Funding FAQs

Each competitive program notice specifies what forms are required in the Required Elements of the Federal Funding Opportunity notice. These forms can be found here and on the Grants.gov website.

The budget narrative submitted with the application and with a budget reprogramming request must match the dollar amounts on all required forms. In other words, Block 15 on the SF-424 must equal total costs identified on the Budget Information SF-424A form which must match the budget narrative. Each calculation must be explained and a narrative must be provided to support each budget category. The following information outlines the detail needed for each cost category. Detailed budget requirements and instructions can be found here.

Personnel:

1. Includes salary and wages (fringe benefits are listed separately)
2. Provide breakdown of personnel by classification (i.e., job title)
3. Identify key investigators (if applicable)
4. State time commitments in hours or percent of time for each person/position
5. List total charges for each person/position with calculations of costs as Federal and/or Non- Federal
6. All personnel costs must be allowable
7. Special considerations to be explained (if applicable)

Fringe Benefits:

1. Identified separately from salaries/wages
2. Provide description of benefits received by personnel when the fringe rate is more than 35 percent of the associated salary
3. Ensure the fringe benefits are charged to Federal and Non-Federal (matching/cost-share) categories in the same proportion as salaries
4. Do not charge separately any costs that are included within the fringe rate or indirect costs

Travel: (Always a big Audit item):

1. Destination
2. Estimated costs and type of transportation
3. Number of travelers and related lodging and subsistence (per diem costs)
4. Briefly describe the travel involved, its purpose, and explain how the proposed travel is necessary for successful completion of the project

(Other travel considerations:)

1. If travel details are unknown, then the basis for proposed costs should be explained (i.e., historical information) – do not “pull numbers out of the air” or list a lump sum estimate.
2. Travel costs can be charged on an actual basis, on a per diem or mileage basis in lieu of actual costs incurred, or a combination of the two if applied consistently and results in reasonable charges.
3. Remember “Fly America Act”
   1. Limits the use of foreign flag carriers not foreign travel
   2. Waiver only allowed for specific instances and may require prior approval

Equipment:

1. “Equipment” is non-expendable, tangible personal property with a unit cost of $5,000.00 or more and has a useful life of more than one year, unless determined otherwise by recipient internal policy.
2. Items that do not meet the “Equipment” definition can be included under supplies
3. List each piece of equipment to be purchased and provide description of how it will be used in the project
4. Budget narrative should explain why the equipment is necessary for successful completion of the project
5. General use equipment (i.e., computers, faxes, etc.) must be used 100% for the proposed project if charged directly to the grant

Supplies:

1. Explanation necessary for supplies: costing more than five thousand dollars, or five percent of the award, whichever is the greater amount.
2. Requirements for supplies which exceed thresholds are:
   • Explain the type of supplies to be purchased, or the nature of the expense in the budget narrative;
   • Provide a breakdown of supplies by quantity and cost per unit if known;
   • Indicate basis for estimate of supplies – i.e., historical use on similar projects.

Contractual:

1. Treat each contract or subgrant as a separate item.
2. Describe products/services to be obtained and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project.
3. Provide separate budgets for each subgrant or contract, regardless of the dollar value and indicate the basis for the cost estimates in the narrative.
4. List all grant or contract costs under the Contractual Line Item on the SF 424-A.
   • Example – do not incorporate the Indirect costs of a subgrantee under the indirect costs line item for the applicant/grantee.

Other:

1. List items by type of material or nature of expense.
2. Break down total costs by quantity and cost per unit if applicable.
3. State necessity of other costs for successful completion of the project.
4. Exclude unallowable costs such as.
   • Alcohol
   • Contingency
   • Entertainment
   • Fund Raising

Indirect Costs:

1. Should be based on an approved Indirect Rate Agreement (IRA) from cognizant Federal Agency:
   • If indirect costs are proposed in the budget, then a current IRA is required.

A cost analysis is needed when a piece of equipment $10,000.00 or above is being purchased.

This analysis will compare the cost of purchasing a piece of equipment against the cost of leasing the same piece of equipment. The benefits of leasing or purchasing should be addressed in this analysis also.

No. All applications must be submitted through the Grants.gov system. The eRA system is set up to receive applications from the Grants.gov system. Only when an application has been awarded are recipients able to use the eRA system for post award tasks.

Here and on the Grants.gov website.

No, multi-year awards are awards which have an award/project period of more than 12 months of activity. Multi-year awards are partially funded when the awards are approved, and are subsequently funded in increments. Funding for each year’s activity is contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress, satisfactory performance, and is at the sole discretion of the agency.

Yes, those institutions with expanded authority can carry over funds to the next year without prior approval from NOAA.

Expanded authority applies to recipients covered under 15 CFR Part 14, Institutions of Higher Education (Colleges and Universities), and Other Non-Profit and Commercial Organizations. Waiver of prior approvals under 15 CFR Part 14.25 applies automatically to awards that support research unless otherwise restricted in the award terms and conditions.

Reprogramming requests include changes in budget categories that do not affect the scope of the project. Prior approval for reprogramming in budget categories is required if the cumulative transfer amount exceeds 10 percent of the last approved total budget, or the transfer will create a new budget category not previously approved by the Grants Officer. For a complete list of items that are waived or require prior approval, please reference (RTC Overlay Only) Research Terms and Conditions Appendix A.  If a prior approval is required, send An After Action Request through Grants Online.

Written request should include:

1. Clear reason for request
2. Line item budget showing the requested change(s)
3. SF424A and Budget Narrative
4. Any other supporting information to assist in the review.

NOAA is following the recommendations of the internal Business Reengineering Process and has implemented a 240 calendar day application processing time. The time begins with the application due date and ends with the award obligation date.

Applicants and recipients should follow this guidance for instructions.

Refer to the Applicant and Recipient guidance.

The difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement is the amount of substantial involvement by the Federal government. A grant has no substantial involvement by the Federal government. The recipient is expected to perform the project without substantial collaboration or intervention by NOAA.

A cooperative agreement anticipates substantial involvement by the Federal government. The recipient can expect substantial collaboration, participation, or intervention in the management of the project by NOAA.

Examples of substantial involvement by NOAA:

• Able to halt an activity immediately if detailed performance specifications are not met;
• Required the recipient to meet or adhere to specific procedural requirements before subsequent stages of a grant project may continue;
• Specific direction or redirection of scope of work due to the inter-relationships with other projects;
• Collaborates with the recipient by working jointly with a recipient scientist or technician in carrying out the scope of work, by training recipient personnel, or detailing Federal personnel to work on the project effort; and/or
• Limits recipient discretion with respect to scope of work, organizational structure, staffing, mode of operations and other management processes, coupled with close monitoring or operational involvement during performance.

Any non-Federal entity that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, except for those non-Federal entities described in Appendix VII to Part 200—States and Local Government and Indian Tribe Indirect Cost Proposals, paragraph (d)(1)(B) may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely. Foreign grantees that do not have a negotiated indirect cost rate may also elect to charge the de minimis rate limited to an indirect cost rate recovery of 10 percent of modified total direct costs, and foreign grantees that have a negotiated rate agreement with a U.S. federal agency may recover indirect costs at the current negotiated rate. 

NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) sets the requirements for the financial reports. All financial reports are due on a semi-annual basis and use the project periods of 4/1 to 9/30 and 10/1 to 3/31. If the award start date begins other than April 1st, or October 1st, then the first report would only be a portion of the reporting period in which the award starts. As an example: take an award period of 9/1/2007 to 8/31/2010, the first semi-annual financial report will cover 9/1/2007 to 9/30/2007, the second financial report covers 10/1/2007 to 3/31/2008, the third financial report covers 4/1/2008 to 9/30/2008, the fourth financial reports covers 10/1/2008 to 3/31/2009, the fifth financial report covers 4/1/2009 to 9/30/2009, the sixth financial report covers 10/1/2009 to 3/31/2010 and the last financial report covers 4/1/2010 to 9/30/2010. Semi-annual financial reports are due to GMD 30 days after the end of each reporting period. Final financial reports are due to GMD 90 days after the award expires.

Since the financial forms are on a set bi-annual schedule, they need to be submitted even if you have not used any grant funds yet. To do so, place zeros in all of the applicable places and submit the form through the eRA Commons.

You have 30 days after the project period end date to submit the annual progress report.

If financial or progress reports are delinquent:

• The ability to draw down funds might be suspended;
• Funded actions (i.e., new applications and requests for additional/continued funding) might be jeopardized; and
• Unfunded requests requiring prior approval from the Grants Officer (GMD) might not be approved; and Debt may be established for the recipient.

The Closeout period is 90 days following the expiration of the award in which the recipient prepares final reports and must make final funding draw downs and payments.

All final reports (financial and performance) should be submitted during the 90 day closeout period unless a request for an extension is submitted to the Grants Office.

Request to extend the closeout period must be sent directly to the Grants Office through the Grants Online system. A closeout extension is usually requested to complete a Final Progress Report and make final payments. These requests are also routed through the program officer.

A Closeout extension should only be requested to complete closeout activities –completion of program activities requires a no-cost time extension to the award.