Proposal Budget Basics

1. Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Research & Sponsored Programs Presents… Proposal Budget Basics

2. Today’s Topics • Staff introductions • Budgets – what are they? • Budget categories • Direct costs • Indirect costs • Cost sharing/Matching • Budget narrative

3. Who We Are Carrie Brown Director Data analysis/reporting Policies and procedures Monitor Internal (RDF) IACUC Representative Controller Dora Fuselier LetitiaHamiliton Grants Accountant Jennifer Hanlon Assistant Director – POST AWARD Sub-contract development Compliance and monitoring Effort reporting Amendments/revisions Grant close-outs Monitor internal (FRG, MG) Public Affairs Liaison Ashley Gillespie Grants and Contracts Specialist PRE AWARD Funding Opportunities Guideline Interpretation Proposal/Budget Preparation Review of SFA Commitments Proposal Clearance Form Proposal Submission IRB Member Christine Hennessey Research Development Specialist Research Center Support Grant development assistance Promotion of research activities ORSP Website Development Susan McDaniel Coordinator Database Management Grant Processing and Tracking Internal Funds Coordinator Student Management Office Publications Events Coordinator Correspondence

4. What is a proposal budget? • A numerical representation of your project • Details what you need to achieve your proposed objectives and the associated cost • a planning tool for you • an explanation of your narrative for the funder

5. Make it Clear and Simple • One of the first items a funder might review. • No strict formula- but there is a good generic format (see example). • Match project methodology. • Envision each step and what you will need.

6. Be Accurate and Realistic • Plan carefully • try to estimate costs as accurately as possible • demonstrates credibility • helps ensure achievement of objectives • decreases number of changes needed later • follow funder’s instructions completely • usually some flexibility in how you spend • check award notice • contact ORSP • usually cannot add money to award amount

7. Research your targeted funder carefully • Focus of funder • Items they will and will not fund • Average award amount • Award range (bottom and top limits) • Timeframes • How long can your project last? • When can your project start? • How long will it take to find out if you are funded?

8. Thinking Ahead • Engage appropriate individuals in development and approval of budget (e.g., chair/dean, ORSP, collaborators). • Anticipate cost increases over life of project. • Anticipate SFA costs and commitments, both budgeted and non-budgeted (e.g., space/facilities, equipment use, supplies, release time, support staff). • Enhance; don’t supplant.

9. What is the funder looking for? • Have you thought carefully about your needs? • Will you spend their money wisely? • Is your organization reliable?

10. Quotes from prospective funders • “I don't like to see in-kind services in the budget, when often it's just a lot of volunteers licking stamps.” • “What makes me crazy is an organization ignoring our guidelines.” • “Don't try to pull the wool over our eyes. Be honest and straightforward.”

11. Presentation • Follow exact format requested by funder. • Need detailed line-item budget for internal purposes, but might not need to provide same level of detail to funder.

12. How to Begin • Can start budget before you even write a word of the narrative. Can help refine your project design/method and determine scope. • Envision each step and what you will need to complete that step. Jot it down.

13. Direct Costs • Costs that can be identified directly with your project • Federal government definitions of allowable and unallowable direct costs can be found in OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Education Institutions. • Line items in budget • Explicit expenditures

14. Direct Costs Items/categories depend on funder. Might include: • Personnel/Salaries (include estimated annual raises) • Fringe Benefits • Equipment • Supplies and Materials • Travel • Consultants/Subcontracts • “Other” (e.g., postage, long distance)

15. Personnel • For each person who will work on the project, provide title or job type and amount of time (or percent of effort) s/he will devote to the project. • current SFA employees • new employees (for the duration of the grant) ** You must contact Human Resources to complete paperwork and postings for new positions.

16. Personnel might include: • faculty members • research scientists and associates • graduate students • undergraduate students • administrative assistants • evaluators (internal) • programmers • technology experts

17. PersonnelCurrent SFA Employees Often paid through… • Course release time or overload (25% maximum – additional compensation). • Summer salary if less than 12-month contract. ** Time commitments must be approved by chair/dean. ** Additional compensation MUST be approved explicitly by funder and university.

18. PersonnelExample 1

19. Fringe Benefits For each dollar paid as salary to an employee, SFA incurs associated costs for fringe benefits. *8.32% for non-TRS employees hired before 1996.

20. Personnel - Benefits ** Note: Health insurance is not included in additional compensation calculation, since health insurance is already covered 100%.

21. Equipment Fixed, movable, and shared equipment that meets SFA’s definition of equipment (see SFA Property Web site athttp://www.sfasu.edu/purchasing/property/definitions.asp). • CAPITAL EQUIPMENT ($5,000+) • CONTROLLED EQUIPMENT ($500-$4,999.99) – e.g., TVs, printers, non-digital cameras, firearms (all) • UNIVERSITY-CONTROLLED EQUIPMENT ($0 - $4,999.99) – e.g., computers, PDAs, digital cameras

22. Equipment • Try to be specific in your description - model numbers, types, size, etc. • Some funders might even like a quote attached for major pieces of equipment.

23. Equipment

24. Supplies Itemize expendable supplies, including: • Lab supplies such as chemicals, glassware, and disposables. • Questionnaires and test materials. • Instructional materials.

25. Supplies

26. Travel • Attendance at professional meetings: airfare, mileage, lodging, meals, registration, etc. • Field work: vehicle rental, mileage, meals, etc. • Local travel: interviews, outreach, etc. • In-state lodging: $85 for lodging unless otherwise specified at http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?queryYear=2010&contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=17943&queryState=Texas&noc=T • In-state meals: $36 per day. • Mileage: 50¢ per mile. • Out-of-state rates: http://www.sfasu.edu/controller/travel/meallodging.asp

27. Travel

28. Consultants • Non-SFA individuals or organizations paid by contract • Provide expertise of a well-defined nature for a fixed period of time • Usually paid a consulting fee (with travel costs either absorbed in fee or added to fee) • Indicate name, number of work days, rate of pay, and qualifications (e.g., vita)

29. Subcontracts Funds for non-SFA partners • Might need Memorandum of Agreement outlining partner responsibilities and commitments • Include partner’s own fringe benefits rate and indirect cost rate (not SFA’s)

30. Subcontracts

31. Other Costs that do not fit into other established budget categories. • Copying and printing services • Long distance phone charges • Equipment maintenance/repair • Communication charges • Equipment rental

32. Other

33. Indirect Costs (F&A) • a.k.a. Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A), overhead • Real institutional costs – essential to project, but difficult to allocate to one project alone (purchasing, building use, equipment usage, utilities, payroll) • Not itemized “directly” in budget • To recoup these costs, organizations negotiate a composite indirect cost rate with federal government for use on all projects.

34. Indirect Costs SFA’s rate = 28.3% of modified total direct costs (excluding equipment, tuition, lease, and only on the first $25K of each subcontract) Funders can cap this rate at a lower level or not allow indirect costs at all. Be sure to check the limits of the funder. When a lower rate is specified, SFA is essentially being asked to absorb these costs.

36. Cost Sharing • Resources contributed to a sponsored project over and above the support of the funder. • Matching, in-kind (often used synonymously) • May come from SFA or third parties with appropriate approvals. • SFA does not cost share unless cost sharing is required or preferred by funder.

37. Cost Sharing Examples: • percentage of salaries/fringe, course release time • graduate assistants/student assistants (non-federal) • travel • supplies

38. Cost Sharing • Must be reported to the funder. • Must be documented clearly. • Do not commit something that you cannot realistically provide as well as document. • Charge must be considered allowable if directly charged to the grant

39. Budget Narrative • a.k.a budget justification, budget explanation • Text (narrative) explanation of budget figures • Explains how costs were calculated • Justifies the need for each cost • Matches the budget table/spreadsheet • Matches proposal narrative

40. Personnel Justification A Project Coordinator will be employed at 1.0 FTE to manage all project operations and activities. The requested salary for the Coordinator is $41,000 (year 1); a 3% increase is included in subsequent years for a total three-year salary of $126,727. A Project Assistant will be employed at 1.0 FTE to provide oversight for teacher interns who have received financial support from the grant and to assist in management of activities with the Coordinator. The salary requested is $21,000 (year 1); a 3% increase is included in subsequent years for a total three-year salary of $64,909. Additional compensation is requested for faculty members to modify reading courses to include content on oral language development - work that is beyond their normal department load. The amount requested for years 1 and 2 is $12,500 each year (25 courses total, at $500/course modification) for a total of $25,000. Additional compensation is also requested for faculty members for the creation of online Spanish modules, work that also is beyond normal departmental load. The amount requested in year one is $15,000 (5 modules @ $3,000 each).

41. Fringe Benefits Justification Fringe benefits are calculated at the rate of 26% for salaried employees and the rate of 16.05% for additional compensation payments. The fringe rate includes health insurance, social security matching, retirement matching, unemployment compensation, and worker’s compensation. Fringe benefits for additional compensation do not include health insurance.

42. Equipment Justification The requested equipment will enable university faculty to observe and provide immediate feedback to student interns as they work in their classrooms at remote locations across the state. Equipment requested includes: 20 laptop computers and software, @$1,500 each for a total cost of $30,000 (these computers will ensure that students who do not own their own laptop computers will not be excluded from participating in the program). The Administrative Assistant will be in charge of tracking and maintaining this inventory and coordinating with students for use. Future costs of Web cams and other interactive media/audio technology will be added as a student course fee.

43. Supplies Justification • Supplies - Program staff will purchase blank DVDs and labels for use in making program marketing and promotional materials available to participating colleges. These costs are estimated at $250/year, for a total of $750 for the project. • Recruitment Materials – SFA requests funds for the printing ($1,500 in year one and decreasing to $500 in year 3) and dissemination (postage at $500 per year) of materials, including brochures, flyers, and pamphlets to be provided to help community colleges market the program to current community college students and provide them with information on scholarships and other financial aid ($4,500 total).

44. Travel Justification Project funds requested for travel are reasonable and necessary to the conduct and success of the proposed project. All travel will be calculated using State of Texas or federal allowable rates, as appropriate. Categories of travel include: • travel to the fall FIPSE project directors’ meetings in Washington, D.C. ($1,700/year for a total of $5,100) • travel to partner sites as needed ($750/year for a total of $2,250) • travel to demonstration sites and for dissemination of project best practices and results at state and national conferences (2 persons @ $1,250/trip x 2 trips).

45. Contract/Consulting Justification • Each of the 17 participating community colleges will receive $2,500 in year one, $1,500 in year two, and $1,000 in year three, and each of the 4 larger participating community college systems or districts will receive $6,000 in year one, $4,500 in year two, and $3,500 in year three. This totals $146,000 in subcontracts to the college partners. These funds will be used to allow full participation of each college in the project, including costs to: expand online AAT course offerings; travel to partner meetings and program articulation meetings; and the development, printing, and dissemination of marketing materials targeting their students and AAT programs. • The External Evaluator will be Dr. Smith from the University of XX. Her areas of emphasis are standards-based instruction and accountability, program evaluation, and educational policy. The budget provides $15,000/year, totaling $45,000. The contract will include professional services and travel costs, including annual travel to the FIPSE project directors’ meeting in Washington, D.C.

46. “Other” Justification • Long Distance Service - Long distance fees of $500/year have been budgeted due to the high volume of communication anticipated between the Project Coordinator and partner schools, for a three-year total of $1,500. • Partner Meetings - SFASU will host a kick off meeting and yearly partner meetings to keep all participants actively involved in the progress of the project. At least one representative from each participating community college will attend the meeting. Costs for three working meetings include lunch for participants and meeting materials ($1,750 total).

48. ORSP can help… • Review and interpret funder guidelines • Discuss potential budget needs • Calculate salaries and fringe benefits • Advise you on cost sharing • Calculate indirect costs • Complete required budget forms • Edit budget narrative • Ensure correct budget calculations • Obtain administrative approvals

49. Thank you!Please contact us: Carrie Brownbrownch@sfasu.eduJennifer Hanlonhanlonjd@sfasu.eduAshley Gillespiegillespiar1@sfasu.edu Christine Hennesseyhennessece@sfasu.edu Susan McDanielsmcdaniel@sfasu.eduLIBERAL ARTS NORTH, ROOM 421468-6606