Grant Budget Development Elaine J. Marshall March 21, 2017 Grant Budget Development

Introduction Your budget is a financial representation of your project; there should be nothing in the budget that isn’t also explained in the narrative The budget is a plan—it will probably change, especially if the project is multi- year. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan it carefully and make it as detailed as possible. The best budgets result when there’s input from both the project experts AND the financial experts. Make sure the numbers add up—you’re asking a grantor for money; you want to demonstrate to them that you’ll pay attention to the details and be careful with it.

Getting Started Read the funding announcement or program guidelines carefully Research the funding source—what have they awarded in the past? Identify all costs that are necessary and reasonable for the project Be as specific as possible about what the project will cost. You will often be asked to provide both a budget form and a budget narrative which explains each line item and how you arrived at the figures you’ve used. Doing the work to make the budget detailed and accurate now will make budget management and reporting much easier later.

Getting Started Go-To References Grantspace http://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base Foundation Center http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/ SC Association of Nonprofits: Together SC http://www.togethersc.org/ USC’s budget preparation guide http://sam.research.sc.edu/prepguide.html Basic Budget Categories Personnel and non-personnel costs Direct and indirect Allowable and unallowable

Budget Categories Personnel Identify all those who’ll work on the project How much of their time will be spent on this? Do you need to hire new people? Did you account for advertising costs? Background checks? Search job ads and online for reasonable salary ranges Costs include both salaries and fringe benefits Fringe benefits are real costs. Employers must provide FICA, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation and other costs (health insurance, bonuses, retirement) in addition to salaries.

Budget Categories Contractual Supplies and materials Travel Printing & copying Consultants Phone/fax Supplies and materials Postage Office supplies Educational supplies Food Equipment and maintenance

Budget Categories Other costs Indirect or overhead costs Space/rent Utilities Insurance Postage Taxes Shipping or freight costs Program evaluation Indirect or overhead costs Does your organization have a negotiated IDC rate? Will the grantor cover these costs?

Sample Budget Request https://www.ctphilanthropy.org/resources/common-application-and-reporting-forms

Sample Budget Request From: https://www.michiganfoundations.org/node/136

Sample Budget Form From: https://www.michiganfoundations.org/node/136

Sample Budget Form From: https://www.michiganfoundations.org/node/136

Sample Budget Form http://www.abagrantmakers.org/?page=CommonGrantApp

Sample Budget Form http://www.abagrantmakers.org/?page=CommonGrantApp

http://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/research/docs/aspirebudgetform.docx

http://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/research/docs/aspirebudgetform.docx

Sample Budget Narrative From: http://grant-central-station.com/articles/33/

Sample Budget Report Request http://www.philanthropynetwork.org/resource/resmgr/Common_Grant_App/2015.2_CGA_CRF_Final.docx

Sample Budget Report Request http://www.mott.org/grantsandguidelines/ForGrantees/reporting/guidelines

Other Things to Consider How much flexibility you have with the budget and whether you’ll need to explain and/or get permission for changes Reporting requirements—how often and in what detail will you need to update the grantor Whether the award is based on cost reimbursement, fixed price, or something else Reimbursement – you get repaid for demonstrated project expenses Fixed Price – the grantor pays you a set amount; if there’s any left at the end, you keep it; if the project costs more, you have to eat the overage Something else – for example, you receive ½ the funds up front and the rest after your final report is submitted

Other Things to Consider Should our organization have a budget committee? It depends . . . How long must we maintain records? For federal grants, the standard is “three years from the date of submission of the final report” https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013- 30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit- requirements-for-federal-awards#h-49 Grantspace’s very useful page on records: http://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base/Nonprofit- Management/Accountability/record-retention

Questions? Elaine J. Marshall emarshall@uscupstate.edu www.uscupstate.edu/sars