Grant Resources - Glossary of Grant Terms
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- ABSTRACT
-
- a brief overview
of a project, usually 1/2 page or less immediately following
the face page or cover sheet.
- APPLICATION
- a request for funds; may imply the use of a special form
supplied by the funding source. (See Proposal.)
- APPROPRIATION
-
a federal, state or local legislative enactment which allows
government agencies to incur obligations to spend or lend
money during specific time periods, usually a fiscal year.
Congress may appropriate funds only on the basis of an existing
authorization.
- ASSURANCES
-
statement concerning the institution's or organization's
compliance with Civil Rights, Title IX, Section 504 guidelines,
lobbying, etc. Assurances are required with many proposal
applications.
- AUTHORIZATION
-
basic substantive legislation that sets up a program or
agency. Such legislation sometimes sets limits on the amount
that can subsequently be appropriated but does not actually
provide money or guarantee that monies will be appropriated
in any given fiscal year.
- AUTHORIZED
SIGNATURE
- signature of person legally responsible
for making agreements on behalf of an organization; must appear
on an application before it can be considered an official
request; implies that if an award is accepted, the responsibility
for its proper administration is assured.
- AWARD
- the
document, which may be a letter, a special form, or a contract,
prescribing the amount of funds and restrictions imposed;
an agreement between two parties.
- AWARD LETTER
-
written notification from the funding agency indicating
that a project has been funded, for how long, and in what
amount.
- BOILERPLATE
-
sections of a proposal applicable to a variety of requests,
e.g., organizational descriptions, professional resumes, etc.;
often maintained by organizations submitting numerous proposals
in order to reduce preparation time.
- BUDGET
- financial
plan for conducting a project; should include whole dollar
amounts only. It is the estimated cost of performance of the
project as set forth in a proposal or in the notification
of grant award or contract.
- BUDGET DETAIL
-
an itemized list of expenditures and income that accompanies
a narrative proposal.
- BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
(BUDGET EXPLANATION)
- a detailed clarification
of the budget; explains how dollar amounts were determined.
- CONSORTIUM
-
a group of organizations sharing in the finances, administration,
and/or activities of a single grant.
- CONSORTIUM GRANT
- award made to one grantee in support of a project being conducted
in conjunction with one or more other participating organizations.
- CONSULTANT
-
a person with expertise who is brought in to lend insight,
advise, do workshops, etc.
- COVER LETTER (TRANSMITTAL
LETTER)
- letter of transmittal accompanying a proposal
submission.
- COST SHARING
-
financial contribution by the grantee; typically less than
one third of the total cost; more common to research grants;
a form of matching. (See Matching Contributions.)
- DEADLINE OR DUE DATE
-
date after which a proposal will not be accepted for review;
often stated as a receipt date or a post mark date. (See Post
Mark Date.)
- DIRECT COSTS
-
expenses which can be itemized and for which vouchers or
payroll records can be presented for payment. They include
salaries and wages, fringe benefits, supplies, travel, equipment,
printing, duplication, etc.
- EFFECTIVE DATE
- date award
is made, allowable project costs may not be charged to the
project until this date.
- EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
-
direct expenditures by an organization on behalf of its
employees for such items as workman's compensation, disability
insurance, unemployment compensation, Social Security, life
and health insurance, and retirement. Usually fringe benefits
are calculated as a percentage of salaries. (See Fringe Benefits.)
- EQUIPMENT GRANT
-
award to be used exclusively for the purchase of equipment;
typically for educational or research purposes; usually requires
a 50% match by the grantee.
- EVALUATION
-
a quantitative assessment of what was, or was not, accomplished
by a project; a comparison of project objectives and actual
project outcomes; an increasingly important part of proposal
writing and project management.
- EXPIRATION DATE
-
last date of a project; no charges may be made to a project
after this date. (See Grant Period.)
- FACE PAGE (COVER SHEET)
-
first page of a proposal; identifies project title, agency
to which proposal is submitted, project director's name, title,
address, project duration, total dollar request, submitting
organization's name and address and the name, title, and signature
of person authorized to sign for submitting organization.
- FELLOWSHIP
-
an award directly to an individual in support of specific
educational pursuits.
- FISCAL YEAR (FY)
-
usually a 12-month period for which funds are appropriated
and during which expenditures must be made. The federal fiscal
year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is designated
by the calendar year in which it ends. For example FY 2001
covers the period October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2001.
PCC's FY, along with that of state and local governments,
is July 1 to June 30. FY for many corporations is the same
as the calendar year, January 1 to December 30.
- FORMULA GRANT
-
funds made available on the basis of a specific formula
used by the granting agency and prescribed in legislation,
regulation, or policies of that agency. The funds are awarded
on the basis of demographic and economic data.
- FOUNDATION
-
organization established to disburse funds for philanthropic
purposes; usually privately endowed.
- FRINGE BENEFITS
-
benefits such as life and health insurance, retirement,
unemployment compensation and workers compensation that are
paid in addition to salary.
- GOALS
- general
statements of anticipated project outcomes; usually more global
in scope than objectives and not expected to be measurable;
if used, goals should be supported by well-stated objectives.
- GRANTEE
- any legal entity that assumes financial responsibility, accountability
for managing awarded funds, supervision of grant-supported
activities and submission of final reports.
- GRANTOR
- funding source which has agreed to provide financial support
in the form of a grant.
- GRANT PERIOD
-
begins on the effective date and ends on the expiration
date; the period of time agreed upon by the grantor and grantee
during which a funded project is in operation; allowable project
costs may be charged to the project only during this time.
(See Expiration Date.)
- GUIDELINES
-
directions to follow in preparation and submission of a
proposal; usually but not always provided by the funding source;
more commonly available from government sources or larger
foundations.
- IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION
- a service
or item donated in lieu of dollars to the operation of a funded
project; usually given by a third party; e.g., donated equipment,
percentage of an administrator's time, or guest speaker's
time.
- INDIRECT COSTS (OVERHEAD)
-
the expenses indirectly associated with the sponsored project.
Included are administrative expenses, utilities, maintenance,
library facilities. They are usually expressed as a percentage
of total direct costs.
- LETTER OF INTENT
-
a brief letter containing a description of a proposed project,
an estimated budget, and information on the applicant. Sometimes
it is required to allow the funding source to screen out ineligible
applicants or projects not consistent with the program's priorities.
This screening saves considerable time for both the source
and the applicant.
- MATCHING FUNDS
-
cash or "in-kind" support contributed by the college to
fulfill objectives of project. Amount of needed matching funds
varies with program.
- OBJECTIVES
- specific statements
of anticipated project outcomes; should identify clearly what
will be different as a result of the project having been funded
as opposed to what the project is going to do (activities);
usually measurable and directly related to project evaluation.
(See Goals.)
- PLANNING GRANT
-
an award made in support of the planning stages of a future
project.
- POST MARK DATE
-
the last date which may be affixed by the Post Office in
order for a proposal to be considered for funding; set by
the funding source. (See Deadline.)
- PRE-APPLICATION
-
a prospectus following a prescribed format developed by
an agency and utilized to screen proposals. (See Preliminary
Proposal.)
- PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL
-
occasionally required by a funding source as a first step
in the submission process; a proposal containing only the
essentials necessary to convey the idea to be proposed more
formally at a later date. (See Pre-Application.)
- PRIORITIES
-
funding sources develop annual program plans that include
objectives and areas of emphasis. The areas of emphasis are
called priorities, and the source awards grants for projects
which most closely relate to those priorities. Priorities
for federal grant programs are published in the Federal
Register.
- PROJECT DIRECTOR (PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR)
- the person responsible for directing
and managing the project for the college.
- PROJECT PROGRAM OFFICER
-
the federal or state agency representative who has the
task of monitoring the project, providing technical assistance
to the project and insuring that the objectives are carried
out within the framework of regulations.
- PROPOSAL
- a written document submitted to a funding source requesting
financial support to undertake a project.
- RFP (REQUEST FOR A PROPOSAL)
-
announcement distributed by a funding source to potential
grantees defining in a general way the type of project proposals
desired, same as a Request For An Application (RFA) or Request
For Qualifications (RFQ).
- SEED MONEY
-
a small grant for the purpose of getting a project started;
it is assumed that the project will be able to attract additional
external funds following the "seed grant" period.
- SITE VISIT
-
a final step in the review of some proposals; involves
a team of evaluators from the funding source who examine the
project facilities on location; includes a review of project
plan and objectives with key personnel; an encouraging sign
to the project director, occasionally conducted during the
life of a project.
- TITLE
- a
major section of a piece of legislation, e.g., Title I Higher
Education Act, 1965.
- 990-AR
-
form of the annual reports that foundations submit to the
Internal Revenue Service and to the state attorney general's
office.
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