Updated Grant Budget Template
Monmouth University’s Grant Budget Template has been updated. The updates include the dollar amounts for student wages and graduate assistant amounts and the course release line has been revised. The course release line is based on a faculty’s annual contractual work load.
The Grant Budget Template is a user-friendly and efficient way for the principal investigator to develop a budget and to standardize the way grant budgets are developed across Monmouth University. While the Grant Budget Template should be used in conjunction with all new proposals for Monmouth’s internal grant proposal approval process, it does not replace sponsor-required budget forms. The Grant Budget Template must always be uploaded into the Etrieve internal approval system as well as the sponsor-required budget forms. Please read the instructions within the Grant Budget Template before starting your budget. It is recommended to start with the personnel, subawards, and consultant pages first. These pages will automatically carry data over to the summary page. The rest of the budget line items will be on the summary page.
What Is a Budget?
In the most simplified terms, a budget is an anticipated list of project costs that represent the principal investigator’s best estimate of the funds needed to support the work described in a grant or contract proposal. A more elaborate definition of a grant budget is a detailed financial plan that outlines the estimated expenses for a proposed project or program. A well-crafted budget demonstrates to funders that you understand the financial aspects of your project and can manage funds effectively. This is important!
Key Points to Consider When Developing a Budget
- Start thinking about your budget requirements early.
- Just start listing everything you need down and then put everything into budget categories.
- The most common budget categories are as follows:
- Personnel Costs: includes salaries and wages for project staff, as well as fringe benefits. It’s important to detail each position and the percentage of time devoted to the project.
- Equipment: covers the purchase of equipment necessary for the project. Only non-construction related equipment should be included here.
- Supplies: includes consumable items needed for the project, such as materials and supplies that will be used during the project duration.
- Travel: consists of itemizing travel expenses for project personnel, detailing the purpose of travel and how costs were calculated (e.g., airfare, lodging, meals). The Grant Budget Template will automatically calculate mileage costs for you.
- Consultant Services: includes the costs associated with hiring consultants or subcontractors if external expertise is required.
- Indirect Costs: These are expenses that cannot be directly attributed to a specific project but are necessary for the overall operation of the organization, such as administrative salaries and facility maintenance. Please see below for a more detailed explanation.
- Align your budget with funder expectations, which can impact the success of your proposal.
- Understand the Funder’s Priorities – review their mission, values, and funding priorities to tailor your budget accordingly.
- Focus on Measurable Outcomes – specify clear, measurable objectives to demonstrate the impact of your program.
- Identify Key Budget Priorities – assess your project’s needs and objectives to allocate funds effectively.
- Establish Key Performance Indicators – set measurable targets for each budget item to track progress.
- Review past grant solicitations to project future funding levels. Utilizing examples of successful grant budgets can help in crafting your own.
By following these steps, you can create a budget that not only meets the financial needs of your project but also resonates with the values and goals of your donors, increasing the likelihood of securing funding.
Other Parts of a Good Budget
- Budget Justification (or Narrative or Description) is the written description of the types of individual costs that make up a larger budget category and the cost estimation methods used in preparing the budget. The budget justification provides an item-by-item breakdown of costs, explaining the necessity and basis for each expense, and demonstrates that the project is well conceived in detail. Essentially, it serves to “sell” the program idea by clarifying how funds will be utilized effectively. Your budget and your narrative must align. It is considered a fatal flaw if they don’t align.
- Budget Adjustment refers to the process of modifying a financial plan to accommodate changes in income, expenses, or circumstances by moving funds from one category or line item to another. The revisions to your budget reflect new information or conditions, ensuring that your financial goals remain achievable. This process is essential for maintaining financial stability and adapting to unexpected expenses or changes in lifestyle. Best practices state that no one budget line item can be changed more than 10% or a budget modification needs to be made to the grant funder.
- Budget Modifications – is any change in the dollar amounts of budget line items that do not alter the overall total grant amount awarded. This can include reallocations of funds from one restricted category to another within the same budget or between budgets, as well as adjustments to specific line items to address overspending or financial needs. Budget modifications over 10% are typically formal requests to the funder with the understanding that the modification does not change the project’s scope or objectives. They will require approval from the funder.
Indirect Cost Rates
Monmouth University’s indirect cost rate is 47%. The organizational indirect cost rate percentage is negotiated with a cognizant government agency and used with other government agencies when applying for grants as per OMB Circular A-21. This percentage represents the costs related to expenses incurred in conducting or supporting research or other externally-funded activities not directly attributable to a specific project. In other words, the overhead dollar amount of your program or project such as general administration (accounting, payroll, purchasing, etc.), sponsored project administration expenses, depreciation or use allowance for buildings and equipment, and student administration and services. Overhead refers to the facilities and administration used for your specific program/project. Indirect cost rates should not be confused with Fringe Benefits which are employee nonwage benefits paid by the employer. (Ex: FICA, worker’s compensation, withholding tax, insurance, etc.).
Monmouth University will apply the maximum allowed indirect costs to all grants and this amount should be included in all grant application budgets. The provost and senior vice president for academic affairs has the final approval to change this rate and is discussed prior to approval with the department chair, school dean, and the finance department as indicated when approval signatures are affixed on the grant routing sheet through Etrieve. Your budget and your proposal must go through the internal Etrieve approval process.
The University will distribute indirect costs recovered from an external grant to further recognize, support, and stimulate sponsored research and programs as well as show an understanding and appreciation for the contribution and effort of all that ensure the success of sponsored research programs. Please note that indirect costs/overhead funds are awarded to the institution, Monmouth University reserves the right to change the above policy at any time or to make exceptions to it on an individual basis.
Changing Your Indirect Cost Rate
As a principal investigator, you can create a budget with a lower indirect cost rate as long as you justify the change to Monmouth University in three different places. First on the grant budget template, then in the budget justification (remember this must align with the budget), and then in the Etrieve routing cover sheet in the comments section. Your reasons for changing the indirect cost rate can be as simple as wanting to be more competitive, following the funders guidelines on the subject, or matching collaborating institutions’ budget reasoning. The reasons will vary, the approval process will not. Remember that your department chair, school dean, and the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs will all need to approve this before your budget even gets to the finance department for approval.
Personnel Costs
Course Releases
Course release(s) are required for grant related work that will be conducted during the academic year (September through June). Course releases need to be approved with your chair, dean, and provost. This should be discussed early in the approval process.
Summer Salary
Summer salary covers grant related work that will be performed during July and/or August. Monmouth University defines summer salary as compensation paid during the summer period to a faculty member in excess of their academic-year salary. This compensation is awarded for work performed during the summer months of July and August, which is outside the academic year. Summer salaries are calculated based on a percentage of the faculty member’s official institutional base salary and are subject to specific regulations and grant terms. Faculty members must adhere to the terms of their grant or contract, ensuring that any summer salary is for actual work performed during the summer.
When a faculty member is a 10-month employee, they must enter a “2” under the numbers of months worked in the Grant Budget Template. The template will automatically calculate 2/10 or 1/5 of your base salary. Your yearly salary is divided by 10 months of working equaling a per month rate times two months to equal your summer salary. For an example see below:
- $100,000 divided by 10 months = $10,000 per month
- $10,000 x 2 months = $20,000
- $20,000 is your summer salary for July and August.
Please Note: that the maximum 1/10 per month is based off of the current fiscal year base salary and the maximum 2/10 of total summer salary is based on all income sources including base salary, summer sessions, grants, additional payments, etc.