Lyvier Conss, Executive Director

Community College National Center

For Community Engagement

How to Manage a Grant and Stay in Compliance

The Center provides the following services:CCNCCE seeks financial assistance (cash and in-kind) to support service

learning and civic engagement programs addressing some of the following topics, but not limited to:

Provides on-site training and technical assistance at community college campuses throughout the entire U.S. and abroad on various topics including how to connect institutional mission and/or strategic plans to service-learning; guidance on how to connect accreditation guidelines to service learning; service learning program development and expansion, community partnerships, and fundraising, grant development and management, and training for pre and post award compliance.

Submits innovative grant proposals to various public and private funding sources and subsequently provides financial assistance to community colleges to support campus service learning and civic engagement programs.

Hosts an annual national conference and regional workshops with special emphasis for community college faculty and staff.

Presents on best practices at local, regional, and national conferences.

Produces an on-line peer reviewed journal.

Partners with local, regional and national public and private organizations to promote and further service-learning and civic engagement.

Recognizes outstanding service learning partnerships through its National Collaboration Award program.

Serves as a voice to further community college involvement in service-learning and civic engagement throughout higher education.

College access, retention, and completion

Workforce development

Economic development

Leadership

Capacity building

Strategic planning

Staff and faculty development

Research and evaluation

Fundraising and grant writing

Fund development, management, and compliance

Curriculum development

Partnership development

Service-learning scholarships

Service-learning faculty stipends

Civic Engagement

Mentoring (secondary and post-secondary students)

Tutoring (secondary and post-secondary students)

Domestic Violence Prevention

Environmental Sustainability

Green building

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Health: Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity Prevention, Dental Care and Hygiene

Emergency preparedness and rebuilding

Animal Cruelty Prevention

Hunger

Homelessness

Student Philanthropy

International service-learning

The Community College National Center for Community Engagement is a national organization with a 21 year history of successfullydeveloping and managing innovative partnerships and disseminating lessons learned throughout the higher education community. An outcome of the mission of the CCNCCE is to support and promote the pedagogy of service-learning, a teaching method which combines academic instruction with community service as it focuses on increasing college access and completion, academic achievement and engagement, critical and reflective thinking and civic responsibility.

Overview of Community Colleges

o100+ years, unique to U.S.

o6.5 million students

o45 percent of all undergraduates

oOver 1100 community colleges

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Why seek private and public monies?

•Scholarships

•Endowments

•Special Projects and Initiatives

•Support Innovation

•Maintain existing academic and student programs

•Capitol

Types of FundingPublic

•Federal

•State

•County

•City

•Normally Restricted

Private• Foundations

• Corporations

• Gifts

• Planned Giving

• Contracts

• In-kind

• Can be restricted and unrestricted

Federal Funding

Community College Students

• Over 50 percent of students attend a community college

• 35 percent of federal Pell grants

• 9 percent of federal student loans

Community Colleges

• 70 percent have established grants offices

• Receive 10 percent of federal funding to postsecondary education

6

Federal Funding Task Force

Federal Agency Department of Education (ED)

Department of Labor (DOL)

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Competition Name Student Support Services (SSS)

Community Based Jobs Training (CBJT)

Advanced Technical Education (ATE)

Fiscal Year 2009-2010 2008-2009 2008-2009

Total Awards 946 69 138

Award Amount $300,525,678 $124,930,400 $51,600,000

Awards to Community Colleges

294 50 101

Award Amount to Community Colleges

$87,971,762 $89,347,710 Not listed

Percent Awarded to Community Colleges

31% 72% 73%7

Source: Council for Resource Development

Funding for Communing Colleges from Private Monies (foundations, corporations, endowments, gifts)

Postsecondary Education Donations

• All Time High ($28 billion annually)

• Community Colleges Share (2 percent/$560,000,000)

• Community Colleges Educate Half of Postsecondary Education Students in the U.S.

Community College Times, 1/8/08

Largest Community College Endowments• California: $266 million serving 2.6 million

• $102/student

• 12 credits: $240

• Endowed/student/12 credit hours: 43%

• Miami Dade: $209 million serving 165,000

• $1,267/student

• 12 credits: $811

• Endowed/student/12 credit hours: 156%

• Maricopa: $25 million serving 260,000

• $96/student

• 12 credits: $852

• Endowed/student/12 credit hours: 11%

Community College Grants Offices

• Resource development characteristics

• Most established in the 1980s and 1990s

• Community college grants offices are fragmented and understaffed

• Administrators require a greater understanding of the grant seeking process 10

Community College Faculty

• Primary role is teaching

• Increased emphasis on scholarly activity

• Grant writing and grant management are challenging

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Managing A Grant• Grant management begins PRIOR to applying for a grant

• Should align with college mission, vision, priorities, strategic plan, and accreditation

• Proper college procedures for seeking funding should be followed, whether for public or private funding:

• Submission of Pre-approval forms

• Submission of Required forms by funder

• Appropriate signatures for applying and accepting awards

• Being realistic of what it takes to manage grant (small, large, HUGE, and individual vs. consortia)

• Commitments by institution during and beyond grant period

Institutional and Principal Investigators Responsibilities for managing grant

• Grant award is based on proposed application, if not it needs to be re-negotiated and new outcomes and budget need to be updated, prior to acceptance of award. Otherwise, funder will expect original outcomes for a lesser amount of award.

• All parties (internal and external) involved in grant need to receive training on objectives and outcomes for the proposal; timelines and programmatic and budget reporting process.

• All parties involved in grant are qualified to participate in grant including passing necessary clearances (epls.gov, fingerprinting, terrorist, etc)

• Important to develop a strong and open relationship with program officer from funding source.

What gets Principal Investigators and Institutions in Trouble

• Not meeting programmatic and fiscal reporting deadlines

• Not meeting goals, objectives and outcomes

• Not adhering to IRB rules

• Replacing principal investigator without pre-approval by funder

• Over spending budget

• Under spending budget

• Matching grant with unallowable funds

• Supplanting and co-mingling funds

• Embezzlement

Consequences of non-compliance to Principal Investigator and Institution

• Suspended from doing business with funder

• Debarred from doing business from funder

http://www.EPLS.gov

• Repayment of Grant

• Go to PRISON

http://www.cncsig.gov/InvestigativeNews.html

Forms to Help Keep You in Compliance

• Scope of Work for all parties (internal and external) involved in grant.

• Distribution of funders and institutions policies, provisions, laws as they affect the program and budget of grant.

• Quarterly Progress Reports (Even if funder only requires annual reports. Quarterly reports help identify problems early on in project)

• Designated secured webpage for all parties involved in grant to share updates, maintain forms they need to fill out, post concerns, etc..

Forms (con’t)

• Site visit forms for trainers

• Photo and Report Release Forms

• Reimbursement forms for consultants, trainers, etc.

• Time and Effort Forms for P.I., faculty, staff (If salary is being charged to grant or used as match – see sample)

• Timelines for deliverables

• Sample of allowable match monies

Example of Match Documentation Guidelines Match must be reportable. You must have a method for tracking it and calculating its cost. Your match for the grant cannot come from other federal monies. Your match documentation must add up to the amount you are claiming as "Recipient Share" on your Financial Status Report.

Suggested Method for

Calculating

Suggested Supporting

DocumentationDescription

1) Salary/Benefits

Maintain monthly time and

attendance records. Determine

total hours worked on grant and

multiply by actual hourly wage

(salary &

benefits).

OR:

Determine percentage of time

spent on

program. Multiply actual

salary/benefits expense for the

period by percentage of effort.

Usually used

if time is not more than 5% to

10%.

Time and Effort sheet

signed by supervisor. Copy

of hourly rate used.

OR:

Certification of percentage

of time worked on program

signed by supervisor. Copy

of actual salary expense for

the period.

2) Supplies and

Equipment

Copies of invoices,

including proof of

funding source.

3) Postage,

Telephone, and

Printing

Copies of invoices if using

outside vendors. If internal,

a copy of log, including # of

pieces/calls, rate used by

institution, date, etc.

4) Waived Rental

Space

Determine square footage of

space x percentage of time used

for grant x rental rate. If rental

rate is not available from

institution, attempt to obtain at

least 3 written quotes for the

going rate for similar space and

conditions in the area.

Copy of rental rate from

institution or quotes,

whichever is used for

calculation. Support for

square footage. If used for

meetings, a copy of agenda

including date and length

of meeting.

5) Waived or

Reduced

Consultant Fees

The difference between the

normal rate and discount rate

can be claimed for match. If

hourly, track number of hours

worked and multiply by in-

kind rate (normal rate -

discounted rate)

Copy of letter/invoice from

consultant stating normal

rate and corresponding

discounted rate.

6) Travel

Copy of travel

reimbursement and/or

invoices.

7) Waived Indirect

Costs

The difference between the

negotiated indirect

cost rate and the amount

claimed for indirect

costs can be claimed for

waived indirect. Must

be calculated on actual direct

expenses incurred for the

period.

Copy of Negotiated Indirect

Cost rate agreement and

support for direct

expenses used in calculation.

EXAMPLE OF EFFORT DOCUMENTATION FORM

Employee Name:

Name of Grant:

Grant Account Number:

COLLEGE

QUARTER JAN – MAR APR – JUN JLY – SEP OCT – DEC

(circle)

FISCAL YEAR 09-10 10-11 11-12(circle)

% of my effort devoted to the NAME OF GRANT grant activities *

(broad categories of activities performed during the reporting period identified

above)•

•

•* Note: % of effort cannot exceed time authorized by the grant

I certify to the best of my knowledge that this is a reasonable distribution of effort contributed to this program for this employee for the

period indicated.

_________________________________________

Project Director’s (PD’s) signature Date

OR Supervisor if form is completed by PD

% of my effort devoted to regularly assigned college funded duties

% of my effort devoted to other grants: (list only % of effort and name of

grant)

% __________________________________

% __________________________________

% Total (% of effort must add to 100%)

I confirm that this is an accurate distribution of effort/work contributed for the period

indicated. __________________________________________

Employee’s signature Date

GRANT PROJECT SELF-ASSESSMENT

• Are activities related to accomplishment of objectives progressing on schedule?

• Is there any indication of a failure to perform? Any significant problems?

• Is the budget significantly under-spent or overspent, both by line item and total?

• Have any budget amendments been made? Did the Grants Office and Grants Accounting receive copies? Did the Program Officer approve the amendments and was documentation of that approval shared with both the Grants Office and Grants Accounting?

• Have some project activities been adversely affected by slow startup and unfilled positions?

•If the project serves participants, do you

know the eligibility requirements and do

all participants meet the eligibility

requirements?

•Has the project established and is it

maintaining a data collection system to

collect appropriate data needed to

document success, report performance

and evaluate the project?

•What are you doing to collaborate with

partners?

•Are grant project key personnel and/or PI

team working together effectively and

productively?

•Do you keep your supervisor and the

District Grants Office informed about new

developments, progress, setbacks and

significant problems?

GRANT PROJECT SELF-ASSESSMENT• Are you implementing evaluator

or program officer recommendations?

• Is your project supplanting, co-mingling funds, or making unauthorized expenditures?

• If matching is required, is the project compiling appropriate data to document match?

• Are you implementing the effort reporting requirements?

• Does your project follow proper administrative procedures for getting things done?

• Are reports of high quality and submitted on time?

• Are you working cooperatively and keeping District Grants Office and Grants Accounting informed about problems, planned changes, and communications with the funding source?

• Have Principal Investigators and Project Director involved in your project completed the required Human Subjects Research training and application for their project?

Thank You for Your Attention

Lyvier ConssExecutive Director

Community College National Center for Community Engagement

1025 N. Country Club Dr. Suite 320Mesa, Arizona 85201480-461-6280 phone

480-461-6284 faxConss@mesacc.edu

http://www.mesacc.edu/engagement