ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1
Note: This is a sample budget with fictional descriptions, numbers, and estimates. Please consult the EPA Community Change Grant NOFO, FAQ, Webinars, and Technical Assistance as authoritative resources.
2
Please consider reviewing the EPA/Endyna webinar on budgets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cNdEz0qMLw
3
There is not a perfect or official template: The different budget TABS are stylistically different to show a variety of options to convey budget information while still retaining the core requirements
4
5
Lessons from EPA directly:
6
If something doesn't add up, even a dollar difference you will have a problem with the review, accounting, contracting, etc.
7
The lead applicant tab is the critical element to include. Subawards should be described in the budget justification narrative and in the description of the subawards in the budget. Additional details will be necessary once you have been evaluated by the EPA and contract negotiations begin. Pre or Post award, the lead applicant will be responsible for ensuring costs are compliant with all NOFO requirements and federal guidance.
8
Upon selection, contact your project officer about the allocability of pre-award costs. For example, you might be approved through the review process and will want to start making purchases in anticipation of eventual funding arriving from the EPA. That is possible, but needs guidance from the project officer.
9
10
The budget will be evaluated on:
11
Reasonableness defined as what a prudent person would expense that would not exceed typical standards (e.g. lodging costs, salary, etc.)
12
Eligibility based upon the NOFO and existing Statutes (e.g. David Bacon Act)
13
Allocable is a fancy name for whether the expenditure is linked to the proposed scope of work (you can't spend on other programming in your org if it doesn't match the scope of work)
14
Allowable includes everything that is not specifically prohibited
15
Necessary relates to Allocable in that all costs are essential for achieving the goals, objective, outcomes, and outputs
16
Cost effectiveness
17
18
Information that might modify your approach. These are aggredated from various locations and federal granting agency alumni:
19
The webinar (Jim Drummond) suggested to try and make the strategies (i.e. Climate and Pollution) as clear as possible. The easier it is to determine a 1 to 1 relationship between dollars spent and outcomes, the better.
20
They also suggested that transparency of scalability of the project would be useful, in other words if you plan on 10 meetings, what is the per meeting cost.
21
The webinar mentioned that one could move text from the budget justification to the budget attachment to save space in the narrative document. While that would be viable given the EPA guidance that they will do "holistic" reviews, it is advised to make sure the narrative is as complete and easy to follow as possible, particularly where expenditures can be directly related to outcomes. (see Time stamp at 21 minutes in the youtube video link above)
22
The confusion over the 10% IDC and 20% cap on total IDC can be understood as a mechanism EPA is using to limit a single subaward from budgeting for "unreasonable" indirect costs (those with much higher than 10% negotiated rates). Every subawardee should determine how to calculate their own IDC total. The lead applicant will then need to determine if the total IDC from all subawards and partners is less than 20% of the Grant Total requested in the budget. See the calculations in the budget tabs. The risk comes when there are large staffing costs and a high indirect/overhead negotiated rate.
Addtional Resource
More guidancelearning module
23
The following can be interpreted from the IRA, NOFO, and other sources, but the NOFO does not explicitly say that they are hoping to see more dollars invested in durable infrastructure. However, from what we have heard, making sure the Construction costs in the budget are emphasized is good strategy. For example, if you are contracting for construction tasks, those should be placed into Construction and not Contracting categories. Contracting should emphasize administrative expenditures. In addition, evaluate whether contracted services related to Construction should be placed into the the Construction Category, e.g. architectural drawings, site preparation, or inspection.
24
Be careful where rent and utilities are placed in the budget. These are more likely to be covered as indirect costs rather than placed into the "Other" category. See the linked resources for further details.
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100