WELCOME TO THE
Annual NAU GEAR UP Site
Coordinator Meeting
“Paying For The Journey”
Year 2 Financial Reporting & Cost Share
Thursday, August 15 | 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm
August 14-16, 2013
OUTLINE
 Great News About Year 1
 Still True & Important In Year 2
► The Allowability Test
► Monthly Financial Packets
► Working With Your Fiscal Office
 Year 2 Points of Emphasis
► Updated Form Templates
► Food Cost Scrutiny
► Work Plan & Budget Changes
► K-12 Center Professional Development
► Real World Design Challenge
 Questions
GREAT NEWS ABOUT YEAR 1
Let’s keep this trend going in Year 2!
“…There is no single issue that the
American people hate more than
stupid, frivolous expenditure of
taxpayer dollars…”
- Marlin Fitzwater
White House Press Secretary 1987 - 1993
Is the expense:
 Necessary to implement the program?
 Reasonable?
 Allocable to program objectives?
 Compliant with GEAR UP administrative
regulations?
 Consistently treated?
Is the expense:
 In the Work Plan
& Budget?
 Compliant with
district procedures?
 Justifiable to
taxpayers?
 Include both GEAR UP
(Reimbursement) & Match
 Require supporting
documentation, including:
● Time & Effort Forms
● Cost Share Contribution
Forms
 Familiarize yourself with your Year 2 work
plan and budget
 Follow district fiscal operations procedures
 Continue assisting with financial packets
 Continue submitting T&E forms (for yourself and others)
 Continue capturing & documenting match
Please be sure you
are using the latest
versions of the
Time & Effort and
Cost Share
Contribution
Forms
“…there is a very high burden of proof to show
that paying for food and beverages with Federal
funds is necessary to meet the goals and objectives
of a Federal grant…there may be some circumstances where the cost would be permissible…it is
likely those circumstances are rare…”
From “Using Federal Grant Funds to Host A Meeting or Conference” [May 2013]
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/guid/eposbul/gposbul.html
Before purchasing food/drinks, GEAR UP
Coordinators must have submitted an Event
Notification Form (two weeks in advance)….
 In Year 1, we handled many work plan &
budget changes “informally”
 In Year 2, such changes will require formal
modifications, through NAU’s Office of
Grant & Contract Services
 Initiate/facilitate through your designated
Site Support Specialist
 www.azk12.org/events
 Task 5.2 Professional
Development
 Do not pay the fee - use
discount code GearUp
 Associated travel costs
are budgeted for in 5.2
The greatest cost share
impact a GEAR UP school
can have is to ensure that a
teacher-led team of students
competes in the Real World
Design Challenge (RWDC)
www.realworlddesignchallenge.org
Questions?
BONUS CONTENT:
SPECIAL TOPICS
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Teacher Time
Volunteers
Discounts
Facilities
Pro-Rating
Travel
SPECIAL TOPIC: TEACHER TIME
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Generally, teacher salaries and benefits cannot count as match
because they are not directly related to the GEAR UP grant
If, however, teachers are being paid by the school district or are
volunteering their time to conduct activities outside their normal
duties that are specifically related to the GEAR UP grant, the
portion of their salary and benefits related to those activities may
count as match
Teacher match must be work that: (1) is during unpaid school
hours, and (2) is in addition to expected paid tasks
SPECIAL TOPIC: VOLUNTEERS

Professional services provided to GEAR UP at no cost can be
valued at that professional’s rate of pay and benefits
EX: attorney speaking at a career fair

Options when individuals do unpaid work for GEAR UP outside
of their profession:
● Value it at what is normally paid for that work by your
organization, or the value of that type of work in the local area
● Use the value of volunteer time for Arizona (currently $20.08 per hr)
www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time
EX: attorney chaperoning
a college visit
SPECIAL TOPIC: DISCOUNTS
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Discounts and/or waived fees can
count as match, with proper attention to detail
Must be properly documented: ask vendors, in
their quotes and/or invoices, to specify the
exact amount of the discount they are
providing, and indicate that it is specifically
for GEAR UP
If the valuation is not that clear from vendor
documentation, supplement it with a cost
share contribution form
SPECIAL TOPIC: FACILITIES
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Facility use (and donated space) on
either an ongoing or single-event basis may be
reported as cost share if the space used by
GEAR UP would otherwise be made available
to outside entities for rent or lease based on a
pre-determined rate
The value associated with use of space must
be arrived at using that documented rate
Must be properly documented - use a “Cost
Share Contribution Form”
SPECIAL TOPIC: PRO-RATING
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The “allocable” test: GEAR UP costs / cost share must be incurred
to support / advance the work of GEAR UP (i.e. a work plan task)
If the benefits of a good or service extend beyond the GEAR UP
cohort, pro-rate the associated costs / cost share (apply it in
proportion to relative benefits, approximated through reasonable
methods)
The “room on the bus” caveat: it is not necessary to pro-rate if the
primary reason a good or service is procured is to satisfy a GEAR
UP objective, and the benefits spill over to others
SPECIAL TOPIC: TRAVEL

When traveling, follow your district’s policies and procedures;
typical travel costs include:
● Registration (register early!)
● Air Fare (coach class ticket, lowest possible fare)
● Hotel (approved conference rate)
● Meals & Incidental Expenses (meals during travel status not provided by conference host)
● Other (mileage, airport parking/shuttles, etc.)

Travel costs not in the approved work plan and budget will not be
reimbursed; they may be contributed as cost share if specifically
approved, in writing and in advance, by the Arizona GEAR UP
Project Director