Pre-award

Purpose

To provide guidance on:

  1. When a proposal is handled by Research Operations/ORSPA
  2. When a proposal is handled by the ASU Foundation
  3. How to develop a charitable grant proposal
  4. How to address post-submission activities and follow up
  5. Where to find the ASU Foundation’s administrative Information

RA – Research Advancement Administrator

GCO – Grant + Contract Officer

FP – Funding Proposal

IRB – Institutional Review Board

OCFR – The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations has transitioned to three separate teams: Corporate Philanthropy, Foundation Development, and Writing Services. What was the OCFR website is now ASU Foundation Proposal Resources.

CFO – Chief Financial Officer

ASU – Arizona State University

IAG – Industry Agreements Group

ASUF – ASU Foundation

ATF – After the Fact

ORSPA – Research Operations

PI – Principal Investigator

PNT – Proposal and Negotiation Team

ResOps – Research Operations

KE – Knowledge Enterprise

For definitions, see Acronyms and Glossary page.

Introduction


Charitable gifts/grants follow the same guidelines regardless of whether ASUF or KE Research Operations/ORSPA will be the applicant organization. Please see the Develop Proposal Work Instructions.

Charitable Grant proposals –> RA –> Research Operations/ORSPA –> Sponsor

Who is the applicant organization?

ASU Foundation will be the applicant organization for charitable gifts/grants with the exception of when:

  • The sponsor does not make awards to 501(c)3, non-profit
  • The sponsor is a federal agency 
  • ASU is a subgrantee
  • The award is being transferred into ASU from another institution
  • The application portal or format requires that the University be listed (system limitation, etc.)
  • The work being performed will provide a commercial benefit to the sponsor 

In these limited circumstances, ASU/ORSPA would be the applicant. Also, if the sponsor is a foreign entity, it may be necessary for ASU to be the applicant institution (rather than ASUF).

Who administers the funds?

All funds (both ASU and ASUF) are administered by Research Operations/ORSPA with one exception:  Unrestricted gifts are received and administered by ASUF and the appropriate unit.

Is it the RA’s responsibility to determine if funds are charitable?

No. RAs may contact the assigned Proposal GCO or RAhelp@asu.edu for assistance.

Where can questions be directed to?

RAs may contact the assigned Proposal GCO or RAhelp@asu.edu with questions. ASU Foundation employees may send queries to ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org.

When ASUF is the applicant organization, who should be listed as the sponsor within ERA?

ASUF should be listed as the direct sponsor. The organization providing the charitable funds should be listed as the prime sponsor.

What is the legal name of ASUF?

Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University.

Is the standard institutional information the same for ORSPA and ASUF?

No. ORSPA’s administrative information is posted to the Proposal Information and Resources page. ASU Foundation Institutional Information Sheet can be found on the ASUF Proposal Resources page.

What is the process for charitable gifts/grants where ASUF will be the applicant?

With few exceptions, the review and approval process is the same as for all proposals (ORSPA or ASUF). See the Develop Proposal Work Instructions for further information.

Is an ERA Funding Proposal (FP) required for both ASUF and ORSPA proposals? 

Yes, charitable gifts/grants are processed using the same procedures established by Research Operations for sponsored projects. However, for charitable gifts/grants that will go out with ASUF as the applicant, Research Advancement staff will notify ASUF by:

Using the “Manage Proposal Editors-Readers” activity from the proposal workspace, add Andrew Nelson and Kimberly Roland under the “Update Proposal Team Readers” search bar.

ERA will generate an e-mail, automatically, notifying ASUF that there is an FP available for review.

Does ASUF provide any support for proposal development?

For charitable gift/grant applications of $100K or more, the appropriate ASU Foundation teams will help PI/Unit in grant writing and proposal review, upon request. For assistance with proposals to foundations, contact Andrew Nelson, Sr. Director, Foundation Development. For assistance with applications to corporations, contact Kimberly Roland, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Philanthropy. PIs/Units may contact asufoundationgrants@asufoundation.org to inquire about these services.

Note: Please notify ASUF at the earliest stages of proposal development to allow for adequate lead time.

What should be done if a document requires an ASUF institutional signature?

Send signature requests for proposals, vendor setup forms, and banking institution forms to ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org. Requests should be sent with as much notice as possible and include the date by which the signature is needed. Documents that may require ASUF signature include, but are not limited to, proposal documents, vendor setup forms, and banking institution forms.

What if there is a limit on the number of proposals the institution may submit?

Limited Submission (LS) opportunities for charitable grants are managed through the standard ASU Limited Submissions process.

Budgeting


Follow the guidelines in the budget section of the Proposal Information and Resources page. All information applies, including the 3% escalation for personnel.

For charitable gifts/grants that are funded by industry (except where there is federal flow through funds involved), IRB fees for human subjects protocol review apply. For additional information, see the Fee Structure on the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) website.

Direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries to a charitable grant is appropriate if the services benefit the sponsored project. Administrative expenses that benefit such awards can and should be charged directly to those awards.

Some charitable sponsors may have specific requirements for direct charging of administrative costs. Such requirements should be complied with and addressed in proposals.

When a charitable sponsor’s maximum indirect cost rate as published or allowed by the sponsor’s policy is lower than ASU’s Federal Rate, funds should be budgeted for expenses normally funded as indirect costs (e.g., project-related administrative support, office supplies, etc.). Below are the parameters when these types of costs should be included, if possible:

  • For proposal budgets under $1M
    • No Standard Direct Charge for Central Administrative Costs. Proposals at this tier will typically not require inclusion of central administrative costs as direct costs.
    • Direct Charge for Unit Administrative Costs, If Possible. Include direct costs for applicable administrative and project costs that would normally be funded by indirect cost recovery. Review Administrative Costs to Consider on Non-federal Awards for examples and guidance.
  • For proposal budgets that total $1M or more
    • Direct Charge for Central Administrative Costs. Unless expressly prohibited by sponsor’s published policies, include a line for “Sponsored Management Solutions and Support” under Other Direct Costs > Other Services (not in Personnel), in accordance with the Tiered Costs Table below. The dollar amounts listed at each tier are the amounts that should be budgeted in each year of the project (use the same FY column that is applicable to your project year in ERA).
RangeFY24FY25FY26FY27FY28
$0 – $999,999$0$0$0$0$0
$1M – $2,999,999$8,606$8,864$9,130$9,404$9,686
$3M – $5,999,999$21,515$22,161$22,825$23,510$24,215
Over $6M$43,030$44,321$45,651$47,020$48,431

Budget justification


Refer to the Budget Justification Best Practices job aid for language to be included in budget justifications and budget narratives, including the following boilerplate language specific to charitable grant proposal budgets:

  • All budgets which include funds for F and A must also include the following statement verbatim: “A percentage of the funds will be paid to the ASU Foundation in consideration for their services in support of this project.”  
  • The following language can be used when justifying the central research administration vendor/service line as an Other Direct Cost:
    • Sponsored Management Solutions and Support – Funds have been budgeted for Sponsored Management Solutions and Support, to manage legal, financial, administrative, and compliance activities under this award. Sponsored Management Solutions and Support will also provide essential resources to facilitate project success and fulfill sponsor requirements.
  • If it is necessary to budget a “TBD Grant + Contract Officer” line in the personnel budget (because the sponsor’s policy prohibits vendor/service costs), use the same language but replace “Sponsored Management Solutions and Support” with “TBD Grant + Contract Officer”:
    • TBD Grant + Contract Officer – Funds have been budgeted for a Grant + Contract Officer to manage legal, financial, administrative, and compliance activities under this award. The Grant + Contract Officer will provide essential resources to facilitate project success and fulfill sponsor requirements.

Cost sharing


The process for review and approval of cost sharing for charitable gifts/grants is the same as it is for proposals where ASU (Research Operations/ORSPA) is the applicant. For additional information, please see the Cost Sharing Sitelet.

F and A rates


What is the appropriate F and A rate?

Charitable grant proposal budgets must include indirect costs calculated at the maximum rate permitted by the sponsor’s published policy.

  • A limited indirect cost rate should be applied to the total direct costs (TDC) of such a project, rather than the modified total direct costs (MTDC) basis used in federal awards, unless prohibited by the sponsor.

Where the sponsor does not have a published policy, 11% of all direct costs (Total Direct Costs/TDC) should be used.

11% TDC is less than the sponsor’s published policy; should the lower rate be used?

No. The sponsor’s published policy takes precedence.

Can the sponsor write a letter that says what they are willing to pay?

Acceptable documentation of a sponsor’s F and A restriction is outlined in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), published on their website or in their sponsor guidelines (including requirements stated in the sponsor budget template, submission portal, etc.). Letters and emails from sponsors will not be accepted. For assistance with requesting that a sponsor publish their rate policy, please contact the ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org well in advance of the proposal deadline (approximately 2 weeks notice is preferred).

What rate should be used on flow-through funds?

In circumstances where ASU will be the subgrantee, ASU (Research Operations/ORSPA) not ASUF will be the applicant organization. Please refer to the F and A Wizard for appropriate rates.

When is a waiver required?

Published, uniformly applied F and A policyNo waiver required
Post-submission change in grantee from ASUF to ORSPA due to sponsor constraintsNo waiver required
ASUF confirmed, unpublished F and A policy < 11% TDCKE waiver required
F and A < 11% TDC and no policyKE waiver required
Waivers which request a rate less than 5% TDC will be declined

Who needs to sign off on the waiver?

RAs must follow the steps outlined in the F and A Sitelet.

Does ASUF need to sign off on the waiver as well?

No.

If the charitable organization (i.e. Sponsor) contacts the PI for additional information, what should be done?

The PI should notify their RA of the request received. The RA will then notify ASUF, award grantee, of the request received. ASUF will then work with and complete any actions needed with the charitable organization.

What actions should be taken when an award needs to be processed along with an After-the-Fact (ATF) Proposal?

  • Answer “Yes” to ERA Smart Form 1.1 Q8 to confirm ATF.
     
  • As parallel actions, RA will:
    • Contact assigned GCO by running the ERA Activity – Notify PNT  to complete their full institutional review of the proposal.

      Note: For any proposal that is to be funded, the preference is for the Proposal GCO to complete their full institutional review prior to submission. In the event of an ATF and other situations, this may not be possible and will need to be completed prior to award activation or account establishment will be delayed. *See note below.
    • Send the award to ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org. For urgent requests copy Angela Vasquez.
    • *Note: There are 2 ways to find out if a proposal has been fully reviewed by a Proposal GCO – (1) Access the report Proposals Submitted With No Review and search by FP Number in the Find field – if nothing is found, the proposal is fully reviewed or (2) In the History section of the ERA Workspace, click: “The PNT has updated the review status”
  • ASUF will review the award to ensure that compliance with terms and conditions is possible with ASUF as the grantee and  ORSPA administering. If changes are needed to the award, ASUF will work directly with the charitable organization.  When award is acceptable, ASUF will send signed award to notifications@asu.edu.

    Note: ASUF will only involve PNT or IAG in review/negotiation of award when they are unclear if ORSPA could administer specific terms of the award.
     

What happens if an award intended for ASUF comes to ASU? How should this situation be handled?

Contact assigned GCO by running the ERA Activity – Notify PNT. PNT or IAG will notify ASUF of the situation and see how ASUF would like to proceed. The RA will be notified by the assigned GCO on the decision made and the decision will be documented in ERA as a public comment.

The outcomes could be:

  • ASUF chooses to contact the charitable organization and request a change of the grantee from ASU to ASUF.
     
  • ASUF chooses to relinquish the award to ASU. PNT or IAG will update the proposal workspace Sponsor field to reflect this change. There will be no changes to the F and A rate submitted in the proposal package.
    • If F and A costs were included, ASUF may want to recoup their 5%. In this event, if a Contract Task is not needed for processing, then PNT or IAG GCO will run the activity “Award Letter Received” and include notes within the activity for coordination of this return with Fiscal Oversight back to ASUF.

How should follow up with the sponsor on a pending award be handled?

Send a request for follow up to ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org. Be specific in what is being requested. Include the FP number. For urgent requests, copy Angela Vasquez on your message to ASUFoundationgrants@asufoundation.org.

Example: FPXXXXX was submitted on March 21. The sponsor indicated that all decisions would be made by July 15. Please follow up to determine the status of the grant.