Grant Development Procedures Post-Funding Procedures Grant Management Procedures

The college has included diversification of its funding base as one of its five goals for the next few years. State funding alone will not support a national model community college. Therefore, faculty and staff are actively encouraged to seek outside funding for activities and programs that are vital to the college.

The following procedures are designed to assist this process:

1. Individuals who have identified needs for outside funding are encouraged to contact the Grants Office even before a source of funding is identified.

The Grants Office keeps a file on such funding needs, and will relay information about funding sources as it is received. Faculty and staff should also inform their campus administrators and colleagues of identified needs for funding.

2. The Grants Office can help with the development of a generic proposal and can often help identify potential funding sources. Some ideas for proposals for grant-funding originate within the Grants Office.

Agencies regularly allow as little as two weeks to one month between announcement of availability of funding and the submission of a complete proposal. This is often insufficient time to fully develop an idea, unless a great deal of work has been done ahead of time. In addition, given time, the Grants Office can involve interested individuals in appropriate collaborative projects.

3. Once a potential source of funding is identified, individuals intending to seek grant funding must notify the Grants Office and must send the Grants Office a copy of the RFP (request for proposals). All requests for grant funding for college activities must come through the Grants Office.

4. Once a decision is made to seek funding, all appropriate administrators must be informed about the funds being sought. This is the responsibility of the individual developing the proposal, not the Grants Office.

5. Almost every RFP lists a series of requirements for the proposal. Every proposal should address each of these requirements in order and clearly labeled. The Grants Office can assist individuals in doing this. The TCC logo must appear on the cover of all grant proposals, unless the cover is a form required by the funder.

6. Every grant proposal must indicate a grant project director or co-directors. In the case where such a project director is to be hired, the proposal must name a contact person who will oversee the project until hiring is completed.

7. The Grants Office should be involved in the development of the grant budget, from the beginning of the planning process.

Members of the Grants Services Team can assist individuals with specific aspects of the budget process.

8. Fringe benefits for all employees must be included in both funds requested and any other college match. Fringe benefits for part-time individuals, including release time, are always 7.65%. Fringe benefits for full-time individuals vary. The Human Resource Grants Services Team representative should be contacted for assistance in determining fringe benefits for full-time.

9. The Grants Office can provide varying degrees of assistance in developing the proposal, depending on what the proposal is and what help is needed. Occasionally, assistance can be provided with the writing of the proposal. However, most proposals are written by those individuals who will be directing the projects.

10. Most grant budgets include a college match or other commitments of funds. Every item included in the match must be approved by whichever individual controls the budget to which the match will be charged. The names of those who approve the match should be indicated by the project director on the Grant Proposal Check-Off Sheet. Click on Grant Proposal Check-Off Sheet to view this form as well as information regarding Cost Sharing.

The Grants Office can help individuals in identifying these sources of matching funds. However, with the exception of funds for technology (which the Grants Office will confirm with the Vice President for Office of Information Systems), gaining approval for matching funds is the responsibility of the proposer.

11. Every grant proposal must be approved through the Grants Office by the Grant Accountant, the appropriate provost (for a campus project), the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, and the Vice President for Finance and Administration. In addition, grant proposals which involve technology must have the approval of the Vice President for Office of Information Systems.

The approval process requires a final budget and a summary of the proposal; it need not await a complete and final proposal. A copy of the form, Grant Proposal Check-Off Sheet, should be clipped to the budget and proposal summary before routing to those individuals who must approve your grant proposal. Adequate time must be allowed for the approval process. Only the Vice President for Finance and Administration and the President have authority to sign grant proposals. Every grant proposal represents the college to the outside world. The Grants Office can assist proposers in assuring that their proposals make the best possible impression. However, the quality of the proposal (content and format) is the responsibility of the individual submitting the proposal.

When preparing correspondence for the President's signature, please follow the standard office practice of indicating at the bottom (below the Enclosure/Attachment line and above the cc: line) the document's originator (initials - all caps) and preparer (initials - lower case).

For example, if the Executive Director for Grants Development drafts a letter for Dr. DiCroce's signature, and someone else prepares or formats the letter, the annotation would be DDH/tf. If the same person is the originator and preparer, only the upper case initials are necessary.

12. The Grants Office submits all approved proposals. Usually these are submitted by overnight, receipt-requested mail. Increasingly proposals are submitted electronically.

13. The Grants Office will assist individuals in submitting revisions to unfunded proposals. Most proposals are funded on a second submission.