Navigating Government Grants

Stacy Ruble

March 13, 2015

Topics for Today

Searching for government grants Differences and similarities between government

grants (federal, state) and foundation grants (family, corporate, community)

Regulations for federal grants Managing government grants post-award Reporting and communication with government

funders post-award

Don’t be scared!

• We will go slow

• This is an overview

• You will get to practice

• We will have time for questions

What has been your experience?

If you have ever applied for a grant… Was if a government or foundation grant?

How long was it?

Did you communicate with the funder in advance?

Were you successful?

Government Grants

Directly from federal agency Passed through from a federal agency through

another agency to you State funding Local funding Typically in the form of grant or cooperative

agreement

Foundation vs Government Grants - Generally

Foundations

Relationship building

Shorter

Content tends to be more basic

Online apps – complete online

No set regulations

Less reporting

Government

No relationship

So long. Lots of attachments

Set objectives. Evaluation.

Upload online.

Government regulations

More reporting

Similarities – need solid project idea and good writing skills. Must follow the rules they provide. You will get less than you ask for. Competitive.

To Apply for Federal Grants:

Have a Federal ID number

Have a DUNS number

Be registered in SAM.gov

Be registered in Grants.gov

Sometimes also have to be registered in a federal agency grant system

This takes time! Do NOT wait until the last minute.Make sure that you keep your registrations active.

Searching for Federal GrantsGrants.gov

Tips Opportunity status: Open now, or if closed can put into your grant

calendar

Funding instrument type: grant, cooperative agreement

Eligibility: Find your own entity, and entities you could partner with

Category: Do not limit your options here unless just cannot narrow down the list

Agency: Use this if you know what the agency is or to narrow down options

Browser – IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari all compatible (but I have had trouble with Chrome downloading the right version of Adobe)

Must have latest version of Adobe (but may need older version of Adobe to do reporting)

Sign up for RSS feed and/or email alerts

What terms would you search for?Partner activity

Export Results ResultOPPORTUNITY NUMBER OPPORTUNITY TITLE AGENCY NAME OPEN DATE CLOSE DATE

OVW-2015-4037OVW FY 2015 Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking Program

Office on Violence Against Women 1/21/2015 3/4/2015

OVW-2015-4025OVW FY 2015 Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking

Office on Violence Against Women 1/13/2015 2/24/2015

OVW-2015-4026OVW FY 2015 Training and Services to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities Grants Program

Office on Violence Against Women 1/7/2015 2/19/2015

OVW-2015-4044 OVW FY 2015 Tribal Sexual Assault Services ProgramOffice on Violence Against Women 12/31/2014 2/24/2015

OVW-2015-4032OVW FY 2015 Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program

Office on Violence Against Women 2/7/2015 3/20/2015

OVW-2015-4046

OVW FY 2015 Consolidated Grant Program to Address Children and Youth Experiencing Domestic and Sexual Assault and Engage Men and Boys as Allies

Office on Violence Against Women 2/6/2015 3/19/2015

OVW-2015-4031OVW FY 2015 Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program

Office on Violence Against Women 2/11/2015 3/24/2015

Federal Program Announcement TemplateA. Program Description

Intent, goals, history, priority areas

B. Federal Award Information

Funding available, number of awards, type of financial assistance

C. Eligibility Information

Eligibility, pre-requisites, match requirements

D. Application and Submission Information

Content of application, due date, how to submit

E. Application Review Information

Review criteria, review and selection process, when will be announced (rare)

F. Federal Award Administration Information

Regulations, reporting

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Review the RFP - Should you apply? Eligibility

Deadline

Does your mission and intent match the funder?

Geographical area

Budget minimums and caps

Match requirements

Pre-requisites (e.g. community needs assessment, planning grant, environmental survey)

Competitiveness

Priority areas

Impact on your agency

Key Tip for Finding Additional Information

Check out the federal agency’s website for:

Prior funded projects

Agency regulations

Samples or templates

FOIA

Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women has listing by year - by state and by program.

Practice time!You can use your laptops or tablets to practice searching.

State government grantsNot so easy in Virginia…

Some State Agencies with Grant Programs

Board for People with Disabilities

Commission for the Arts

Commission for Healthy Youth

*Aging and Rehabilitative Services

*Agriculture and Consumer Services

*Behavioral Health and Developmental Services

*Conservation and Recreation

*Criminal Justice Services

*Education

*Emergency Management

*Fire Programs

*Game and Inland Fisheries

*Health

*Housing and Community Development

*Rail and Public Transportation

*Social Services

*Department of

State Agency Tips

You may need to do some hunting

Not all state agencies that issue grants have information on their websites

You may need to talk to other entities that you know receive money from that agency to determine what is available or who to contact

Sometimes it is easy to find – here is an example of a link directly from the agency’s home page

In this case, grants were one click away. By clicking on “Programs” on their home page you can reach their grant program.

Note – this grant program is for individuals.

For this agency, putting “grants” in their search box provides list of links associated with grant opportunities.

This is not always the case.

DJJ has grant information, but does not actually provide any grant funding.

DCJS administers a significant number of grant programs, so their homepage has multiple links to grant information.

Lots of links to grant programs!

DBHDS does do grants, but you cannot tell that from their website.

This is probably because their grants are open to finite groups. So by not listing those opportunities they limit calls, emails, and inquiries from ineligible entities.

Key to the Process & Your Future Success

If you are not successful in getting your grant, ask for feedback on the proposal.

Typically with federal grants they will provide this to you in writing.

With state grants, it depends on the funder, but often they will give you verbal feedback.

Local government grants

These do exist in some communities

Typically are passed through from state or federal funds

Or are from the local unit of government’s budget, and therefore are not issued as grants but instead are lobbied for or requested as part of the budget process

Questions on finding government grants?

Break!

Post-AwardRegulations, management, reporting, and communicating

Regulations

Federal government-wide regulations – Uniform Guidance

Federal or state agency-specific regulations

Programmatic guidelines or regulations for a particular grant program

Will be referenced in your award document

You are responsible for knowing and following them

Supercircular=

Cost

Prin.

Admin ReqA-

133

Policy Changes

Uniform

Guidance

Title 2 Grant Agreements

Part 200 - UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS

Uniform Guidance

Combined prior regulations – Cost Principles, Uniform Administrative Requirements, and A-133 Single Audit Requirements

Was issued December 26, 2013

Went into effect for any financial assistance issued on or after December 26, 2014, or for any grants or cooperative agreements with budget increases after that date

Also called “Supercircular”

Uniform Guidance regulations

Links for resources, crosswalk documents, FAQs, training: https://cfo.gov/cofar/#COFAR2CFR200

Cost Principles

Describes select items of cost

Includes prior approval requirements

Explains indirect costs

There were 4 sets:

Educational institutions: 2 CFR 220/A-

21

Hospitals: 45 CFR Part 74

Nonprofits: 2 CFR 230/A-122

State, local & tribal govts: 2 CFR

225/A-87

Cost Principles Continued

Costs – allowability, allocability, reasonableness Indirect costs (overhead, F&A) Considerations of select items of cost

Not an exhaustive list

Tells you if generally the item is allowable or not

Example:

§200.422   Advisory councils. Costs incurred by advisory councils or committees are

unallowable unless authorized by statute, the Federal awarding agency or as an indirect cost where allocable to Federal awards. See §200.444 General costs of government, applicable to states, local governments and Indian tribes.

Uniform Administrative Requirements

Were two sets:

2 CFR 215: Educational institutions, Hospitals, Nonprofits (formerly A-110)

A-102: State and local governments

Preaward• Application forms, debarment &

suspension, etc

Post award• Financial & program management• Property standards• Procurement standards• Reports and record keeping• Termination and enforcement

After the award• E.g. closeout

Uniform Administrative Requirements Cont.

Financial & program management Tracking grant dollars, internal control requirements, match, program

income, prior approvals

Property standards Definitions, insurance, tracking, record keeping, allowable uses,

inventory

Procurement standards Methods of procurement, competition requirements, record keeping

Reports and record keeping Financial reporting, program reporting

Record retention

Remedies for noncompliance

A-133

Audit requirements How often

Who needs one ($750,000)

Picking an auditor

Submitting the audit to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse

Learning the Rules – Partner Activity How familiar are you currently with the Uniform

Guidance? If you are not familiar, is there someone else at your

agency who is? How will educate yourself? Who else at your agency needs to be educated?

Federal Agency Regulations

Managing, Reporting, Communicating

Managing

Know the regulations

Review your award document carefully

How will you track your finances?

How will you track your programmatic activities?

Make sure each project objective is assigned to someone

Who is responsible for these tasks?

Who is the backup in case of a lottery winning?

Financial Reporting

Track income – drawdown or reimbursement

Track expenses – must have documentation for all costs

Track match, with documentation

Make sure various reports jive – reimbursement request, financial report, progress report

If you make an error, talk to funder about how to fix it

Make notes for your self to remind you why you did certain things

Record retention – 3 years after you submit final financial reporting form

SF-425 Federal Financial Report

Programmatic Reporting At the BEGINNING of the grant, familiarize yourself with reporting

requirements

How often

What information – specific data elements

Process – paper, online, database

Be honest and thorough

Your report needs to stand on its own

Generally – projected vs. actual, reasons for objectives not met, AND how you fixed the problem

Could also include unit cost data and completing data collection reports

Communicating with Funders

They do NOT like surprises – keep them informed (in between reports) of:

Staff changes

Problems (and how you solved them)

Big successes

Name changes

Ask questions – this is NOT a case of do first and ask for forgiveness later

Prior approvals – ask if not sure! In writing. To correct person.

If you are not going to meet your objectives, talk with funder – without an explanation this could hurt continuation or future funding

Be prepared for monitoring – site visits, desk reviews, audits

Potential Sanctions from Funders Simply technical assistance (TA)

Required training or TA

More monitoring, reports, prior approval requirements, etc.

Cost disallowances

Temporarily withholding funds

Suspend grant activities

Terminate the grant

Audit findings

Websites

Grants.gov

Uniform guidance information from COFAR: https://cfo.gov/cofar/#COFAR2CFR200

Uniform guidance link: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6214841a79953f26c5c230d72d6b70a1&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl (websearch Uniform Guidance eCFR)

SAM.gov

Questions?

Reflection activityWhat are three things you will do as a result of this training?

Thank you!Stacy Ruble, MS

Nonprofit Learning Point Instructor

March 13, 2015