Introduction to
Grant Budgeting
OFFICE OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS
AND
UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
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 credible
o The requested budget should be consistent with the
typical award given by the sponsor
o 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
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Salaries and wages
Fringe benefits
Consulting/stipends
Travel
Equipment
Materials/supplies
Subawards/subcontracts
Publication
Dissemination
Participant support costs
Other
“Other” may include:
o Student tuition & fees
o Advertising fees
o Rental fees
FY14 fringe rates:
•50.75% full-time new employees
•7.65% overload, summer, course
release, or part-time
No fringe on student wages
Fringe costs
Rates are set by the State and change every year,
usually around December-January.
Pension
11.29%
Health Benefits
30.06%
Workers Comp
1.15%
Unemployment Insurance
.16%
Temporary Disability Ins
.27%
Unused Sick Leave
.17%
FICA
6.20%
Medicare
1.45%
Hidden costs to be a
university employee
FY14 fringe: 50.75%
FY15 estimate: 53%
A copy of the current fringe rate agreement can be found linked to
our home page: www.rowan.edu/grants
What fringe rate do I use?
Use 50.75% 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 employees
 Any part-time non student employee
 Overload/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 rate
o Rowan’s current rate is 45% of Modified Total Direct
Costs (MTDC) for on-campus projects. 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.
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 care
Student tuition remission
Rental costs of off-site facilities
Scholarships and fellowships
The portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000
Determining MTDC
Supplies $2000
Travel $1500
Graduate Assistant $15,000
Tuition remission $30,000
Subcontract $30,000
Giant calculator $6000
Total direct costs: $84,500
Which of these are included
in the MTDC base?
Supplies $2000
Travel $1500
Graduate Assistant $15,000
Subcontract $25,000
MTDC (45%) $43,500
Indirect $19,575
Other costs:
Giant calculator $6,000
Tuition remission $30,000
Remainder of subcontract
$5,000
TOTAL COSTS: $104,075
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 donations
o Use of space/facilities
o Cost of renovating the space
o Indirect costs (if sponsor has rate restriction)
o Salaries/fringe
o Volunteered time/services
o Can be mandatory, voluntary, or disallowed
o Must be approved by chair and dean
o Must be verifiable
Budget Appearance Counts
o Use the budget format requested
o If no format is provided, we can provide a template
o Round figures to the nearest dollar
o Consider including an annual increase for multi-year
budgets
Budget Draft
Total Project
Amount Requested
Other Funding
Costs
from Sponsor
Cost Share
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
$14,250
$6,250
$8,000
$956
$344
$612
$956
$344
$612
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 (45% MTDC)
$9,093
$5,217
$3,875
Total Costs
$34,299
$21,811
$12,487
Personnel:
Sub-Total Personnel
Fringes:
PI, Lab Technician Fringes (7.65%)
Sub-Total Fringes
Other Direct Costs:
Don’t forget to include a budget justification!
I received an award ….
Now what?
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
o
o
o
o
Relevant regulations
Amount of funding
Project and budget period
Restrictions on the expenditure of the funds
Reporting requirements
o Accepting the award- must be facilitated by OSP/CFR
o 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
o
o
o
o
operations of their award and for submitting required
narrative/technical reports during the life of the award
OSP/CFR will work with you to submit proposals and
reports
A Banner fund number will be assigned to your award
Need to know whether budget transfers/time extensions
permitted or whether prior approval is required
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) farrelld@rowan.edu
Wesley Allen, Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation
Relations; (x2408); allen@rowan.edu
 Office of Sponsored Programs

Stephanie Lezotte, Director (x4124) lezotte@rowan.edu
Next Workshop: Oct. 16 9:30-10:30
Writing Winning Grant Proposals
Shpeen Hall, Conference Room 204
Upcoming Workshops
 10/16 & 11/11 Writing Winning Proposals
 10/29: Effort Reporting
 11/7: Creating Complex Grant Budgets
 11/13: Promoting Your Project
 11/21: Administering Your Award
 12/1: Stewardship and Reporting
Check the Rowan Announcer for locations and times!