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Grants

The Grants Unit provides strategic direction, policy and guidance, and best practices for state agencies managing state and federal grant funds. The Grants Unit also facilitates the Statewide Grant Managers Group (SWGMG) which provides quarterly training to grant managers and provides a forum for financial and program grant managers to share and collaborate on best practices in grant management.

Staff Contacts

Stacey Alles
Manager, Grants Unit
stacey.alles@state.co.us
 

Gina Salazar-Love
Grants Unit
gina.salazar@state.co.us
 

Grants Information

CARES

Through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the CARES Act provided for payments to State, Local, and Tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The CARES Act established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund. The CARES Act required that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that: 

(1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19),

(2) were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government, and

(3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

 

OSC Guidance

OSC Alert Updates - Real time updates from the OSC (please check in frequently)

OSC CARES Act Guidance

Coronavirus Relief Fund FAQ

Guidance on Use of Corona Virus Relief Funds for Institutions of Higher Education Payroll Related Costs

Memorandums and Guidance

OMB Updated M-20-26 - Extension of two flexibilities to provide administration relief.

CRF Guidance for State, Territorial, Local and Tribal Governments - September 2, 2020

Side-by-Side Comparison of OMB Memos (M-20-11 and M-20-17) - RESCINDED

Contract Termination Due to Lack of Funds- Guidance and templates for agencies to use when reducing state commitments, including: contracts, POs, grants, and leases.

FAQs

CRF FAQ October 10, 2020 (Supplement)

Treasury Department of OIG CRF FAQ Related to Reporting and Recordkeeping (revised) - November 25, 2020

Treasury Department OIG CRF FAQ Related to Reporting and Recordkeeping (revised) - March 2, 2021

Additional CRF Guidance

Pandemic Oversight  - Publicly accessible site created by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) for pandemic-related information (i.e. who received funding and how it's being spent)

CRF Monitoring Videos

Duplication of Benefits

Fraud, Waste and Abuse

Supporting Documentation

 

CORE Grantee

In 2017, CORE Grantee was launched as the required tool for agencies to submit their request to submit federal funding applications for approval by the Governor's Office. The Governor's Office will be creating a new process for agencies applying for federal funding that requires state matching funds beyond the department's current appropriations. The Office of State Planning and Budget (OSPB) will be developing more complete guidance, but in the meantime please work with your agency budget directors to notify your OSPB analyst with the following information: 

  • Agency Name
  • Program/Grant contact lead name and email
  • Matching fund requirements and amounts that may exceed agency funds available
  • Date by which matching funds are needed
  • Link to grant announcement

If you have any grants currently pending in CORE Grantee, no need to wait for approval,  go ahead and submit your application to your funding agency. If the criteria described in bold above, please notify your OSPB analyst. If you have any questions about the upcoming process, please reach out to Edmond Toy, OSPB Chief of Staff 

Statewide Grant Manager's Group (SWGMG)

The Statewide Grant Manager's group (SWGMG) was established in 2016 as a forum for statewide grant managers to learn, share and collaborate on all things grants. In this section you will find upcoming quarterly meeting dates and ways to join the meetings, as well as agendas, slide decks and a recording of each meeting. Questions: please contact Gina Salazar-Love.

The OSC Grant Office invites you to be in the know and join the SWGMG Chat Group! This Google platform chat group is available to all state agency grant staff interested in being a part of the chat and participating in the back and forth discussions. If you are interested, please complete the SWGMG Grant Group form. 

2025 SWGMG Meetings (Open to State Employees only)

All SWGMG meetings start at 9:00 am on the following dates (click meeting date below to join): 

There are no more meetings for 2025

Prior SWGMG Meeting Recordings

November 2025

November 2025 Slide Deck

August 2025

August 2025 Slide Deck

February 2025

November 2024

 

SWGMG Newsletter

SWGMG Newsletters

Are you a state agency interested in receiving the SWGMG Grant newsletter?  Contact Gina Salazar-Love to be added.

July 2025

June 2025

April 2025

March 2025

February 2025

December 2024

November 2024

August 2024

July 2024

Grant Policies and Guidance

OSC Competition Requirements for Grants Policy

OSC Guidance Regarding OMB Uniform Guidance Compliance

OSC Subrecipient Guidance

OSC Grant Related Policies

OSC Electronic Signature Policy

Federal Grant Guidance

OMB Tools

Federal Audit Resources

Grant Manager 101

Grant Manager 101 

Coming Soon! The Grant Manager 101 training will be available through an online learning management system. Please stay tuned for more details.

 

Grant Terminology

Colorado Grants Management Grant Terminology and Definitions
 

Updated April 2025
 

Overview

This section contains terms and definitions commonly used in the administration of grants. This list is not all inclusive of every term that grant managers may use within various agencies. This document will be updated as needed.
 

Accounting System: Collects and reports financial data for planning, controlling, measuring, and evaluating Direct and Indirect Costs.
 

Administrative Cost: See Indirect Cost.
 

Allowable Cost: A cost incurred by an award recipient that is: reasonable for the performance of an Award; allocable; in conformance with, or incorporated by reference, any limitations or exclusions set forth in the federal cost principles applicable to the organization incurring the cost; consistent with regulations, policies, and procedures of the recipient for both federally supported and other activities of the organization; accorded consistent treatment as a direct or indirect cost; determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; and not included as a cost in any other federally-supported award (unless specifically authorized by statute).
 

Announcement of Availability of Funding (AAF): A public or non-public announcement notifying potential applicants of the opportunity to apply for funding available through a grant. Other terms often used are: Request for Application (RFA), Request for Proposal (RFP), etc. See also Funding Opportunity Announcement.


Appeal: A process whereas an Applicant asks a Grantor for reconsideration of a funding decision.
 

Applicant: An entity, organization, or individual applying for Grant Funds.


Applicant Agency: The agency applying for grant funds. If the applicant agency is awarded, it becomes the Grantee.
 

Application: See also Grant Application.


Appropriation: Funds set aside for a specific purpose.


Approved Budget: Documented in the Grant Agreement, the approved budget includes all funds (federal, state, matching) obligated to the Project.


Assistance Listings: The publicly available listing of Federal assistance programs managed and administered by the General Services Administration (GSA) at SAM.gov. Formerly known as Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).
 

Assistance Listing number: The unique number assigned to identify an Assistance Listing.
 

Assurance: An Applicant’s written statement normally included with an Application, indicating that the Applicant will abide by a particular requirement if awarded Grant  Funds.
 

Audit: An audit may include a Financial Audit, Single Audit, or Program Audit. An audit provides the highest level of assurances that an organization’s financial statements are free of material misstatement and are presented fairly, based upon the application of generally accepted accounting principles. A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the non-Federal entity’s fiscal year in Federal awards must have a Single Audit conducted in accordance with §200.514 Scope of Audit except when it elects to have a program-specific audit conducted in accordance with §200.501(c).


Authorization: A type of legislation used to authorize the activities of various agencies and programs that are a part of the federal government.


Authorized Signature: The signature of the person who is legally responsible for an organization. This person signs the Grant Award.
Award: Financial assistance that provides support to accomplish a public purpose. Awards include grants and other agreements in the form of money or property in lieu of money, by federal, state, and/or private foundation entities.


Award Special Conditions: Provisions of an award that require specific action as a condition of the Grant Award.
 

Block Grant: A type of grant awarded by a Federal Agency to state and local officials. Block grants are typically earmarked for a specific project or projects.


Budget: The financial plan for your grant, itemized to show breakdown of both income and expenses.


Budget Category: Project costs are broken down into several different categories. Common budget categories are Personnel, Supplies and Operating, Travel, Equipment, Consultant/Contracts, and Indirect Costs.


Budget Period: The time interval from the start date of a funded portion of an award to the end date of that funded portion, during which recipients and subrecipients are authorized to incur financial obligations of the funds awarded.


Budget Revision: A modification requested by a Grantee/Subrecipient to an approved budget including the movement of funds from one Budget Category to another or the addition or deletion of a Budget Category.


Capital Assets: Tangible or intangible assets used in operations having a useful life of more than one year which are capitalized in accordance with GAAP.


Capital Expenditures: Expenditures to acquire capital assets or expenditures to make additions, improvements, modifications, replacements, rearrangements, reinstallations, renovations, or alterations to capital assets that materially increase their value or useful life.


Cash Fund: Funds that are not appropriated by legislation, federal grants, etc. These are often funds that have been leftover from projects or grants or may be legislatively required by collected from outside sources (e.g. legislative statute requires auto insurance companies to collect a fee from each insured vehicle in order to fund an auto theft grant).


Cash Match: The designated amount of non-federal dollars the Grantee is required to use for the project in addition to the federal portion of Grant Award amount. It includes actual cash spent by the Grantee (or Subgrantee) for budgeted costs of the project including salaries for individuals working on the project. Also, see Matching Funds.


Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) has been replaced by the Annual Publication of Assistance Listings. See Assistance Listings.


Closeout: The process to determine if all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the grant have been completed.


Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government.


Cognizant Agency for Indirect Costs (Federal Cognizant Agency): A Federal agency responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and approving cost allocation plans or indirect cost proposals on behalf of all Federal agencies.


Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE): The online system that integrates the State’s accounting, budget, and procurement functions, for the management of the State’s financial operations.


Commingling of Funds: To combine funds into a common fund. The Accounting System must ensure that funds received and expended through any Grant Award are not commingled with funds from other funding sources. Each award must be accounted for separately. Grantees are prohibited from commingling funds on either a Program-by- Program basis or project-by project basis (i.e. each individual Grant Award, even if received annually, must be accounted for separately.


Competitive Grant: A type of Discretionary Grant competed for by eligible Applicants. See also Discretionary Grant.


Compliance Supplement: An annually updated authoritative source of information for auditors that identifies existing important compliance requirements that the Federal Government expects to be considered as part of an audit.  Auditors use it to understand the Federal program’s objectives, procedures, and compliance requirements, as well as audit objectives and suggested audit procedures for determining compliance with the relevant Federal program. 


Conflict of Interest: A situation in which an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. See the OSC Procurement Conflicts of Interest Policy
 

Continuation Grant: An extension or renewal of existing program funding for one or more additional budget period(s) that would otherwise expire. Continuation grants are typically available to existing recipients of discretionary, multi-year projects. Receipt of a continuation grant is usually based on availability of funds, project performance, and compliance with progress and financial reporting requirements. Applications for continuation may compete with other continuation requests submitted to the awarding agency.
 

Contract: A form of a legal binding contract between two parties. A contract contains specific terms between two or more parties in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as consideration. The existence of a contract requires finding the following factual elements: a) a promise to perform; b) a time or event when performance must be made (meet commitments); c) terms and conditions for performance, including fulfilling promises; d) performance. A Grant Agreement is a form of a contract specific to Grantees receiving Grant Funds.


Contractor: An entity that receives a contract as a legal instrument by which a Recipient or Subrecipient purchases property/goods or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal Award. A contract is when the issuer of the transaction received a benefit, good, or service directly from the contractor. Contractors are also called Vendors.


Cooperative Agreement: A legal agreement between the federal government and any other recipient/subrecipient. A cooperative agreement occurs when the federal government transfers something of value, usually money, to a state government, municipality or private company for a public purpose.


Cost Allocation Plan: A summary, in writing, of the methods and procedures that a grantee or agency will use to allocate costs to various programs.


Cost Sharing: A portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds or contributions (unless authorized by Federal statute).  This term includes matching, which refers to required levels of cost share that must be provided.
 

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS): The decommissioned nine-digit number established and assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B) to uniquely identify entities. This number is no longer used by the Federal Government. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed federal agencies/systems to transition to the UEI (SAM) no later than April 4, 2022.
 

Debarment: An action taken by a Federal Agency to prohibit a Recipient from participating in Federal Government procurement contracts and covered non procurement transactions.
 

De Minimis Indirect Cost Rate: A simplified method for recipients and subrecipients to recover indirect costs when they don’t have a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement with the federal government. This allows them to charge a fixed 15 percent of their Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) as indirect costs.
 

Desk Review: A type of monitoring which includes reviewing subrecipient activities, reports, etc.
 

Direct Appropriation: Funding that is committed to a specific purpose.
 

Direct Costs: The total dollar amount necessary to fund your project. Includes cash money only, not indirect costs.
 

Disallowed Costs: Any charges to the approved grant that the awarding agency has determined to be unallowable in accordance with applicable Federal statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of the award. 
 

Discretionary Grant: An award made in accordance with legislation allowing the funding source to exercise reasonable freedom in selection the project and the grantee and determining the amount of the reward. Applicants usually compete for these funds. See also Competitive Grant.
 

Disposition (of Equipment): When real property is no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose.
 

Donation: A sum of money, services or good given to charity or provided as a gift.
 

Drawdown: The process of requesting awarded Grant Funds.
 

Earmark: Grants that are appropriated by Congress prior to a peer review. The term "earmark" is a reference to the Congressional Record where the awards are written into legislation specifically with the grant applicant's name, activity, and dollar amounts.
 

Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT): The electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another via computer-based systems, without the direct intervention of bank staff.
 

Eligibility: The criteria an applicant must meet in order to apply for the program.
 

Employee: I.R.S definition – Anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed. See Independent Contractor.
 

Entitlement Grant: A grant in which funds are provided to specific grantees based on a formula, prescribed in legislation or regulation, rather than on the basis of an individual project. The formula is usually based on such factors as population, enrollment, per-capita income, or a specific need. Applicants do not compete for these funds.
 

Entity: All of the following as defined at 2 CFR Part 25, subpart C: a governmental organization (which is a State, local government, or Indian Tribe); a foreign public entity; a domestic or foreign non-profit organization; a domestic or foreign for-profit organizations; and a federal agency, but only a Subrecipient under an Award or Subaward to a non-Federal entity.
 

Equipment: Property with an acquisition cost of $10,000 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year.
 

Evaluation: A quantitative assessment of what was, or was not, accomplished by a project; a comparison of project objectives and actual project outcomes; an increasingly important part of proposal writing and project management.
 

Excluded Parties List: The Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) was a database that was maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). The list identified suppliers and vendors excluded from receiving Federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain types of federal financial and non-financial assistance and benefits. The EPLS was replaced on November 21, 2012, by the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM combined the Federal Procurement System, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one new system.
 

Expenditure: Charges made by a non-Federal entity to a project or program for which a federal award was received.
 

Fair Market Value (FMV): The price that property would sell for on the open market. It is the price that would be agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being required to act and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. If you put a restriction on the use of property being donated, the FMV must reflect that restriction (per IRS Publication 561).
 

Federal Agency: An ‘‘agency'' as defined at 5 U.S.C. 551(1) and further clarified by 5 U.S.C. 552(f).
 

Federal Award: Federal award has two definitions, which depend on the context of its use. Paragraphs 1. and 2. explain the context and define the term appropriately.

  1. (1) The Federal financial assistance that a Recipient receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass-through entity; or (2) The cost-reimbursement contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulations that a non- federal entity receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass-through entity.
  2. The instrument setting forth the terms and conditions. The instrument is the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, other agreement for assistance, or the cost-reimbursement contract awarded under the Federal Acquisition Regulations. (Grants Terminology - Grants.gov)
     

Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN): The unique numbers assigned to each Federal Award issued by the federal government. Also known as the Federal Award Number.
 

Federal Agency: The Federal agency that provides a Federal Award directly to a Recipient and dictates how those funds are to be spent.
 

Federal Financial Assistance: The transfer of anything of value, most often money, from a federal agency to a non-federal entity. Examples include Cooperative Agreements and Grants.
 

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA): Signed into law in 2006, the FFATA legislation requires information on Federal Awards (federal financial assistance and expenditures) be made available to the public via a single, searchable website, which is www.USASpending.gov.
 

Federal Program: All federal awards which are assigned a single Assistance Listings Number.
 

Federal Register: A daily publication of the US Federal Government that issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies.
 

Federal Share: The portion of the total project costs that are paid by Federal funds.
 

Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate: An approved federally recognized indirect cost rate negotiated between the Grantee and the Federal government.
 

Final Disposition (of equipment): Equipment acquired under an award with a current fair market value (per unit) of less than $5,000 may be retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of with no further obligation to the Federal Awarding Agency.
 

Financial Assistance Agreements: An agreement to provide financial assistance. These agreements come in the form of grants and cooperative agreements.
 

Financial Audit: A financial audit is an independent, objective evaluation of an organization's financial reports and financial reporting processes. The primary purpose for financial audits is to give regulators, investors, directors, and managers’ reasonable assurance that financial statements are accurate and complete.
 

Financial Officer: The person within the Grantee agency who has responsibility for all financial matters relating to the project and who has responsibility for the accounting, management of funds, verification of expenditures, audit information, and financial grant reports.
 

Financial Review: A financial review provides limited assurance on an organization’s financial statements. During a review, inquiries and analytical procedures present a reasonable basis for expressing limited assurance that no material modifications to the financial statements are necessary; they are in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
 

Financial Risk Assessment: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 2 CFR § 200.332(c) states “A Pass-Through Entity must evaluate each subrecipients risk of noncompliance…for purposes of determining the appropriate subrecipient monitoring). See the OSC Guide for Monitoring Subrecipients for further detail.
 

Fiscal Agent: An organization, acting on behalf of an individual artist or organization lacking legal status to be an applicant. The Fiscal Agent acts as its legal applicant and agrees to submit and sign a grant application on the applicant's behalf and to pass on such grant.
Please note that in such cases the Fiscal Agent remains legally responsible for the use of grant funds. Auditors generally will not provide an "unqualified" financial audit statement for a fiscal agent for an applicant unless the applicant's financial records and related activities are also audited.
 

Formula Grant: Grants awarded to eligible entities through allocation based on the program's authorizing legislation; block grants or categorical.
 

Foundation Grant: A competitive grant from a non-profit/foundation.
 

Funder: See Grantor.
 

Funding Agency: See Grantor.
 

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA): A publicly available document used by a funding agency (federal, state, or private foundation) to notify potential applicants of their intention to award grant funding. May also be referred to Grant RFP, Grant Opportunity, Grant Announcement, etc. See also Request for Application.
 

Funding Period: The period of time when funding is available for obligation by the recipient.
 

General Fund: Funding that consists of incoming and outgoing monies to assist with budgeting or financing government entities.
 

General Ledger: The primary Accounting System containing all the accounts for recording transactions relating to a company's assets, liabilities, owners' equity, revenue, and expenses. The general ledger works as a central repository for accounting data transferred from all Subledgers or books of original entry. The general ledger is the backbone of any Accounting System, which holds financial and non-financial data for an organization.
 

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): A technical term in accounting that encompasses the conventions, rules and procedures necessary to define accepted accounting practice at a particular time. The standard of "generally accepted accounting principles" includes not only broad guidelines of general application, but also detailed rules and procedures.
 

Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS): Auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, which are applicable to financial audits. Often referred to as the Yellow Book.
 

Gifts/Donations: A gift/donation is typically given for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause.
 

Goals: Project goals are clear general statements that highlight what the project intends to achieve. Each goal must be associated with one or more Objectives and each Objective must be tied to a specific goal. Also, see Objectives.
 

Grant: A legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal agency and a recipient or between a pass-through entity and a subrecipient used to transfer anything of value to carry out a public purpose authorized by a law of the United States; and not to acquire property or services for the Federal agency or pass-through entity’s direct benefit or use. 
 

Grant Agreement: A legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal awarding agency or Pass-through Entity and a Non-Federal entity. See the OSC approved Grant Agreement.
 

Grant Agreement Modification: A revision to a fully executed Grant Agreement.
 

Grant Amendment: A document that can modify any portion of a Grant Award, except for the parties.
 

Grant Announcement: See Funding Opportunity Announcement.
 

Grant Application: A group of specific forms and documents for a specific funding opportunity which are used to apply for a grant.
 

Grant Award: All documents and activities associated with a funded project.
 

Grant Award End Date: The end date of the performance period. The period established in the award document during which awarding agency sponsorship ends.
 

Grant Award Notice (GAN): A legal document that indicates an Award has been made. Federal agencies also use a GAN when changes are made to an originally Award. It can also be referred to as a Notice of Grant Award.
 

Grant Award Period: The period established in the award document during which awarding agency sponsorship begins and ends. See also Project Period.
 

Grant Award Start Date: The start date of the performance period (Grant Award Period). The period established in the award document during which awarding agency sponsorship begins.
 

Grant Extension: An extension of the original Grant Award Period. A No-Cost Extension occurs when no additional funding is applied to the Award. See also No-Cost Grant Extension.
 

Grant File: All records for each Grant Award must be maintained and separately identified so that information desired may be readily located. The grant file should include, if applicable, books of original entry, source documents, supporting accounting transactions, the General Ledger, subsidiary ledgers, personnel and payroll records, cancelled checks, and related documents and records. Source documents may include copies of all awards, applications, and required Grantee financial and narrative reports. Personnel and payroll records must include the time and attendance reports for all full-time and/or part-time individuals reimbursed under the award. Time and effort reports are also required for Consultants.
 

Grant Funds: Funds received as part of a Grant Award.
 

Grant Funding Change Letter: An OSC approved document that can only decrease or increase the amount of funding available under a grant contract.
 

Grant Manager: An individual that is responsible for the administration and management of Grant Funds. Responsibilities could include drafting of an RFA, review of Grant Applications, and post award Monitoring.
 

Grant Number: Number assigned in a Grant Award that is used to track the Grant Award and all documents associated with the Grant Award.
 

Grant Opportunity: See Funding Opportunity Announcement.
 

Grant Proposal: See Grant Application.
 

Grant Reviewer: An individual that reviews and scores (in most cases) Grant Applications as part of a competitive grant process.
 

Grant Seeker: See Applicant.
 

Grantee: An individual or organization that has been awarded a grant.
 

Grantor: An agency or department that awards grant funds to individuals and entities, either as the original grantor or as a pass-through entity.
 

Grants Life Cycle: The process from announcement of grant funds through the close out of a Grant. This includes the application process, review of applications, awarding of Grant Funds, and post award monitoring.
 

Green Book: Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, known as the "Green Book," sets the standards for an effective internal control system for federal agencies.
 

Independent Contractor: The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed. If an employer-employee relationship exists (regardless of what the relationship is called), you are not an independent contractor.
 

Indirect Cost: Those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefited, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved.
 

Indirect Cost Rate: An approved federally recognized indirect cost rate negotiated between the Grantee and the Federal Government.
 

In-Kind Match: The designated amount of non-cash contributions (assigned a dollar value based on fair market value), which the Grantee (or Subgrantee) is required to use for the project in addition to the federal Grant Award Amount. Some examples of In-kind Match are volunteer time, donated Equipment, supplies, space, or services. See Matching Funds.
 

Interagency Agreement: A document, generally between government agencies and departments, that defines cooperative work between them. The agreement defines the parties involved, the work performed and the transfer of funds. See also Grant Agreement.
 

Intergovernmental Agreement: A document, generally between two or more units of government, which defines cooperative work between them. See OSC approved Intergovernmental Grant Agreement.
 

Internal Control: The Grantee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the Grant Award that provides reasonable assurance that the Grantee is managing the Grant Award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
 

Letter of Intent (LOI): A brief letter (or simple application) outlining an organization's activities and its request for funding that is sent to a prospective Grantor in order to determine whether it would be appropriate to submit a full Grant Proposal.
 

Letter of Support: A simple letter attached as an addendum to a proposal. This letter should be from an "expert" or supporter of the project who tells why he/she believes that the project should be funded.
 

Maintenance of Effort: A statutory requirement where the Recipient is required, as a condition of eligibility for federal funding, to maintain its financial contribution to the program at not less than a stated percentage (which may be 100 percent or less) of its contribution for a prior time period, usually the previous fiscal year.
 

Management Letter: An auditor's letter addressed to the client that confirms the accuracy of an audit. At the completion of the Audit, the auditors provide a management letter that contain relevant information about accounting and management issues in the entity. The recommendations provide helpful insight over many issues.
 

Match: A requirement set by grant providing entity that the recipient of a grant raise or supply a percentage or specific dollar amount that is a sum more or less equal to the sum of the money being granted. The designated amount of non-federal dollars or contributions the Grantee (or Subgrantee) is required to use for the project in addition to the Grant Award. See Cost Sharing.
 

Matching Funds: The designated amount of non-federal dollars or contributions the Grantee (or Subgrantee) is required to use for the project in addition to the federal Grant Award Amount. See Cost Sharing, Cash Match and In-kind Match.
 

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC): All Direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, Travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each Subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the Subawards under the award).
MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each Subaward in excess of $50,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of Indirect Costs, and with the approval of the Cognizant Agency for Indirect Costs.
 

Monitoring: A process whereby the programmatic and financial management performance aspects of a Grant are reviewed by collecting and assessing information from reports, Audits, On-site Monitoring, and other sources.
 

Narrative: An Applicant’s written proposal description which includes who, what, why, where, when, and how the objective or project will be carried out.
 

Narrative Report: A progress report from a Recipient or Subrecipient that details the work performed under a Grant Award. The report may also include data elements.
 

No-Cost Grant Extensions: An extension of the Grant Award Period in which additional money is not added to the Grant Award. The Grantee is given extra time to complete the original Statement of Work within the same Approved Budget. Only the timeframe changes. See also Grant Extension.
 

Non-Federal Entity (NFE): A state, local government, Indian tribe, institution of higher education (IHE), or nonprofit organization that carries out a Federal award as a Recipient or Subrecipient.
 

Nonprofit Organization: Any organization that: (a) Is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (b) Is not organized primarily for profit; and (c) Uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization; and is not an IHE.
 

Notice of Grant Award: A letter or document that offers Grant Funds to a Grantee.
 

Objective: Specific, measurable aims for the project, with matching outcomes to measure them.
 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.
 

Office of the State Controller (OSC): Office within the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration; the OSC manages the state’s financial affairs, promulgates the State Fiscal Rules, and manages the State contracting process.
 

On-Site Monitoring Visit: A post award grant management activity performed by a Grantor to thoroughly review the activities under a Grant Award.

Outcomes: Expected results of the project that can be used to measure its success.
 

Pass-Through Entity (PTE): A recipient or subrecipient that provides a subaward to a subrecipient (including lower tier subrecipients) to carry out part of a federal program. The authority of the pass-through entity flows through the subaward agreement between the pass-through entity and subrecipient.
 

Pass-Through Funding: Funding that originates from a federal agency but is administered and managed by a PTE.
 

Payment Request: A formal process of requesting reimbursement (in most cases) for activities under a Grant Award.
 

Peer Review: Process of evaluating proposals for funding; usually involves experts representing the same general fields or disciplines as the proposal topics.
 

Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Information including, without limitation, any information about an individual that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as name, social security number, date and place of birth, etc.; and any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.
 

Personnel: This Budget Category includes paid personnel of the Grantee agency whose salaries and/or fringe benefits, or a portion thereof, will be paid by Grant Funds and/or Matching Funds. The Grantee must have written personnel policies and procedures that address: work hours, holidays, vacations, sick leave, overtime pay, compensatory time, termination, qualifications, written job descriptions, and equal employment opportunity policies.
 

Pre-Application: See Letter of Intent.
 

Prior Approval: Written permission provided by the Awarding Agency in advance of an act that will result in either 1) the obligation or expenditure of funds, or 2) the performance or modification of an activity under a project.
 

Procurement: The process to purchase goods or contract professional services for grant activities and result on a binding contract with a Contractor. The procurement process does include Subawards to Subrecipients.
 

Program: A type of Grant or funding assistance that is broadly categorized as those awarded by the federal government and those awarded by a Non-Federal Entity.
 

Program Administrator: An individual responsible for the financial and administrative components of a Grant.
 

Program Announcement: See also Request for Application and Announcement of Availability of Funding.
 

Program Audit: A Non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the Non-Federal entity's fiscal year in federal awards must have a Single Audit conducted in accordance with §200.514 Scope of audit except when it elects to have a program specific audit. When an auditee expends federal awards under only one federal program (excluding R&D) and the federal program's statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of the federal award do not require a financial statement audit of the auditee, the auditee may elect to have a program-specific audit conducted in accordance with §200.507 Program-specific audits.
 

Program Income: The gross income earned by the grantee that is generated directly by a grant-supported activity or earned as a result of the grant. It includes but is not limited to: income from fees for services performed, the use or rental of real or personal property acquired under the grant, the sale of commodities or items developed or fabricated under the grant.
 

Programmatic Report: See Narrative Report.
 

Progress Report: See Narrative Report.
 

Project: The specific activities and expenditures to be funded with a Grant Agreement.
 

Project Cost: Any cost associated with approved activities funded under a Grant Agreement.
 

Project Director: The person within the Grantee agency who has direct day-to-day responsibility for the implementation of the project. This person should possess knowledge and experience in the project area and an ability to administer the project and supervise personnel. This person shares responsibility with the Financial Officer for seeing that all expenditures are allowable within the Approved Budget. The Project Director must be an Employee or staff within the applicant agency.
 

Project Number: See Grant Number.
 

Project Officials: The individuals responsible for managing the Grant Award. Common Grantee project officials include Project Director, Financial Officer, Signature Authority and sometimes the Executive Director of the Grantee organization. Each of the officials has a specific role in managing the Grant Award.
 

Project Period: The period established in the award document during which awarding agency sponsorship begins and ends. See also Grant Award Period.
 

Project Title: Grant Awards typically have a Project Title that is usually chosen by the Grantee at the time of application.

 

Purchase Order: A form of a legal binding contract between two parties. Purchase orders are unilateral (only signed by the paying agency) and use a “layered” approach, i.e., the Purchase Order often relies on a number of other documents that, in combination, comprise a total contract.
 

Re-Appropriated Funds: Funds that were previously appropriated for a specific purpose and may be leftover or additional funding that is now provided for a different project purpose.
 

Recipient: An entity that receives a federal award directly from a federal awarding agency to carry out an activity under a federal program. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are participants or beneficiaries of the award. 
 

Reconciliation: Process of reviewing grant transactions and supporting documentation and resolving any discrepancies that are discovered.
 

Reimbursement: A payment made to a Recipient for cash disbursements.
 

Request for Application (RFA): A public or non-public announcement notifying potential applicants of the opportunity to apply for funding available through a grant. Other terms often used are Announcement of Available Funding (AAF), Request for Proposal (RFP), etc. See Funding Opportunity Announcement.
 

Request for Proposals (RFP): A publication that solicits proposals by an agency or company interested in Procurement of a commodity, service or valuable asset, to potential suppliers to submit business proposals through an official bidding process.
 

Retention Period: The duration of time for which the information should be maintained or "retained", irrespective of format (paper, electronic, or other).
 

Risk Assessment: See Financial Risk Assessment.
 

Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA): A supplemental schedule to the financial statements that an organization is required to produce when it is subject to the single audit requirement. The single audit requirement is triggered when the federal expenditures reported on the SEFA exceed $1,000,000 or more over the organization's fiscal year.
 

Signature Authority: The person who is authorized to obligate and to enter into contracts for the Grantee/Applicant Agency. In most cases, the Signature Authority may sign for the Financial Officer and Project Director in their absence.
 

Single Audit: A Non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the Non-Federal entity's fiscal year in federal awards must have a single audit conducted in accordance with §200.514 Scope of audit except when it elects to have a program specific audit conducted in accordance with §200.501 (c).
 

Sole Source Procurement: Procurement by noncompetitive proposals. Procurement by non-competitive proposals is procurement through solicitation of a proposal from only one source and may be used only when very specific conditions exist. All sole-source procurements must be thoroughly documented and justified.
 

Small Dollar Grant Agreement: OSC approved grant agreement that may be used for Subrecipient awards under $250,000.
 

Soft Cost: See also Indirect Cost and Administrative Cost.
 

Special Conditions: Conditions applied to awards on a case-by-case basis and are located on the Grant Agreement. Special Conditions may be passed through from the Federal Award.
 

Sponsorship: Cash or in-kind gifts made by corporations (or other non-profits), usually in exchange for marketing/advertising consideration.
 

State Agency: A department, division or office of the State of Colorado.
 

Statement of Work (SOW): The statement of work includes the purpose, describes the Goals of the project, and details the work performance expectations. The success of a project is measured against the statement of work and adherence to other terms and conditions of the award or contract.
 

Statewide Grant Managers Group (SWGMG): A statewide group facilitated by the Office of the State Controller (OSC) aimed at discussing topics relevant to grant management.
 

Subaward: An award provided by a Pass-through Entity to a Subrecipient for the Subrecipient to contribute to the goals and objectives of the project by carrying out part of a Federal Award received by the Pass-through Entity. It does not include payments to a Contractor, beneficiary, or participant.  A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the Pass-through Entity considers a contract.
 

Subcontractor: Third parties, if any, engaged by Grantee to aid in performance of the work under an Award.
 

Subgrantee: An entity that receives a Subaward from a Grantee to carry out part of a Federal Program; but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such Program.

 

Subject Matter Expert (SME): A person who has special skills or knowledge on a particular job or topic. A SME is often used to review a Grant Application.
 

Subledger: A subledger contains the detailed information summarized in the General Ledger. A General Ledger may include several subledgers. The subledger should be reconciled to the General Ledger at least quarterly.
 

Subrecipient: An entity that receives a sub award from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal award. The term does not include a beneficiary or participant. A Subrecipient may also be a Recipient of other federal awards directly from a federal awarding agency.
 

Supplanting: To deliberately reduce state or local funds because of the receipt of federal funds. Federal funds must be used to supplement existing funds for Program activities and not replace those funds which have been appropriated for the same purpose. Potential supplanting is subject to review during the application review, pre-award review, post-award monitoring, and audit. If there is a potential presence of supplanting, the applicant or Grantee will be required to supply documentation demonstrating that the reduction in non-federal resources occurred for reasons other than the receipt or expected receipt of federal funds.
 

Supplies and Operating: This Budget Category includes expendable supplies, space cost, telephone, printing, copying, tuition, registration fees for conferences, software, training, lease or rental of Equipment, vehicles and maintenance Contracts on Equipment, vehicles and any individual items with a unit cost less than $10,000.
 

System for Award Management (SAM): The Grantee is responsible for complying with all requirements of 2 CFR part 25 Financial Assistance Use of Universal Identifier and System for Award Management. The official website of the U.S. government www.sam.gov. There is no cost to use SAM.
 

Technical Assistance: Operational or management assistance given to Recipients and/or Subrecipients.
 

Terms and Conditions: A set the rights and obligations of the contracting parties when a grant is awarded or entered into.
 

Third Party In-Kind Contributions: Property or services which benefit a project or program funded by a federal award and which are contributed by non-Federal third parties without charge to a Recipient or Subrecipient under a Federal Award.
 

Time and Effort Reporting: Federal regulation requires that any salaries and benefits charged to a federal award(s) must be based on documentation that meets the following criteria in order to be allowable:

  • The employee’s time must be documented in writing.
  • The documentation must reflect the actual time spent by the employee on activities of the federal program(s) being charged.
  • The period covered by the documentation may not exceed one month unless an approved substitute system is in place or a semi-annual certification is used to report time and effort for a single cost objective.
  • The documentation must account for all of the employee’s time for the period covered (including state/local activities).
  • The documentation must be signed by the employee and the employee’s supervisor. This requirement applies to all federal awards and sub awards, including those received directly from the federal government, unless specifically exempted by OMB. It is required under 2 CFR 225, formerly Federal OMB Circular A-87 “Cost Principles of State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments.”
     

Travel: This Budget Category includes all travel including authorized airfare, mileage, lodging, and travel-related meal reimbursement expenses in the Approved Budget.
 

Unallowable Costs: A cost specified by law or regulation, federal cost principles, or term and condition of award that may not be reimbursed under a Grant or Cooperative Agreement.
 

Uniform Guidance: The Office of Management and Budget Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 2 CFR Part 200, commonly known as the “Super Circular,” which supersedes requirements from OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-110, A-122, and A-133, and the guidance in Circular A-50 on Single Audit Act follow-up.
 

Unrecovered Indirect Costs: The difference between the amount charged to the Federal Award and the amount that could have been charged to the Federal Award under the non-Federal entity's Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate.
 

Vendor: A dealer, distributor, merchant or other seller providing property or services required for a project or program funded by an Award. A Vendor is not a Prime Recipient or a Subrecipient and is not subject to the terms and conditions of a Federal Award. Program compliance requirements do not pass through to a Vendor. Another name for a Contractor.
 

 

Resources

In grants management, sharing resources is fundamental. No need to reinvent the wheel when you have colleagues who have created many tools already and are willing to share. Please check back often, as more resources are collected, they will be posted here.

Have anything you'd like to share? Please send your resources to Gina Salazar.

Subrecipient Monitoring

Subrecipient Monitoring Training - Recorded*

Accompanying guidance and sample documents:

*Some of the information in this recorded training will change when the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is updated and finalized in October 2024. This is noted throughout the training.

Grant Setup

Request for Application

State Funded Grants

The Grants Office is working with the State Grant Cohort group to develop resources for grant managers who manage state funded grants. This area is currently under construction and updated frequently. Please check back often to see what's new!

State Funded Grant Group Office Hours 

Join fellow state funded grants personnel to ask questions, chat state grants, and more! The State Funded Office Hours will be hosted every other month on the last Wednesday of that month. Please note: the State Funded Grant Group OH is only open to State of Colorado grant managers. If you are not a State employee, you will be removed from the meeting. Meetings run from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm. Below are upcoming meetings, click the date link to join:

There are no remaining State Funded Grant Group Office Hours for 2025

State Grant Google Space

The state grant group has a dedicated Google Space for state agency state funding grant managers to chat, post questions, share files and more! Contact Gina Salazar-Love to be added to the State Funded Grants Google Space. This is a closed group so you must contact the Grants Office to be added. 

 

Contracts and Grant Agreements

Provided are links to the Central Contracts Unit (CCU). They have many resources, tools and forms available for grants management as well as who to contact.