Preparing a Budget Session 4 of the Grant Writing Workshop Series

1. Preparing a BudgetSession 4 of the Grant Writing Workshop Series Nancy L. Cruikshank Director, Grants & Sponsored Research Slippery Rock University

2. Where to start • Read sponsor’s guidelines to determine any funding limits, ineligible expenses, etc. • Determine any cost share or matching funds required • Go through your proposal to determine expected costs • Review sponsor’s forms, if available, for specific “line items” to use

3. Budget development • Be realistic, ask for what you need but don’t be excessive – also don’t shortchange yourself • Clearly indicate for what the funds will be used • Expenses must relate to the project activities

4. Common budget categories • Personnel costs • Travel • Equipment • Supplies • Consultant costs • Subcontractor(s) • Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A) or Indirect Costs

5. Personnel • Salary support for faculty • During the academic year, release time or dual compensation • During the summer, number of weeks of summer contract • Salary support for students • Current wage is $7.25/hour • Number of students x number of hours • Salary support for graduate assistant(s) • Currently $2,000/semester for full-time • Include tuition waiver if allowed by sponsor

6. Personnel, cont. • Fringe benefits (sometimes a separate line item) • During the academic year, 35% of salary • During the summer or for dual compensation, 18% of salary • Students during the academic year – no fringe benefits • Students during the summer, 7.65% of salary • Graduate assistants – no fringe benefits

7. Travel • Costs for travel to conduct project, i.e., mileage, etc. • Dissemination of results at conferences, i.e., registration fees, airfare, hotel, meals, etc. • Could be for both faculty and students

8. Equipment • Defined as a single item with a cost of $5,000 or more and a life expectancy of 1 year or more • Refer to sponsor’s guidelines to determine if their definition of equipment is different

9. Supplies • Include all supplies necessary to conduct project, including “equipment” less than $5,000

10. Consultant costs • Any non-employee that will provide direct service to the project, i.e, independent evaluator, web designer, etc.

11. Subcontractor(s) • Any outside company or university that will provide direct services to the project • Quote from outside company should be obtained • Faculty consultants from another university using their university’s resources should be listed as a subcontractor • Grants Office will work directly with the grants office at other university to obtain their approved budget

12. Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) • Also referred to as indirect/overhead costs or administrative fee • Real costs to SRU (utilities, staff support, etc.) • Use SRU’s Federally-negotiated rate if allowed by sponsor • SRU must accept sponsor’s overhead rate if stated in their guidelines

13. Cost Share or Matching Funds • Mandatory – an eligibility requirement by the sponsor • Voluntary – proposed by the grant writer • Cash contribution – actual dollars to be spent • In-kind contribution – do not require a cash outlay but represent real dollars (i.e., volunteer time, personnel time, tuition waiver for graduate assistant, etc.) • All cost share or matching funds must be approved prior to submission of proposal

14. Budget Justification/Narrative • Written description of each line item • Must match dollar amount of line item exactly • Extremely important to assist reviewers with understanding the costs of the project

15. In summary… • Read sponsor’s guidelines carefully for any budget restrictions • Use sponsor’s forms if supplied • Check and re-check addition – don’t rely on Excel to calculate totals correctly • Be realistic in anticipating costs – reviewers know when you are adding “fluff” • Budgets are projected costs – when project is funded there may be restrictions on what can or cannot be revised