Best Practices in Grant Management Riverside Community College District Grants Office

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Best Practices in Grant ManagementRiverside
Community College DistrictGrants Office
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Congratulations on Your Grant Award!
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Initialize

• verb (used with object)
• 1.to set (variables, counters, switches, etc.) to
  their starting values at the beginning of a
  program

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Initialize

• As soon as you are notified of an award, contact
  Grants Accounting to arrange to set up a budget
  in Galaxy
• Michele Arnold extension 8668
• Kathleen Bender extension 8924

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Initialize

• Read, study and know
• Your grant award notification (GAN)
• Your grant narrative, especially your objectives
  and timeline for completion
• Your grant budget
• The terms and conditions that apply to your grant
• Your responsibilities as Project Director

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Initialize

• Complete the Project Director Self-Evaluation to
  identify any areas that need to be addressed
• As soon as possible, schedule a meeting with me
  to receive training in grant management
• Attend all training offered by the Grants Office
• Request assistance whenever you need it

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Initialize

• Before the grant period begins, and as new staff
  are hired, ensure that each individual written
  into the grant program has a clear understanding
  of his/her role and responsibilities in
  achievement of grant objectives, record keeping
  requirements, and general grant and spending
  guidelines

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Initialize

• Know the regulations that apply to your grant
• Refer to your GAN for a list of all regulations
  applicable to the management of your grant
• EDGAR (Education Department General
  Administrative Regulations) is applicable to all
  grants awarded by the U.S. Department of
  Education, and can be found on the web at
  http//www.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.h
  tml

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Initialize

• Office of Management and Budget circular
• A-21 provides guidance pertinent to grant
  management within institutions of higher
  education
• OMB circulars A-110 and A-133 also apply
• OMB circulars can be found on the web at
• www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html

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Initialize

• Staff allocations
• Need to be set up correctly and revised as
  needed. The Change Salary Budget Codes Form is
  used for this. The Department IDS must also
  revise the T/A to correspond with any change.
• Assignments need to be amended immediately when
  they change

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Initialize

• Assignments rollover into subsequent fiscal years
  if they are not amended
• Note You will need to determine if a portion of
  a staff members position is being used for
  matching purposes. You must ensure that the
  combined total of all commitments do not exceed
  100

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Initialize

• Evaluation
• Now is the time to assess the need for and set up
  data collection systems that will be needed for
  formative and summative evaluation activities

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Initialize

• Contract agreements need to be prepared and
  processed
• Sub-awards
• Vendor agreements
• Consultant agreements (e.g. external evaluation
  services)

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Initialize

• Planning for success
• Develop a work plan based on objectives and
  stated timelines for completion
• Work backwards, noting when specific tasks, which
  are related to the larger objectives, must be
  completed
• Take note of internal district deadlines
• (e.g. curriculum committee, board meetings)
• Share work plan with program staff and outside
  consultants measure progress with the plan

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Monitoring Mechanisms

• You will need to monitor
• Progress toward grant objectives and how
  activities and expenditures relate to them
• Staff allocations and the completion of
  corresponding annual personnel statements

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Monitoring Mechanisms

• Expenditures and remaining balances
• Granting agency
• Allowability of expenditures
• Sufficiency of remaining funds to complete all
  work budget projections
• Remaining within transfer privilege
• Galaxy
• All charges are program expenses
• Assess need for budget transfers

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Monitoring Mechanisms

• Match contribution status, if applicable
• If outside partners are involved and we are the
  fiscal agent, you will need to stay apprised of
  the status of all partners in these areas as
  well
• Recommendation require partners to provide
  progress reports at intervals that support
  accurate assessment of program progress

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Monitoring Mechanisms

• Date reports, re-applications, and invoices, if
  required, are due
• Lead time is absolutely necessary to obtain, and
  compile information from staff and outside
  partners, and allow time for the internal college
  review process
• All fiscal reports must be approved by Grants
  Accounting (Michele Arnold or Kathleen Bender)
  before being submitted this includes reports
  submitted electronically or through on-line
  reporting systems

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Budgeting

• Projecting staff costs
• Salaries of permanent staff are encumbered
  through the end of the fiscal year
• Grant year may not correspond with the fiscal
  year
• Costs for hourly staff are not encumbered
• Costs for special projects are not encumbered

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Budgeting

• To obtain salary amounts, you will need to
  contact the following individuals in the payroll
  department
• Cindy Hein A-Ce x8666
• Nikki Olivas Cf-Ge x8925
• Sendy Powell Gf-Kr x8923
• Cathy Bailey Ks-Oh x8662
• Renee Kohls Oi-Sk x8921
• Sue Pagano Si-Z x8667

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Budgeting

• Statutory Benefits
• What are they and how are they incurred?
• Rates can change from year to year. The
  rates for 2008-09 are
• 11.31 for certificated staff
• 18.688 for classified staff
• 9.26 for classified overtime
• 3.06 for hourly staff
• Exceptions related to PERS/STRS membership

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Budgeting

• Health and welfare benefits
• What are they and how are they incurred?
• For health and welfare benefit rate information,
  call Pauline Castro at x3873
• Health and life insurance are paid in ten
  payments, October through June with two payments
  in June
• Dental insurance is paid monthly throughout the
  fiscal year
• Rates usually increase by 10-20 each fiscal year

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Budgeting

• Purchase orders are encumbered. If an entity to
  whom you have authorized funds on a P.O. invoices
  for less than what was encumbered, a request
  needs to be made to disencumber the remaining
  funds

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Budgeting

• In Galaxy, as long as you maintain a neutral or
  positive balance in the major object code
  categories 3XXX, 4XXX, 5XXX and 6XXX, there is no
  reason to cover negatives in individual line
  items
• The exception to this is in the 1XXX and 2XXX
  categories - each individual line item in these
  categories must always be neutral or positive

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Budgeting

• Budget transfers are used to transfer funds
  within Galaxy
• Moving funds within a major object code category
  does not require Board approval
• Moving funds between major object code categories
  does require Board approval
• Budget transfers need to submitted prior to
  established deadlines

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Budgeting

• Time Extensions
• No additional funds granted
• For the purpose of achieving objectives, not just
  to expend leftover funds
• All objectives must be completed within the
  extension period
• No change in scope

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Collaboration

• The Grants Office needs to have copies of all
  grant applications, award notices, approved
  revisions and reports

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Record Keeping

• Each staff member must complete an annual
  personnel statement that corresponds with the
  grant year
• Must be completed after-the-fact
• Actual time, not proposed
• Must account for 100 of the staff members time
• Must have the staff members original signature
  in blue ink or if individual is not available to
  sign, signed by official with knowledge of staff
  members time

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Record Keeping

• Original must be maintained in program records
• Must be completed more often if staff terminate
  or begin employment within the grant year, staff
  allocations change or granting agency requires it
• Templates are available from the Grants Office

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Record Keeping

• All approvals should be in writing, from the
  program officer, and kept for the same period of
  time as other grant records
• All grant records should be retained for a
  minimum of five years from the date the final
  report is submitted

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Closing Out

• Plan in advance for full completion of objectives
• Plan in advance for optimal and appropriate
  spendout of grant funds
• Provide all grant staff with notification of
  layoff required by education code