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Before you start writing
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Proposal outline
3.
How to cost your project
4.
Human Subjects
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If you’re looking to find funding for a particular activity,
limit your search to that. But be creative and expand when
necessary.
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Consider your resources, staff, qualifications and training.
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If this is your first grant proposal, you can start small.
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Make sure your idea and the grant opportunity are a good
match, and check eligibility requirements.
Is your idea a good one? Check for innovation, significance,
trends, and if your target population is of interest to the
sponsor. Check the sponsor’s mission statement.
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When you’ve found a potential grant
opportunity, read the guidelines carefully.
Consider the competition.
Read past-awarded proposals.
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Find the grant program’s review criteria that the
reviewers will be using to score proposals.
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What information reviewers will be looking for
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Key words, phrases or specific questions
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Use the elements above in your proposal to make it
easier for reviewers to find the information they’re
looking for.
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Watch the sponsor’s website for corrections or
updates to the guidelines.
Follow the guidelines’ instructions exactly for
organizing and formatting the proposal.
If there are required forms and application files
to fill out, download them ahead of time so you
can review the forms while reading the
guidelines.
Common elements in a grant proposal:
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Cover page
Abstract page
Project Narrative
Budget
Budget Narrative
Letter signed by an Authorized UWEXT official
Letters signed by subcontractors or partners
Vitas or resumes from key personnel in project
Any forms required by the proposal guidelines.
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Cover and Abstract Pages
Cover page
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Summary of your proposal, your organization and any
recent correspondence with the sponsor.
Amount of funding requested.
Who your proposal will target or benefit, and the
issue(s) it will solve.
Be enthusiastic and descriptive in your writing about the
proposal.
Include your contact phone# and email address.
Abstract page
2.
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1 page concise summary of your project
This should be the last section you write for the proposal
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Project Narrative:
Where you make your argument why the sponsor should fund your
proposal.
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Statement of need or problem; significance of the issue.
Population to be helped or served
Goals and objectives: clearly stated
Description of project work
Timeline
Evaluation scheme to determine effectiveness of project
Qualifications of key personnel and your organization
References and appendixes; letters of support
Sustainability of project after end of funding; future
funding support.
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Budget and Budget Narrative
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Include all necessary, reasonable project expenses
Brief narrative for each cost, justifying the expense
and how it relates to the project work
Use a table when necessary to show cost components
If there are mandated contributions of cost share,
show them in the budget. Separate them from the
costs you’re requesting funds for.
Expenses should be categorized and listed in the
same order as in the proposal guidelines.
All numbers should add up and be within the
guidelines’ budget limit.
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Letter signed by Authorized UWEXT official
1.
Letter of intent, commitment letter, or cover letter
2.
Signed by someone authorized to sign for UWExtension. This can be the Controller, Director of
Extramural Support, or the Associate Vice Chancellor
for Administration and Finance.
3.
Includes UWEXT letterhead, Project Title, name of
project director, and statement that UWEXT supports
the proposal.
4.
If match is mandated, list its dollar amount, time
period, and type of expenses the match is from.
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Letter signed by Authorized UWEXT official
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Letters signed by subcontractors or partners
1.
Key partners, subcontractors, and shared UW
grantees who have a significant part in the proposed
scope of work should provide a letter signed by their
authorized official.
2.
The letters ensures that their agency is aware of the
proposal, has reviewed and approved their portion of
the work and budget, and commits to the project if
funded.
3.
If they will contribute match, the letters will include
dollar amount, time period, and type of expenses the
match is from.
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Vitas or resumes from key personnel in project
1.
2.
Shows that the key personnel has the necessary
expertise and qualifications for the project.
Example from the USDA-NIFA application guide:
The biographical sketch should be limited to two (2) pages each in
length, excluding publications listings. The vitae should include a
presentation of academic and research credentials, as applicable;
e.g., earned degrees, teaching experience, employment history,
professional activities, honors and awards, and grants received. A
chronological list of all publications in refereed journals during the
past four (4) years, including those in press, must be included.
Also, list only those non-refereed technical publications that have
relevance to the proposed project.
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Any forms required by the proposal guidelines
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Federal standard forms such as SF-424
Conflict of Interest
Current & Pending Support
Supplemental Information
Some sponsors provide a comprehensive application
package to download or fill out online, that includes
the forms to fill in. They will usually ask that the
application be submitted electronically through their
grants application portal such as grants.gov, or via
email.
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Components of a project budget:
 Personnel Costs for participating staff
 Travel Costs
 Other Direct Costs
 Indirect Administrative Costs
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Obtain or create a budget template to help you
build your project costs
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Typically a spreadsheet such as MS Excel, containing
formulas and subtotals. Use ROUND formulas.
Allows for easy edits, updates and corrections.
Uses the same budget header categories as in the
proposal guidelines.
You can get a template from your department’s grants
administrator or the CES Budget Office.
The template should include separate columns for cost
share and multiple years, if those will be budgeted in
the proposal.
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Personnel Costs
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Staffing needs to support the project;
 University staff needed to carry out the work. We use
salary classifications including: unclassified staff, LTE
(limited term employees), student help or ad hocs (short
term academic staff hires)
 New hires:
 Use $2,000 to estimate a position advertisement allowance.
Estimate the percentages of time (in FTEs) staff will
work on the project.
 Are University of Wisconsin non-Extension staff
involved?
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Personnel Costs
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Extramural Support Fringe Benefit rates
 Charged automatically as a percentage of salary.
 Rates are calculated for July through June.
 Are posted at http://www.uwex.edu/business-
services/extramural/documents.html
 New rates are usually posted around every February
before the start of the new state fiscal year.
 Rates are estimated using the previous year’s actual
fringe benefit expenses.
 In fiscal year 2011, there was an significant increase in
health insurance benefits, that then increased the FY2012
rates.
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Travel
UW Employee travel
 In-State vs Out-of-State Travel.
 Mileage, fleet car, lodging, meals, per diem.
 See UWEX Business Services website for
reimbursement rates:
http://www.uwex.edu/business-services/travel/
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Other Direct Costs
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Materials & Supplies
 Consumable items ex. name tags, paper pads, pens
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Publications & Printing
 Publications and handouts not paid for directly by
participants; can include design and printing costs.
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Other Direct Costs
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Contractual
 Subcontract
 Services
 Shared Grant with another UW institution
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Communications
 Postage, telephone, photocopying
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Advertising
 UWEX position recruitment costs
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Workshop/Meeting expenses
 Speaker fees
Unallowable expenses:
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Entertainment expenses
Promotional give away items such as tote bags, coffee
mugs, t-shirts, etc.
Items of a personal nature such as flowers and cards.
Gifts
Award ceremonies
Receptions
Alcoholic beverages
Proposal writing costs
Rent for grantee owned facilities
Overload pay
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Indirect administrative overhead
Indirects - costs from shared services including
utilities, general and departmental administration
such as Payroll and Business Services, and use of
building.
 Assessed as a percentage of total direct cost. The
current rates are 29.5% for on-campus projects and
26% for off-campus projects (50% threshold).
 As policy, we always seek to recover indirect costs
when possible.
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Indirect administrative overhead
The rate to use is determined on a case-by-case basis.
 In the application guidelines, are indirects not allowed
or allowed, and if allowed, is it capped at a certain
percentage?
 Is the source of funds federal or nonfederal?
 Pull up the UWEX Applicable Indirect Cost Rates chart
at http://www.uwex.edu/businessservices/extramural/documents.html to find the
category your grant is in and its applicable rate.
Example of working backwards from a fixed budget total:
You are applying for a $50,000 grant budget, the indirect cost rate is
15% for federal pass-through funds via a WI state agency, and the
applicable unclassified staff fringes rate is 44%.
If less than the full rate of 26% or 29.5% is used, calculate overhead
as a % of total direct costs.
 $50,000 / 1.15 indirects = $43,478 is available for direct costs.
 $43,478 less $3,000 needed for travel and supplies, leaving $40,478 for
unclassified personnel.
 $40,478 / 1.44 fringes = $28,110 available for unclassified staff salary.
The budget breakout for $50,000 would be:
Salary
$28,110
Fringes
$12,368
Supplies
$ 1,000
Travel
$ 2,000
Total Directs
$43,478
Indirects
$ 6,522
Example of a medium complex proposal budget:
You are applying for a $50,000 US EPA grant, the indirect cost rate
is 26% off-campus, and a third party subcontract for $26,000 is included.
If full UWEX on-campus or off-campus rate is used, calculate
overhead as a % of total direct costs less capital equipment, tuition
remission, the portion of each subcontract in excess of $25,000, and rent.
The indirect cost formula is:
(Total Direct costs - $1000 subcontract excess) x .26 = $10,111 indirect costs.
The budget breakout for $50,000 would be:
Salary
$ 9,645
Fringes @44%
$ 4,244
Other Direct Costs:
Subcontract
$26,000
Total Directs
$39,889
Indirects
$10,111
Total Request
$50,000
Example of a medium complex proposal budget:
You are applying for a $50,000 US EPA grant, the indirect cost rate
is 26% off-campus, and a shared grant with UW-Madison for $15,000 is
included.
Always exclude UW shared grants* from UWEX’s indirect cost
calculation. They charge their own overhead rate to the project.
(Total Direct costs - $15,000 shared grant) x .26 = $7,222 indirect costs
The budget breakout for $50,000 would be:
Salary
$19,290
Fringes @44%
$ 8,488
Other Direct Costs:
Shared grant
$15,000
Total Directs
$42,778
Indirects
$ 7,222
Total Request
$50,000
*Shared grants are not considered Subcontracts because we are part of the University
of Wisconsin System, and can’t issue subcontracts to ourselves.
If the proposed project will include questionaires, evaluations,
surveys and other studies to obtain data from people:
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Federal regulations and the University of Wisconsin-Extension
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Standard Operating Procedures
mandate education on the use of human subjects in research.
Human Subjects Protection - safeguarding the welfare and
protecting the rights of individuals who participate as subjects in
research and non-research assessments sponsored by UWExtension.
Vulnerability of subjects (examples: children and prisoners),
protection of subjects’ privacy and confidentiality, and level of
risk inherent in the questions being asked.
All faculty, staff, students, and collaborating researchers who are
involved in the use of human subjects in research are required to
complete the Human Subjects Research Core Education Modules.
UW-Extension web page:
http://www.uwex.edu/secretary/human-subjects.html
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Self-Assessment Decision Tree
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Step #1 - Are human subjects part of my research/evaluation?
Step #2 - What is the purpose of the data collection?
Step #3 - Intended use of the collected data?
Step #4 - Do the participants include vulnerable populations?
Step #5 - Does the sample size and methodology protect the
participants’ privacy and confidentiality?
Step #6 – Does the research/evaluation request sensitive (at
risk) information?
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Application for Human Subjects Approval
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Sample consent language for study participants.