Questions to ask before preparing the budget:
o What is the typical size of awards from this sponsor?
o What are the real costs associated with conducting this project?
o What items will the sponsor support/not support?o Does the sponsor provide flexibility to re-budget
between categories once funds are awarded?o Is cost sharing mandatory/disallowed?o What can I do with a reduced award amount?
The narrative/project description should drive the budget:
o There should be no surprises for the reviewer familiar with the narrative/project description
o Cost estimates should be credibleo The requested budget should be consistent
with the typical award given by the sponsoro Divide the projected costs by the number of
participants to determine if your price per participant is reasonable
An example of a recent grant awarded through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program:
The Foundation, based on a recommendation from the Virginia Advisory Council (Walmart State Giving Program), awarded a $40,000 grant to the Virginia Association of Free Clinics (VAFC). VAFC operates 33 clinics throughout Virginia and offers free dental care to qualifying individuals without healthcare coverage. This grant funded the cost of the equipment needed to cover three dental exams for 600 patients.
An example of a recent grant awarded through the Andrew W. Mellon’s Higher Education and Scholarship Program:
Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania received a grant of $500,000 to support integration of the Phillips Museum of Art and the Franklin & Marshall curriculum.
An example of a recent grant awarded from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation:
The Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts received $40,000 for general operating support of educational and community outreach programs in Camden including Pre/K-12 Arts-in-Education Programs, Arts Integrated Curriculum & Teacher Development Programs and Community Arts Programs.
Cost of conducting the project:
The formula for calculating the cost of conducting a project is:
direct costs
+ indirect costs (F & A) + cost sharing
total costs
What are direct costs?
o Salaries and wageso Fringe benefitso Consulting/stipendso Travelo Equipment o Materials/supplieso Subawards/subcontractso Publicationo Disseminationo Participant support costso Other
“Other” may include:
o Student tuition & feeso Advertising feeso Rental fees
FY13 fringe rates:•43.45% full-time new employees •7.65% overload, summer, course release, or part-timeNo fringe on student wages
Fringe costs
Rates are set by the State and change every year, usually around December-January.
A copy of the current fringe rate agreement can be found linked to our home page: www.rowan.edu/grants
Pension 7.71%
Health Benefits 28.10%
Workers Comp 1.25%
Unemployment Insurance
.19%
Temporary Disability Ins
.26%
Unused Sick Leave .19%
FICA 6.20%
Medicare 1.45%
Hidden costs to be a university employee
FY14 estimate: 50.5%
What fringe rate do I use?
Use 45.43% when you are budgeting for:A new, full-time employee or post-doc
Use 7.65% when you are budgeting for:Existing, non grant funded employeesAny part-time non student employeeOverload/course release/buyout/summer
No fringe on: undergrad or grad students
What are indirect costs?
Also referred to as overhead or Facilities & Administrative costs (F&A). These are costs associated with operating a project
o Universities have a federally approved rateo Rowan’s current rate is 42% of Modified Total
Direct Costs (MTDC) for on-campus projects (45% for projects that begin July 1, 2014 or after). The off-campus rate (i.e. pay rent) is 17% MTDC. Industry-sponsored projects are 21% MTDC.
o Many foundation/corporations do not allow indirect costs
Current rate agreement covers period July 1, 2012-June 30, 2016. Notice the gradual rate increase in
2014.
A copy can be found linked to our homepage:
www.rowan.edu/grants
“This is the easy part. The challenge will be figuring out the indirect costs for the grant proposal.”
MTDC
MTDC include all direct costs EXCEPT:
Equipment over $5000/unit (anything under this value is considered “supplies”)
Charges for patient careStudent tuition remissionRental costs of off-site facilitiesScholarships and fellowshipsThe portion of each subaward in excess of
$25,000
Determining MTDC
Supplies $2000Travel $1500Graduate Assistant $15,000Tuition remission $30,000Subcontract $30,000Giant calculator $6000Total direct costs: $84,500
Which of these are included in the MTDC base?
Supplies $2000Travel $1500Graduate Assistant $15,000Subcontract $25,000MTDC (42%) $43,500Indirect $18,270
Other costs:Giant calculator $6,000Tuition remission $30,000Remainder of subcontract $5,000
TOTAL COSTS: $102,770
What is cost sharing?
Defined as that portion of the project costs not borne by the sponsor and borne by the university or third-party
o Can include:o Cash, supplies, or equipment donationso Use of space/facilitieso Cost of renovating the spaceo Indirect costs (if sponsor has rate restriction)o Salaries/fringe o Volunteered time/services
o Can be mandatory, voluntary, or disallowedo Must be approved by chair and deano Must be verifiable
Budget Appearance Counts
o Use the budget format requestedo If no format is provided, we can provide a
templateo Round figures to the nearest dollaro Consider including an annual increase for
multi-year budgets
Budget Draft Total Project Amount Requested Other Funding
Costs from Sponsor Cost Share
Personnel:
Super Principal Investigator (base $80,000/10 x 1 summer month) $8,000 $0 $8,000
Lab technician ($15/hr x 20 hrs x 15 weeks) $4,500 $4,500 $0
Five undergraduate students ($7/hr x 10 hrs x 5 weeks) $1,750 $1,750 $0
Sub-Total Personnel $14,250 $6,250 $8,000
Fringes:
PI, Lab Technician Fringes (7.65%) $956 $344 $612
Sub-Total Fringes $956 $344 $612
Other Direct Costs:
Supplies/Materials $2,500 $2,500 $0
Domestic Travel $2,000 $2,000 $0
Publication costs $500 $500 $0
Server $5,000 $5,000 $0
MTDC $20,206 $11,594 $8,612
Indirect Costs (42% MTDC) $8,486 $4,869 $3,617
Total Costs $33,692 $21,463 $12,229
Don’t forget to include a budget justification!
The Notice of Award:
o Is a legal document issued to notify the grantee that an award has been made and details the terms and condition of the award. Typically includes information about:
o Relevant regulations o Amount of funding o Project and budget periodo Restrictions on the expenditure of the fundso Reporting requirements
o Accepting the award- must be facilitated by OSP/CFRo Only the person authorized to legally represent Rowan may
sign for an award
Things to Remember:
o Awardees are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of their award and for submitting required narrative/technical reports during the life of the award
o OSP/CFR will work with you to submit proposals and reports
o A Banner fund number will be assigned to your awardo Need to know whether budget transfers/time
extensions permitted or whether prior approval is required
o Any deviation of contract/work/timeline must be approved by OSP/CFR and the sponsor
Questions?
Office of University Advancement Deanne Farrell, Director of Corporate and Foundation
Relations (x5418) [email protected]
Office of Sponsored Programs Stephanie Lezotte, Acting Director (x4124)
Next Workshop: Oct. 29, 12:15-1:15 p.m.Compliance and Beyond