Changes and Contracted Services
Budget and Programmatic Changes
When the College accepts a grant, it commits to spending grant funds and performing programmatic activities leading to the achievement of specific outcomes as described in the original grant proposal approved by the funder.
Each grant has a detailed budget that serves as the initial grant spending plan, with associated GL codes to guide the allocation of grant expenditures. Even if you are a seasoned Fund 1 budget manager you will find that managing a grant budget is a very different experience. Many grants have specific requirements and restrictions regarding purchases, budget transfers and requests for prior approval that do not apply when managing a College operating budget.
As you spend your grant funds, always remember that grant budget expenditures should be clearly and directly related to the project activities and timeline. Project directors are responsible for monitoring their budget and expenditures regularly, and for comparing their own project records to the College's official finance records available online.
Although the approved grant proposal serves as the blueprint for your project, occasionally project activities may need some adjustment. Changing an activity may impact the approved scope of work, requiring prior approval from the funder, so it is important not to make this type of change without consulting with the Grants Department for a thorough assessment and guidance regarding the potential impact of the proposed change.
If you have any question about whether a purchase is allowable, or if you think you may need a budget transfer or programmatic change, first, call or email William Osborne in the Grants Department at ext. 4631. He can help you understand the basis for making such decisions. In addition to the support provided by the Grants Department, the College provides a variety of internal individual and small group grants management training programs that are available to project managers and staff.
Consultants and Contractual Services
Proceed with caution! Many grants have restrictions on the use of consultants and contractual services; always check your approved proposal to see if these services are already included in your activity and are part of your grant budget. This is especially important for project directors who manage grant funds that originate at the federal level, because governmentwide grant compliance regulations were overhauled effective Dec. 26, 2014, and many of those changes impact procurement. If your grant includes funding allocated for subrecipient organizations, the Grants Department will work with the project director as well as with the College's Legal and Finance departments to generate and execute a subrecipient agreement and a subrecipient monitoring process. The Grants Department maintains a subrecipient agreement template that is customized based on the scope of work, budget and requirements of each specific grant, and the conditions in the subrecipient agreement inform the development of a risk-based subrecipient monitoring plan appropriate to the grant requirements.
It is important to remember that in addition to the regulations that govern your grant, grants must follow all College and state policies and procedures, including those established for purchasing goods and services.
Please visit the Purchasing Department website to find valuable information such as the Employee Resources and the Purchasing Manual. If you have questions about whether the use of grant funds to purchase contractual or consultant services is allowable, call or email William Osborne at ext. 4631 (prior to contracting with your consultant or contractor) to discuss your plans and the possible options permitted under your grant award.