UNDERSTANDING
GRANT COMPONENTS
--BEFORE YOU WRITE
Gerry Cherry
Certified Research Administrator
gcherry2@cox.net
1. PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
A one-page description of the entire
project. Pay attention to what
information is required in the summary.
The summary, budget, and budget
justification (or narrative) may be the
only parts of the package that are
carefully reviewed.
2. INTRODUCE THE ORGANIZATION
a. Short description of an applicant's
organization which establishes a context for
your problem statement. (Forty percent of the
students at Anywhere University are eligible
to receive financial aid.)
Some features to consider are:
The organization's goals, philosophy, and
record with other grantors, any success
stories.
Make the data relevant to the goals of the
funder, and establish your credibility.
3. NEED STATEMENT, RESEARCH
The needs statement or research
question is a key element of a proposal.
It should be a clear, concise, wellsupported statement of the problem to
be overcome, the experiment to be
tried, the program to be created, or the
curriculum to be improved, using the
grant funding.
The information provided should be both
factual and directly related to the
question addressed by the proposal.
3. NEED STATEMENT, RESEARCH
Use facts to support the existence of your
problem or question,
 Make a connection between the issue and
your organization,
 Make a case for your project locally, and
nationally,
 Demonstrate your knowledge of the issue
or problem,
 Set-up the milestones of your goals and
objectives, and
 Address the outcomes you wish to achieve.

4. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Clearly describe the activities to be
used to achieve the goals of the project.
 Be tied to baseline data
 Explain the expected results and
benefits of each objective, and list the
specific criteria of the grant program.
 Describe how the proposed plan
meets each criterion.

4. PROJECT OBJECTIVES, CONT’D
Goals are general and offer an
understanding of the thrust of your
program.
Objectives are specific, measurable
outcomes. They should be realistic and
attainable.
Objectives show how to solve the
problem or address the issue. Be
realistic.
5. PROJECT PLAN OR DESIGN
The project plan outlines the tasks to be
accomplished. Add a timeline.
List the tasks that will meet the goals of
the project. Break tasks into smaller
units and lay them out in a schedule
over the grant period.
This will help you consider what
personnel, materials, and other
resources will be needed to carry out
the tasks.
5. PROJECT PLAN OR DESIGN
Describe in detail the activities that will
achieve desired results. Write a “Day in
the Life” scenario to make sure you
don’t leave anything out.
Describe WHY you have chosen these
activities. Justify them over all other
approaches you could have taken.
List when milestones will be reached.
6. EVALUATION—DID IT WORK?
Look at objectives to develop evaluation.
Begin evaluation as you begin your
project.
Answer the question: What did we learn?
Did the project work as we anticipated?
Why or why not?
What will be different when the project is
complete?
SUMMATIVE AND FORMATIVE EVALUATION
Summative Evaluation is a plan to
evaluate the project that measures how
you will have met your objectives when
the project is complete.
Evaluation criteria assess progress
towards project goals.
Formative Evaluation assess the project
during its execution. It is a tool to make
appropriate changes during the project.
7. THE PROPOSAL BUDGET
Be prepared with all the details
about how YOU are spending
THEIR money.
The budget items listed below are
designed to match what most
funders request.
BUDGETS
1. Personnel—staff for project
2. Fringe benefits—university rate
3. Consultants—outside help on project and/or
external evaluators
4. Space/Resources needed—rent space?
Commitment by university to contribute
space?
5. Equipment—lab or cyber equip?
Anything of a value of $5,000 or more, and a
life span of more than one year is the
federal request rule.
BUDGETS
6. Supplies—everything under the
state threshold of $2,500, or
university threshold.
Food can only be charged to a grant
if it is used for educational purposes.
A day-long seminar can include lunch
if a speaker or workshop occurs at the
same time as the food.
6. SUPPLIES CONT’D
Sample: 50 participants x 1 book each per
year at $10.00 = $500/year x 5 years of
the grant = $2,500 for books.
If you underestimate costs, it looks like you
don’t know what you are doing; If you
overestimate, you are padding the
proposal, or you do not know how to
budget your project.
BUDGETS
7. Travel—where are you going on the funder’s
dime?
Why do you have to attend 3 conferences a
year with the grant funding?
Explain every cost of travel:
Airfare--$500, local transporation--$100,
lodging--$200/night (including extra charges)
x 3 nights = $600 x registration--$750 =
$1,950 + parking at the airport $6/night.
BUDGET
8. Other Costs
Publications (maybe annual reports,
articles),
Presentation (cost of posters,
presentation materials, copies for
participants),
Local conferences to disseminate project
progress, best practices
BUDGETS
9. Indirect Costs
F&A rate (Finance and administration
rate, often called the indirect cost rate)
The rate can be negotiated with the
Department of Health and Human
Services or the Department of the
Navy for a period of years.
INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
F&A costs are most simply described as the
cost of doing business, costs you would incur
daily, even if you didn't have a grant. A
portion of these costs, which will be used
specifically for the project, are indirect costs.
OSU and OU negotiate on a basis of every
building's use in grants, requiring architect
verification of square footage and use. Most
regionals in Oklahoma negotiate the rate
based on simpler factors to calculate, i.e.
a portion of salaries and wages, etc.
INDIRECT COSTS (F&A)
For example, if you apply for $100,000 in
direct costs (project costs), and $30,000
is requested for project administrator
salaries, your indirect costs request
(F&A) is a percentage of $30,000. This
amount is paid to the university, but is
subtracted from the total amount to be
received for the project.
SAMPLE BUDGET
Sample budget Item
Project director
Benefits at 30%
subtotal salaries
supplies
equipment
participant stipends
subtotal direct costs
IDC at 52% of salaries & wages
Total grant request
Cost
$30,000
$9,000
$39,000
$11,000
$10,000
$19,720
$79,720
$15,600
$95,320
10. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
List every item on which you intend to spend
THEIR dollars.
Travel? How far? What for? How much?
Equipment? How used? If it is needed, why
don’t you already have it?
Salaries? Remember, federal limits on salaries
through grants—no more than 100% of your
annual salary can be earned on a grant.
Supplies? Why are you buying binders? Who
will use? Cost per each and total.
11. SUSTAINABILITY OR
INSTITUTIONALIZATION
List expected sources of continuing
funding after the conclusion of the
grant. It was a great project, but it’s
gone now, won’t work.
University will fund support of project
after grant (Be careful with this. If they
are going to do it later, why not now?)
Admission/use of equipment/workshops
fund continuation after project.
12. DISSEMINATION
Not just a throwaway statement.
Who will you tell?
How?
Why?
When?
A widespread dissemination plan is
necessary to receive funding.
Benefits to recipients of the information
will be listed in the proposal.