There are lots of moving parts to keep track of with federal grant management, so I wanted to make it easier for you to find all my favorite tips from my book Decoding Grant Management – The Ultimate Success Guide to the Federal Grant Regulations in 2 CFR Part 200.
Here are seven of my most favorite tips that I have published from the book:
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Types of Federal Awards
Does the idea of a bunch of new grant regulations make you feel unsettled? (Maybe even a little anxious?) Since the founding of the United States, federal grants have historically been seen as a gift with a few conditions thrown in. The federal government didn’t seem to take the concept of performance and accountability too seriously. This is no longer the case.
We have entered a new time in the evolution of grant management, with the OMB Super Circular changes. Some are even calling it “The New Age of Accountability.” In the past, making an effort may have been good enough, but now it is the performance that matters. And the regulations have a role to play in spelling out everyone’s roles and responsibilities.
This post takes a look at the first step in managing grants-understanding what grant money can be used for and the main types of federal awards.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Subrecipient Monitoring
One of the (many) things I found very confusing when I started working in the world of federal grant management is the way the terms subrecipient, subawardee, contractor, subcontractor, and vendor are bandied about, seemingly interchangeably.
It didn’t matter if I was talking with my colleagues or federal agency personnel, there always seemed to be lots of confusion around these terms. And I knew making the distinction was important, because there were very different grant compliance and monitoring requirements, depending on which group they were classified with.
This article looks at the responsibilities for grant recipients to monitor subrecipients.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Revision of Budget and Program Plans
Maybe I’m a dreamer, but I like to believe that it is rare that a grantee would intentionally misuse funds. However, without proper planning and documentation, an organization places itself at risk for misuse of funds.
Prevention of these undesirable outcomes starts at the beginning of the grant application and writing process. Organizations that carefully construct and review the budget delivered to the grantor, making certain that the budget is adequate and realistic in terms of meeting grant requirements will reduce the risk of misuse of federal funds.
But what do you do when things change after the budget is sent to your funding agency?
In this article, I walked through how to handle changes in program plans and budgets with your federal grant.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Competition and Affirmative Steps
“It’s not fair!” This cry is not just for toddlers and politicians. The federal government also jumps in the mix when it comes to federal grants. The Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) requires grant recipients to spread the federal dollars around to businesses that may have been shut out of federal spending in the past.
This article looks at what does this means for your federal grant.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Allowable Costs
I recently had a conversation with a dedicated and innovative engineer about how to receive funding for his organization, which builds specially designed 3D printers to create prosthetic hands for children injured by the effects of war and poverty. It is certainly an admirable and exciting program that could transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable and traumatized citizens in diverse areas of the world.
However, he was focused on the cool technology rather than on the young lives that could be dramatically improved, from a place of hopelessness to one of pride and excitement. He failed to recognize that funders care more about programs and people. Simply put, funders want to fund programs that make a difference and change lives for the better.
This article looks at how you stay in compliance with the rules and keep funders happy.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Adequate Documentation
Like zombies rising from the dead, inadequate documentation has a way of returning to haunt you in an alarming way. Want an example? I recently analyzed a case study where the review of administrative and clerical costs resulted in $1.7 million in costs being deemed unallowable! All those moaning sounds are not just the zombies.
So what makes documentation “adequate” and what are some examples of adequate documentation?
This article gives you several tips.
Decoding Grant Management-Success Tip: Record Retention
Are you facing the “Goldilocks Dilemma” of record retention? Is your record retention too much? Not enough? Or just right?
Wondering which records you need to keep to stay in compliance with the federal grant record-retention requirements and which ones can be tossed?
(Inadequate supporting documentation is an area that gets many federal grant recipients into trouble.)
This article walks you through the basics of record retention for your federal grant under the Uniform Guidance.
I hope this summary has been helpful to you!
Want More Grant Management Tips?
Lucy’s latest book “Decoding Grant Management-The Ultimate Success Guide to the Federal Grant Regulations in 2 CFR Part 200” is now available on Amazon in Kindle version or Paperback.
Author: Lucy M. Morgan, CPA, MBA GPA Approved Trainer
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