A Grant Budget Primer

Usually, one of the most unfamiliar and complex sections of proposal development is in crafting the budget. While it should flow naturally as you consider the resources you named in the programmatic section of your proposal, you will now need to attach solid dollar figures to the staff, equipment, materials and maintenance outlined in your program description. First, there are two common components to any budget:

Budget Summary

We begin by summarizing the proposed budget in chart form with budget categories (such as personnel, office supplies) and requested amounts. To begin, identify the personnel needed and the amount of time they will work on the project. If they are existing employees, take their time commitment as a percentage of effort (20%, 50%, etc.) and apply it to their annual salary. For example, an employee making $50,000 annually who is dedicating 10% effort (or 1/10th of his or her time) to your project should be paid $5,000. Fringe benefits can be calculated in the same fashion. (What's the fringe benefit rate for campus employees?) The method of payment (via Special Monthly payroll, course offload or other) should be discussed with ORGA prior to submission, as internal and external limitations apply under different circumstances. Further, personnel should not be contributing more than 100% effort across all projects. External personnel, contributors, collaborators or students may be paid on a stipend basis or by other means. Please contact us with any questions surrounding methods of payment and note that cooperating institutions will also have commitment limitations that must be respected.

All non-personnel expenses, such as postage, phone use, equipment and educational supplies are also listed here. All of the preceding categories of costs are classified as "direct costs", or costs directly tied to the operation of your program. You may also see a section called "F&A", Facilities & Administrative or "indirect" costs. These all refer to the same concept, a full description of which can be found on the next page.

Example Budget Summary

See an example proposal budget summary.

Budget Narrative

Typically, a budget narrative is included after a budget summary. This justifies and explains the amount requested in each budget category as outlined in the budget summary. For some categories, such as personnel, we simply explain a person's duties and restate their time and effort to be dedicated to the project. For others, such as supplies, sponsors use the budget narrative to determine if the requested amount is realistic and effective. It is written in paragraph form with the requested amounts re-stated. Don't be afraid to elaborate!

Example Budget Narrative

See an example proposal budget narrative.

Can I pay myself in my grant budget?

Of course! There is no institutional limit to the amount of money you can earn on grant funding during the summer, though there may be sponsor limits. During the academic year, Federal sponsors do not allow you to earn more than your annual salary, so payments would serve toward release time. This should be discussed with ORGA and must be approved institutionally. During the summer, Federal sponsors will allow you to earn no more than 2/9ths of your annual salary. During the academic year, current union rules only allow for a PI to earn, at most, 20% above his or her annual pay through external sources.

AFT Extra Compensation Rule

Proof of Union-allowed extra grant compensation for faculty.

What are common costs associated with a grant-funded program?

Common budget categories you may not think to include in your proposal include:

Office or Computer Supplies: Depending on the nature of your program, you may need a few hundred to a few thousand dollars of office or supplies. This is to pay for items such as office machines, new PCs from Dell or general office supplies such as paper and furniture.

Lab Supplies: Can include money for anything from small tools to large equipment. Lab supplies are needed for most all scientific programs.

Postage & Telephone: If you plan on doing your own mass mailings in relation to your program, you may want to include a Postage category. It is wise to contact Office Services to get postage estimates. Further, if you plan on making long-distance telephone calls as part of your program, you should allocate $10 per month to a telephone category.

Rhode Island College Budget Codes

See the list of Rhode Island College budget codes and categories.

Of course, there are other elements to budget preparation that you should be aware of. Please keep reading for answers to common budget questions and detailed descriptions of budget components.

Next: Indirect or F&A Costs

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