Call me a #grantnerd, but I love sharing “lessons learned” grant spending stories! In a past case study, I wrote of the major areas of non-compliance revealed by the Department of Justice when over $20 million dollars of grant spending earmarked for mentoring at-risk youth through Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS) of Philadelphia did not get documented […]
compliance training
3 Areas for Grant Management Improvement
I recently checked back following a shocking report on the condition of federal grant management in the City of Detroit following their bankruptcy. And I was so happy to see how they were turning around their lack of federal award compliance Not only are their efforts bearing fruit from a grant management improvement standpoint–but even […]
What is Prior Approval
When you work with federal grants, it’s just a matter of time before someone says “We need the prior approval of the funder” to do this or that. But this vague term “prior approval” may leave you wondering two important questions when you manage grants: When does 2 CFR Part 200 aka the Uniform Guidance […]
What is an Advance?
An advance for a federal grant is a payment method where the funder pays the non-Federal entity in advance of spending the grant funds. (Doesn’t that sound better than waiting for a reimbursement?) § 200.3 Advance payment. Advance payment means a payment that a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity makes by any appropriate payment […]
7 Basics of Internal Control Grant Managers Should Know
So you got a federal grant Internal Control . Are you wondering what comes next? One part of managing your federal awards is to make sure that your organization has strong internal controls in place Internal Control . So, if you are feeling a little uncertain about what that means to you, I put together […]
What the IG Report on the FBI and DOJ Can Teach Us About Internal Controls
Next week I will be speaking at the AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference on “How to Build Trust with Internal Controls.” As I began wading through the 568 pages of the DOJ Inspector General Report on the Actions by the FBI and DOJ, (Yes, I am that kind of geek) I was struck by the common […]