Grant Development Process

GRANT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
 
1.  All grant announcements or RFPs that are received by campus staff are to be forwarded as soon as possible to the Development Office so that it can let all potentially interested parties at the College know of the announcement if it appears that the College may be elilgible for a grant.  On a regular basis the Development Office will publish for the College community new RFPs it is aware of which might be of interest to the College community as well as other pertinent funding opportunities.
 
2. If an individual, department, or division wishes to respond to a grant announcement or RFP, or seek funding for a particular project, the interested party is to submit to the Development Office a brief outline/abstract of the proposed project at least two months before the proposal filing deadline, if such is known and/or exists.   The Development Office will work with faculty and staff members to prepare this abstract.   Every abstract submitted to the Development Office is to have the prior approval of the department chair and the appropriate dean or area administrator.
 
3.  Development will review the proposed project in view of the following: the College's eligibility for the grant; to see if the proposed project fiits within the perimeters of the RFP or funder's guidelines; the appropriateness of the proposal in view of established institutional goals and priorities; ability to be funded.
 

4.  If private or corporate funding is to be sought for the project, then the Development Office will work with the interested party in identifying potential funders. 

5.  If all seems to be in order with the proposal, the Development Office will negotiate with the grant initiators and develop a formal statement of mutual responsibilities and a timeline for the development  of the proposal.  If a grant will obligate the College to provide additional space, facilities, matching funds, or to fund the continuation of a program once the grant expires, it will be necessary to submit these requirements to the Business Services Office for review in order to ascertain that such funds/resources are available.   Such needs should be foreseen and submitted for review as early as possible in the grant seeking process so as not to hold up the grant process at the last moment. 

6.  Regular progress reports on the development of hte proposal will be made to the appropriate interest groups, including the Development Office, by those directly involved in developing the proposal. 
 
7.  Whatever the level of involvement by the Development Office in the production of the grant, the Development Office will always be responsible for reviewing the final grant budgets in order to ensure the following:  
  •  Salaries and benefits are computed at appropriate District rates;
  •  All anticipated costs are included in the budget;
  •  Only allowable costs are budgeted;
  •  District matching requirements are met;
  •  Budget format is consistent with funding agencies guidelines; and
  •  Indirect costs when allowable are charged. 

8.  All grant submission documents must be approved in turn by the Development Office, the appropriate Dean or Area Administrator, the appropriate Vice President and subsequently signed by the President.  The Development Office will assume the responsibility for ensuring that all necessary signatures are obtained, all mandatory assurances and certifications are included, and that the required number of copies are submitted.  The final proposal will be mailed by the Development Office.

9.  A copy of all grant proposals and notifications (successful as well as unsuccessful) shall be forwarded to the Development Office. 
 

10.  Upon notification by a funding agency that a proposal has been recommended for funding, the Development Office shall: compare the notification to the proposal and, with the proposal initiator, resolve any budgetary differences; establish and maintain a full set of official contract files; together with the proposal initiator, develop an internal operating budget; submit the internal operating budget to the Controller for approval and processing; and process Board approval documents for funded projects. 

11.  Once a grant is awarded, a copy of the funding document is to be forwarded to the Development Office.