in for your project.

• Download the Funding Strategy Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to use)
• Read the article: Funding Strategy in PMBOK 8 — Guide and Best Practices

Funding Strategy Example: Key Takeaways

The most valuable lesson from this Funding Strategy example is that financial planning and project planning must happen together, not sequentially. By the time Alex Morgan submitted the Project Charter on March 1, the Funding Strategy was already in place — which meant that the $72,250 budget was not just approved in principle but had a defined release mechanism, a contingency protocol, and a cash flow schedule. This level of financial readiness is what enabled the project team to start spending on Day 1 without waiting for approvals. It also demonstrated to MCG's Finance Director that this project was being managed professionally, which accelerated future project approvals.

Want to go deeper? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference for modern project management. Get your copy and use it alongside these examples to build a solid, practical understanding of every performance domain.