The budget should be a complete and accurate estimate of the financial resources needed to carry out the proposed project. There are four categories of income:
The income for the project is the total amount available from these four sources. The major grant application form includes a two-part budget summary to be completed by the applicant. Part A is used to provide information about sources of income; part B is used to summarize project expenses. The applicant should use the columns in the expense summary to indicate how the income from each source is to be expended. The minigrant application form contains only an expense summary. The budget summary on the application form should be explained in sufficient detail in the budget attachment to demonstrate that project costs are reasonable and directly related to the plan of activities. Please organize the detailed explanation of the budget in the same way that the expense summary is organized. Be sure to specify how council funds are to be spent in each expense category.
Guidelines for Expenses All expenditures for an approved project must occur during the grant period. Normally, the grant period for a project approved by the board of directors following the September 15 deadline will begin no earlier than December 1; the grant period for a project approved by the board of directors following the February 15 deadline will normally begin May 1. The grant period for a minigrant or planning grant will begin no earlier than the 15th of the month following the month in which the proposal is submitted. A proposed grant period longer than twelve months should be justified in the budget attachment. We will ask an applicant whose proposal is approved to designate a fiscal agent who will be responsible for authorizing expenses and receiving and spending grant funds according to our requirements. The fiscal agent must sign all financial reports to us. The project director may not serve as the fiscal agent. Budgeted expenditures under "personnel" line items B.1.a. and B.1.b. in the budget summary are for the services of the project director, staff of the applicant, and other salaried or hourly project participants. The basis of salaries, wages and fringe benefits must be indicated in the budget explanation. Although the council is willing to underwrite reasonable salary, wage, and benefits cost, we expect such cost to be shared by applicants or other funders. Line item B.1.c. is for project participants who will receive a fee for their services. Large honoraria for speakers, panelists, and consultants are discouraged. The applicant must justify any fee that exceeds $750 for a single event. Council grant funds may not be used for stipends for teachers participating in seminars or institutes. However, grant funds may be used to cover teachers’ direct costs. Such costs are transportation, including reimbursement for personal automobile mileage; lodging and meals; and instructional materials. Grant funds may also be used to pay participants’ tuition if a sponsoring institution absorbs the costs of instruction (for example, salaries and fringe benefits for the institution’s faculty involved in the seminar or institute). If council grant funds are used to cover the costs of instruction, then tuition must be waived or paid with funds from another source, but not by the teachers themselves. Any applicant proposing to employ professional performers and related or supporting professional personnel must assure the council that it will abide by U.S. Department of Labor requirements regarding payments to and working conditions for such performers and personnel. Please contact the council's executive director before submitting a proposal that involves professional performers. Travel costs, including transportation, meals, and lodging, for all participants should be fully itemized in the budget explanation by number of trips, their origin and destination, and length of stay. Allowable transportation costs are the current IRS-approved rate for private automobile mileage reimbursement and the actual cost of coach air, train, or bus fare. We urge applicants to plan transportation arrangements carefully in order to take advantage of discounts available from common carriers. Grant funds may not be expended for alcoholic beverages. Grant funds normally may not be expended for indirect costs, although indirect costs may be used as cash cost-sharing under certain circumstances. Applicants who have negotiated indirect-cost rates with an agency or department of the federal government may apply indirect costs to cash cost-sharing at the negotiated rate. The rate and the manner of computation should be included in the budget explanation. Other applicants may apply indirect costs of up to ten percent of the total direct costs of the project to cash cost-sharing, but must be able to document indirect expenses. Two copies of all printed materials and film, video, audio, and slide-tape productions that result from an approved project must be deposited with the Arkansas Humanities Council. The cost of the required copies of materials that are expensive to produce should be included in the budget. Copies of film and video productions should be submitted on one-half-inch VHS videotapes dubbed from the masters. Please note: the Arkansas Humanities Council reserves a non-exclusive right to circulate materials produced with its financial assistance. Up to $1000 in council grant funds may be applied to the purchase of equipment, provided that purchase is cheaper than rental. Acquisitions, such as books or other library materials, may be approved when the materials will be used for the specific purpose of public outreach in the humanities. Such acquisitions must be explained in the narrative. The explanation should include plans for how the materials will be used after the project is completed. The Arkansas Humanities Council discourages, but does not prohibit, charging of admission or registration fees. Proposals should indicate the amount of a proposed fee and explain why a fee must be charged. Anticipated income from the fee must be reflected in the budget as cash cost-sharing from the applicant, and must be detailed in the budget explanation. Audiences may be charged for the cost of meals, refreshments, and program materials provided by the applicant. Any net income generated during the project period by project-related activities will be applied to the expenses of the project, or used to reduce the cost of the project to the council and the applicant.
Cost-sharing All outright grants from the Arkansas Humanities Council are awarded on a cost-sharing basis. Council grant funds may account for no more than half the total expenditures for a project. In other words, at least half the total expenses must be paid for by a combination of the applicant's financial resources and financial resources provided by third-party contributors other than the Arkansas Humanities Council. (Note: Cost-sharing requirements are different for matching grant funds awarded by the council. Please see the following section on "Matching Grants.") Cost-sharing is of two types:
Any combination of cash cost-share and in-kind cost-share can meet cost-sharing requirements for a project. We invite prospective applicants to discuss project budgets with our staff before submitting proposals. Introduction
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