1. Linda Mason, EdD Beth Shumate OSRHE Summer Grant Writing Institute

2.  Before the project narrative?  May serve as a guide to your project design.  After the project narrative?  May not know your budget needs until you’ve mapped out your activities.  Consult your Grant Accounting Office (Post Award, Grants Management) for help if this is a department available to you. Alongside? It’s up to you!

3. Structure as reflected in SF – 424, or the Grant RFP

4.  Also known as classifications, accounts or categories:  Personnel  Salary  Calculate close-to-actual; align with similar organizations or yours.  Include COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment).  Certain % of time for position, or a certain percentage cap for the grant?  Think about how position will be sustained.  Fringe  Explain in detail.  E.g., Fringe explanation: (Full-time employees benefits calculated as much as 49%) to include FICA; Medicare; OK Teachers Retirement System (OTRS); OTRS Statutory Match; Health Ins.; Dental Ins.; Life Ins.; Long-term disability Ins. Health insurance and OTRS Employer portion expected to increase 2-3 times each year. Part-time employees calculated at 9% for FICA.  When funded, you can not move any money back into Personnel (AT ALL).

5.  Travel  Who is going?  How many?  How long will they be gone?  How many nights in a hotel? How much per diem?  Where are they going?  Need a rental car? Local bus transportation? Taxis?  Does the grant allow this travel for these people?

6.  Equipment  Many federal agencies define equipment as “any individual purchase item that costs $5,000 or more and has a shelf life of more than one year.”  If your organization has a lower dollar threshold, you are obligated to use your institution’s definition.  Many organizations also require you to submit prior approval requests before you purchase items that are $5,000 or more. (e.g., US Dept of Labor)

7.  Supplies  All items under $5,000.  May be consumable.  Office supplies may or may not be allowable, depending on agency regulations and the RFP.  Computers may or may not be allowable, depending on agency regulations and the RFP.  Teaching materials are different than office supplies.

8.  Contractual  Evaluation  Guest speakers  Program consultants  Anything that requires a contract, memorandum of understanding, agreement, etc.

9.  Construction (borrowed from Dr. Coggins)  BE VERY CAREFUL HERE! This is a “touchy” thing for most agencies!  Is this allowable and to what extent?  If it is allowable, generalize the narrative – don’t create future problems for yourself.  Most grants are non-construction grants, meaning you can’t build a building.  Many grants will allow for renovation that relates directly to grant objectives.

10.  Other  Not always a well-defined category, but the RFP will usually describe what goes here, or ASK??  Equipment rental  Required fees  Communication costs  Rental of space  Utilities  Custodial services  Printing  Student stipends, teacher stipends

11.  Indirect Cost  Check your RFP for limits, caps, or bans on use of indirect cost.  Find out what your institution’s indirect cost rate is.  Negotiated with your institution's federal cognizant agency (usually DHHS).  Typical of universities?  Typical of community colleges?  Indirect is not in addition to the total amount of award.

12.  ALL budget line items MUST be justified (e.g., per diem = 1 day x $42/day x 1 person = $42)  MOST proposals require actual narrative.  E.g., Budget Summary: Tulsa Community College operates five campus locations in the city of Tulsa, OK. Since the College's unduplicated headcount falls just short of 20,000, TCC fits into the category of institutions of higher education with enrollments between 5,000 and 19,999. Consequently, the target budget for this project is based on the $500,000 estimate for schools of this size. When considering students that take courses at multiple campuses and students who attend TCC for continuing education, yearly enrollment is closer to 30,000 or more students. Also, the multiple locations of TCC in Tulsa adds to the complexity of the project. For this reason, the total budget is slightly higher than $500,000 to account for these factors. TCC will lead and maintain all fiscal and operational responsibilities for the project. The budget has been itemized according to Department of Education categories.

13.  It varies, but when in doubt:  Consult your RFP!!! Ask your Program Director!!!  No Mistakes!!!  Be Consistent!!!  No Padding!!!  Ensure it is reflective of and reasonable for your grant objectives and activities!!!