CFG Glossary

Capital support: Funds provided for endowment purposes, buildings, construction, or equipment.

Carryover The ability of grantees to use grant funds from one budget period (typically, one year) in the next period for grants.

Challenge grant: A grant that is paid only if the donee organization is able to raise additional funds from other sources. Challenge grants are often used to stimulate giving from other donors. See also matching grant.

Close out (federal only) Final actions taken within 90 days following the end of an award. The Finance Department may need to submit a final financial report and the PI may need to submit a progress status report, final invention statement and certifications, a property report, and a final technical report.

Community foundation: A 501(c)(3) organization that makes grants for charitable purposes in a specific community or region. The funds available to a community foundation are usually derived from many donors and held in an endowment that is independently administered; income earned by the endowment is then used to make grants. Although a community foundation may be classified by the IRS as a private foundation, most are public charities and are thus eligible for maximum tax-deductible contributions from the general public. See also501(c)(3); public charity

Corporate foundation: A private foundation whose assets are derived primarily from the contributions of a for-profit business. While a company-sponsored foundation may maintain close ties with its parent company, it is an independent organization with its own endowment and as such is subject to the same rules and regulations as other private foundations. See alsoprivate foundation.

CFDA NUMBER The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is a Government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance. Programs listed therein are given a CFDA Number.

Cost Sharing [Also known as Matching] Matching or cost sharing may be required by law, regulation, or administrative decision.  Any type of arrangement in which more than one party supports research, equipment acquisition, demonstration projects, programs, institutions. Costs used to satisfy matching requirements are subject to the same policies governing allowability as other costs under the approved budget. Application guidelines will specify if the cost-share is

• In-Kind (Also known as Soft-Cash)Contributions or assistance in a form other than money. Equipment, materials, or services of recognized value that are offered in lieu of cash.

• Hard–Cash / Cash When cost-sharing requires new monies to be put toward the grant.  Example is to provide a paid position, buy equipment, and/or provide travel monies, etc.

Example: A university receives a grant for a project estimated to have a total cost of $100,000. The sponsor agrees to pay 75% ($75,000) and the university agrees to pay 25% ($25,000). The $25,000 is the cost-sharing component.

Endowment: Funds intended to be invested in perpetuity to provide income for continued support of a not-for-profit organization.

Family foundation: An independent private foundation whose funds are derived from members of a single family. Family members often serve as officers or board members of family foundations and have a significant role in their grantmaking decisions.

501(c)(3): The section of the tax code that defines nonprofit, charitable, tax-exempt organizations; 501(c)(3) organizations are further defined as public charities, private operating foundations, and private non-operating foundations. See alsonon-profit organization.  

Form 990: The information return that public charities file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

General/operating support: A grant made to further the general purpose or work of an organization, rather than for a specific purpose or project; also called an unrestricted grant or basic support.

Independent foundation: A grantmaking organization usually classified by the IRS as a private foundation. Independent foundations may also be known as family foundations, general purpose foundations, special purpose foundations, or private non-operating foundations. See alsoprivate foundation.

Indirect Costs [Also known as facilities and administrative costs or overhead] Costs related to expenses incurred in conducting or supporting research or other externally-funded activities but not directly attributable to a specific project. General categories of indirect costs include general administration (accounting, payroll, purchasing, etc.), sponsored project administration, plant operation and maintenance, library expenses, departmental administration expenses, depreciation or use allowance for buildings and equipment, and student administration and services.

In-kind contribution: A contribution of equipment, supplies, or other tangible resource, as distinguished from a monetary grant. Some corporate contributors may also donate the use of space or staff time as an in-kind contribution.

Letter of inquiry / Letter of intent: A brief letter outlining an organization's activities and its request for funding that is sent to a prospective donor in order to determine whether it would be appropriate to submit a full grant proposal. Many grantmakers prefer to be contacted in this way before receiving a full proposal.

Local government means any unit of local government within a State, including a county, borough, municipality, city, town, township, parish, local public authority, special district, school district, intrastate district, council of governments, and any other instrumentality of local government.

Matching grant: A grant that is made to match funds provided by another donor. See alsochallenge grant; employee matching gift.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) A contractual arrangement between the campus and another party that stipulates the terms and conditions under which specific work is performed.

Misconduct in Science Fabrication, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community for proposing, conducting, or reporting research. It does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data.

No-cost Extension of a grant's project period of performance without additional funds.

Non-Federal entity means a State, local government, or non-profit organization.

Non-profit organization means:

(1) any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that:

(i) Is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest;

(ii) Is not organized primarily for profit; and

(iii) Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand its operations; and

(2) The term non-profit organization includes non-profit institutions of higher education and hospitals.

Off-campus Refers to the location of activities that occur in facilities not owned by Fairfield University. Off-campus- based awards do not use the full overhead rate because no Fairfield facility costs are incurred at the rented sites.

OMB A-21 An Office of Management and Budget Circular that establishes principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions.

 

OMB A-110 An Office of Management and Budget Circular that establishes administrative standards for grants and cooperative agreements to non-governmental organizations.

 

OMB A-133 An Office of Management and Budget Circular that sets forth standards for obtaining consistency and uniformity among Federal agencies for the audit of States, local governments, and non-profit organizations expending Federal awards.

On-campus Refers to the location of activities that occur in facilities owned by Fairfield University. On-campus-based awards may use the full overhead rate because Harvard facility costs are incurred.

Operating support grant: A grant to cover the regular personnel, administrative, and miscellaneous expenses of an existing program or project. See alsogeneral/operating support.

Pass-through entity means a non-Federal entity that provides a Federal award to a subrecipient to carry out a Federal program.  Example – UCONN providing grant funding to other universities with federal funds.

Private foundation: A nongovernmental, nonprofit organization with funds (usually from a single source, such as an individual, family, or corporation) and program managed by its own trustees or directors. Private foundations are established to maintain or aid social, educational, religious, or other charitable activities serving the common welfare, primarily through the making of grants. See also501(c)(3); public charity.

Project Period The total time for which support of a discretionary project has been programmatically approved. The project period usually consists of a series of budget periods of one-year duration. Once approved through initial review, continuation of each successive budget period is subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds, and program priorities.

Proposal: A written application, often accompanied by supporting documents, submitted to a foundation or corporate giving program in requesting a grant. Most foundations and corporations do not use printed application forms but instead require written proposals; others prefer preliminary letters of inquiry prior to a formal proposal. Consult published guidelines.

Public charity: A nonprofit organization that qualifies for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. Public charities are the recipients of most foundation and corporate grants. Some public charities also make grants. See also501(c)(3); private foundation.

Regulations The contractual rules and procedures governing sponsored research projects.

RFP: An acronym for Request for Proposal. When the government issues a new contract or grant program, it sends out RFPs to agencies that might be qualified to participate. The RFP lists project specifications and application procedures. While an increasing number of foundations use RFPs in specific fields, most still prefer to consider proposals that are initiated by applicants. For a current listing of selected RFPs, see our RFP Bulletin.

Subrecipient means a non-Federal entity that expends Federal awards received from a pass-through entity to carry out a Federal program, but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such a program. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.