Congratulations on your new grant! The Foundation & Corporate Relations (FCR) Office is happy to work with you to ensure that your grant project is a success. Please review the following information about your grant, and please sign the final page to indicate that you agree to follow the guidelines below.
CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS
- By accepting a grant, the college is contracting with the funder, and we are legally obligated to do what is set out in the grant proposal. The college is the fiscal agent for grants. On behalf of the college, you must comply with the funder’s requirements, including budgetary restrictions. Most funders require an officer of the college to sign a contract (sometimes called a grant agreement) to formalize this.
- If, for any reason, you cannot fulfill any proposed actions, or if you would like to take a different approach than that outlined in your proposal, we will likely need to contact the funder for approval. Please contact the FCR Office to discuss changes you are considering from your proposal as you implement the grant. Based on the grant contract and the specific foundation’s practices, we will determine if approval from the funder is necessary. If so, the FCR Office will contact the funder for approval.
- Grant funders expect you to follow not only the guidelines for their particular foundation or agency and grant program, but also the college’s policies and guidelines for your grant work. Please review the policies and procedures on this website that include the policies most likely to overlap with grant work. In addition, the Faculty Handbook includes many college policies, and this section includes general college policies. Please contact the FCR Office if you have questions about other college policies that are not included on these sites.
| Tip: Take some time to re-read your proposal and budget to remind yourself what you proposed you would do to complete your project. If you think you’ll need to make changes, please contact the FCR Office. |
Budget
- If you receive a federal grant, Margi Crate in Finance is required to send you a quarterly financial report. You must review this report promptly to ensure that funding is on track and to identify any issues with spending. If you do not have a federal grant, we will discuss with Margi during the initial grant meeting how to structure the periodic reviews of your financial reports.
- If you are not sure whether something you plan to charge to your grant is allowable, ALWAYS check with the FCR Office. We will review your grant contract to determine if the expense is allowable, contacting the funder as needed.
- If your grant includes travel or entertainment of guests, please check Allegheny’s Travel and Entertainment Expense Guidelines and Per Diem Guidelines for a list of allowable/non-allowable expenses.
- If you plan to purchase any equipment over $10,000, you must submit three bids to Finance and explain your purchases.
- Funders expect all grant funds to be expended by the end of the grant term. If you are nearing the end of your grant term and think you may have grant funds remaining, please contact the FCR Office so we can discuss your options.
Publicizing your grant
- Funders have different rules regarding publicity (i.e., some funders prefer to remain anonymous), and it is important to follow your funder’s media guidelines and other publicity requirements. ALWAYS contact the FCR Office before publicizing your grant both internally and externally.
Reports
- Most funders require periodic reports detailing what you have accomplished and how you have spent grant funds. The FCR Office will send you a reminder about one month before your report is due. We will also review report drafts and help with report submission. Some foundations require report templates, so check with our office to make sure you are using the correct format for your report. Please have draft reports to us two weeks before the due date so we can review them.
Signature page
- After the FCR Office reviews the Grant Management Guidelines with you, they will ask you to sign this signature page. The document will be added to the grant file.
CONTACTS
- Please copy the FCR Office on any correspondence to other offices regarding management of your grant. The following list indicates the office to contact for specific grant questions:
- Budget questions (receipts, invoices, account questions): Finance Office
- Student employment questions: Financial Aid Office
- Summer student housing questions: Residence life
- Any other questions related to managing your grant: FCR Office
We are happy to help, so please call the FCR Office with any questions.
| Dr. Amber Pouliot Director, Foundation & Corporate Relations (814) 332-2233 apouliot@allegheny.edu |
Heather Grubbs Associate Director, Foundation & Corporate Relations (814) 332-2348 hgrubbs@allegheny.edu |
Kate Bennett Office Coordinator, Foundation & Corporate Relations (814) 332-3864 kbennett@allegheny.edu |
Foundation & Corporate Relations Office
fcr@allegheny.edu
More information about the responsibilities of project directors and principal investigators is available in the College’s Policy for Management of Data Obtained from Extramurally Sponsored Research.