Getting Ready to Manage the Grant

You need to be familiar with at least five essential documents to start up a grant. They include the:

Original proposal submitted to the funding agency
Negotiated budget
Regulations for the grant
Notice of award
Operational budget for the project

A grant is an award of funds from a funding agency to the College to provide services or products within a limited time frame, and often for a specific target population. The proposal, negotiated budget, regulations, and notice of award set the project parameters. The operational budget is used to set up the project fiscal account in the College accounting system.

1. PROPOSAL

Any personnel who will be involved in implementing the grant need to review the proposal. The proposal will tell you why the project is needed, the intended outcomes, objectives, timelines, the responsibilities of the various implementers, how the project will be evaluated, and how the funds are to be spent. The proposal provides the framework for managing your project. Since proposals are often completed six to nine months prior to the award, some things may have changed. You may have been awarded less funding than requested. The award process may have taken longer than expected, throwing off your implementation timetable. You will need to take these things into consideration when implementing the program. Be flexible!

Proposal Review Questions

What are the starting and ending dates of the grant award? Do they coincide with the timeline included in the proposal?
What College need generated the proposal? What is being done now to meet that need?
How does this project fit into the overall College? Is it part of an existing organizational unit or is it a separate entity? What other departments will it involve? If more than one department is involved, who are the contact people?
What results have been promised to the funding agency? How will you demonstrate that these results have been achieved?
What special populations (e.g. minority, women, individuals with disabilities, unemployed, economically disadvantaged) will be served? How will participants be selected?
What personnel are authorized in the grant and what are their responsibilities?
What timelines exist for activities? When do activities need to start and end?
What arrangements have been negotiated with outside organizations? What do these agreements mean? Do they need further clarification? Have the outside organizations been notified of the award? Will intergovernmental agreements or other kinds of contracts be necessary to implement the grant?
Do you understand all of the technical jargon or special language used in the proposal? If not, refer to the funding regulations or find out the practices in the profession before proceeding.
At what intervals are programmatic and fiscal reports required?

If you have additional questions about the project, there are a number of people who can be very helpful to you. The proposal writer and others involved in the writing can be extremely helpful in clarifying points, answering questions, and giving you background. Keep in mind that almost all proposals have a mandatory maximum length and it is impossible for the writing team to include everything in the proposal that you, as an implementer, might want to know. Your supervisor, the Grants Manager, the Grants Accountant and colleagues in the same organizational unit as the project may all be able to answer your questions.

2. NEGOTIATED BUDGET

Frequently, the amount of award is less than the amount requested in the proposal; on rare occasions it is even increased. Typically the funding agency calls with a total dollar figure it is willing to award and sometimes the agency also specifies what it wants cut in the proposal budget.
A decrease in funds may result in the loss of personnel and the elimination or modification of one or more objectives. Once the negotiated budget is returned to the funding agency for approval, it may be accompanied by revised objectives, activities, and/or timelines if the cuts are significant. This negotiated budget then becomes the official project budget.

It should be mentioned that in rare instances the funding award may be so drastically reduced from the amount requested that the College can no longer undertake the project and has to decline the award.

The budget may also contain a column for local match. This means that the College or other participants have agreed to contribute funds or other resources to the project. Close attention needs to be paid to the match as well as the rest of the budget since it also needs to be documented and reported to the funding agency.

Negotiated Budget Review Questions

Have activity timelines and objectives changed?
What costs have been eliminated or significantly reduced and what impact will these changes have on the successful implementation of the project?
What amounts are required for matching? Where will the matching funds come from? How will you document the match?

3. REGULATIONS FOR THE GRANT

Grants from federal and state sources operate under regulations published in the Federal Register and reproduced in the application package for each grant. Some of the proposal content will directly address regulations that govern the program (e.g. eligible participants, selection criteria, allowable costs and activities). In addition, some agencies may have regulations or policies that govern all their programs. For example, the U.S. Department of Education General Administrative Regulations are included in a document better known as EDGAR. The National Science Foundation has a Grant Policy Manual that should be used by all Project Directors and accountants dealing with NSF projects. Sometimes, grant regulations are attached to the letter of award.

When reviewing grant regulations, get out your magnifying glass (they are written in very small print) and pay special attention to the following:

Regulations Review Questions

What are the eligibility criteria for participation in this program?
What activities are allowable? What activities are disallowed?
What costs are allowable and what are disallowable?
What travel is authorized? Are there any limitations on out-of-state travel?
Can consultants be hired? Is there a maximum daily rate of compensation for consultants?
Can equipment be purchased? Are there any restrictions on equipment? Who owns the equipment?
Are there any special guidelines to be followed in procurement?

It is very important that all projects be operated in accordance with governing regulations. Being familiar with regulations and abiding by them should help you avoid disallowable expenditures or serving ineligible individuals which may result in disallowed/unrecovered costs. If you have any questions about whether a proposed expenditure is allowable according to the regulations or according to College policy and procedure, please contact the Grants Accountant.

4. NOTICE OF AWARD

While you may receive a phone call informing you that your proposal has been funded, the notice or letter of award is the official notice that assures the District the grant has been funded. The notice will contain a grant number, project start and end date, and amount awarded. It may also contain any limitations imposed upon the grant, reporting requirements, and the name and phone number of funding agency Program Officer overseeing the grant. The notice may be followed by a separate contract. If not, the proposal becomes the contract of performance.

Notice of Award Questions

What was the amount of award? How does it differ from the original amount requested?
What is the project start and end date? Does this differ from the original proposal?
What is the grant number? (You will have to use this number in future reports to the funding agency.)
Did the notice and attachments contain any limitations on the grant or reporting requirements?
What is the name and phone number of the Program Officer?
What is the grant identification Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number (CFDA#)?

Board Action Item
When you are notified by phone or by notice of award that your grant is going to be funded, contact the Grants Office as soon as possible for assistance in getting the appropriate College approvals. Work with the Vice President of Academic Affairs to prepare an Action Item for the District Governing Board meeting agenda.

All grants must be submitted to the District Governing Board for approval or ratification. Allow the Vice President of Academic Affairs two weeks prior to the next District Governing Board meeting to prepare the paper work.

5. OPERATIONAL BUDGET

Each grant has its own CCC operational budget in Banner set up in accordance with both College policy and funding agency guidelines which prohibits the commingling of funds and facilitates audits. Work with the Grants Accountant to set up your project budget as soon as the award letter is received. Have the accountant explain how the funds are distributed within Banner account codes. The Grants Accountant will also set up Banner approval “queues.” Make sure you are aware of individuals in the approval line and communicate with them in the event you exceed your spending authority. This budget must be set up before personnel paperwork and other expenditures can be processed.