All vouchers, honorariums, stipends and travel reimbursement forms need to be sent to the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant. The Gift and Grant Staff Accountant will then review charges and make sure all charges fall within the approved budget and are expensed to the correct account. 

All purchases should fall within Â鶹Çø’s purchasing policy and the Grantor’s purchasing policy. If both the university and the Grantor have a policy in regards to the same item, the policy which is more restrictive needs to be followed. It is extremely important for PI's to be aware of all expenses being paid out of their grant funds and for all grant funds to be spent in accordance with Grantor policies and Calvin’s policies. Direct any questions related to policies to the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant. 

Refer to the Â鶹Çø Purchasing Policy for further information.

Â鶹Çø collects money for its sponsored projects in several ways, including advance payments, payments made on prearranged schedules, payments made on completion of project or sponsor's acceptance of certain project tasks, cost reimbursement of Calvin prepared billings and other request for funds. The Gift and Grant Staff Accountant is responsible for preparing the billings and other requests for funds, depositing all funds received and for maintaining the accounts receivable for all billings and for performing the follow-up with any non-paying sponsors. 

All Federal Grant fund requests will be initiated by the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant on a quarterly basis. The PI will be notified once funds are received.

All State Grant fund requests will go through the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant. The PI will be notified when funds are requested and received.

Private Grants and Foundation Grants will be funded per agreement with funding organization. Gift and Grant Staff Accountant will be familiar with each agreement and request funds accordingly. The PI will be notified when funds are requested and received.

Each grant has an approved budget from the funding agency. The funds are to be spent according to that budget. 

The extent to which a budget may be modified once an award has been accepted varies from agency to agency. For example, some contracts from the State of Michigan do not allow for re-budgeting without prior approval; whereas some federal research grants allow for a great deal of budget flexibility. Keep in mind, however, that significant budget revision, while strictly speaking might be allowable under the terms and conditions of an award, may in practice also represent a change in the scope of objectives of the project that requires prior sponsor approval.  For that reason, always contact a Grant and Foundation Relations staff member prior to deviating from the budget.

Progress Reports

Progress reports are to be submitted according to each individual grant's terms and conditions and fall under the responsibility of the Principle Investigator.

Financial Reports

The Gift and Grant Staff Accountant is responsible for preparing financial reports to the granting organizations. Most granting organizations have established deadlines for submission of financial reports. The PI and administrative staff are asked to turn in all expenses in a timely manner, especially when financial reports are coming due. It is extremely important for PI’s to be aware of all expenses being paid out of their grant funds and for all grant funds to be spent in accordance with Grantor regulations and Calvin’s policies.

The Gift and Grant Staff Accountant will normally prepare all financial reports; if you or your department prepares a financial report, the Financial Services Office must approve it before it may be submitted to the granting organization. 

Time and Effort Reporting

Government regulations require Â鶹Çø to document the time and effort that faculty and professional staff devote to state and federal grants and contracts. A Time and Effort Reporting Form must be completed once per semester for every federal and state grant and contract where there is a commitment of time to the project. The form provides a record of the percent of effort committed to the sponsored project, regardless if the effort is paid by external funds or university funds. The completed forms will be kept on file with the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant.

It is absolutely essential that Calvin is in compliance with this regulation and the reported time and effort accurately reflect the actual time and effort devoted to the project during the semester. If the reported time and effort do not match what the sponsor approved, please contact the Grants and Foundation Relations Department. If a grant or contract is audited and Time and Effort Reporting Forms are not on file or do not agree with the approved budget, the sponsor may demand that Calvin return all or part of the funds.  

Those PI’s to whom this policy applies will receive a Time and Effort Reporting Form from the Gift and Grant Staff Accountant at the beginning of the award period. It is vitally important that these forms are completed each semester for the project as well as all other faculty and professional staff working on the grant or contract. This form must be returned by the end of final exam week each semester.

Closing out the grant will be a cinch, provided you have maintained all documentation throughout the life of the grant and have spent all the money. Filing the last annual report, drawing down the remaining funds, completing the last annual audit, and receiving the final correspondence from your programs officer are several steps involved with closing out your grant.

Every grant has a beginning and ending date as stipulated by the funding agency. The Grants and Foundation Relations department will contact you 90 to 60 days prior to the close of your reward to assist you.

If you feel that it is not feasible to complete the project by the end of the designated period and you have funds remaining on your account, in most cases you may request a no-cost extension from the funding agency. If this is done in a timely fashion, many agencies will allow you to expend funds beyond the final date of your original grant. Please contact Grants and Foundation Relations Office prior to requesting a no-cost extension. If you spend funds after the closing date of the grant without receiving permission in advance, the funding agency is likely to refuse reimbursement to the university.  

It is helpful to use a 60-day target date to prepare for closeout. You need to anticipate final expenditures, particularly as they relate to payroll, benefits and purchasing. The Grant and Foundation Relations staff will assist you as needed.