This segment of TRACS: Finance Lab is the second of a three-part series on interesting opportunities for grants, credits, and refunds of which you and your institution may not be aware.
Before we go there, though, let’s bring up – as a reminder at this time of year - one of the most- visited Finance Lab entries (from November 16, 2022 entitled “Thanksgiving Turkey ‘Coupons/Vouchers’ for Employees” – page down).
At this wonderful time of year, we are often asked about whether the value of a turkey, ham, or other item of merchandise purchased by an employer and distributed generally to each of an institution’s employees at Thanksgiving – or Christmas – might constitute wages subject to income tax withholding or income subject to tax for income tax purposes. In most cases the answer is, No. But what about coupons, vouchers, or gift certificates?
Now back to our program. For this second round of “New Money,” let’s look closely at the ways that your institution may be able to seek out government grants – not just for clean/green projects – online.
One online place you may already be familiar with is Grants.gov. For those of you who participate in Title III or Title IV, you may already be signed up and use this website for those purposes. But, did you know it also provides a “search engine” for government grants, a workspace, and an application tool?
Let’s walk through how your institution might set sail and navigate potential government grants using Grants.gov – and beyond…
First, if you are going to use the “grant search” feature of Grants.gov (where 26 government agencies publish all of their grants), you need to “sign up”/register at Grants.gov – that’s Step 1.
But that’s not the extent of the your required “sign ups.” Step 2 is to register your institution at SAM.gov (System for Award Management). That will require Step 3 – going to login.gov and creating a login.
After you’ve done all that, it’s back to Grants.gov (through Login.gov) where you link individuals to your institution’s organization profile. Make sure you are properly and fully registered – you might be the highest level “point of contact” and/or the “Expanded AOR” (authorized organizational rep).
Step 1 = Create an account on Grants.gov as an individual – follow the steps to register.
Step 2 = Go to SAM.gov and click on the “Get Started” button. To register, you will need a “unique entity ID” (UEI) for your institution (this replaces the old DUNS number). Requesting a UEI is part of the registration process. Then you select the type of registration you desire for your institution – “Assistance Awards” is for grants only; “All Awards” includes procurement contracts and other awards. For SAM.gov, you will need to enter the legal name of your
institution (the federal government will verify – and this can take a week or more!); you will also need the name of your “EBiz POC” (point of contact). SAM.gov has a downloadable list of requirements – on the “Prepare Your Data” page - that can really help your process. Step 3 = As part of your SAM.gov registration, you will need to create an account on Login.gov.
This “provides a secure way for users to access government websites like SAM.gov and Grants.gov.”
After that, it is back to Grants.gov where you – as mentioned earlier – link yourself (and other individuals) to your institution. At that point, you can begin using the Grants.gov “search” feature to find potential opportunities for grants (or other funds).
After all of that, you can begin to utilize the Grants.gov “Workspace” feature. Workspace allows your institution’s “grant team” to simultaneously access and edit web forms or upload .pdfs. The “EBiz POC” may assign the various users aligned with your institution to different roles – as long as they are all registered with Grants.gov! A quick summary/roadmap…
Search for Grants
Create a Workspace (Set up by using “Apply Now Using Workspace”)
Determine which forms to complete for the grant you are seeking
Manage your Workspace (when you login, you’ll see a dashboard of all required
documents – with the status of each)
Be diligent and careful with ensuring all attachments are included – in the specified order
Submit and track your grant application
There is a lot here. This is definitely a “try this at home” project(s) that can be a great benefit to your institution. Have at it!
We will continue to monitor this area of interest and will provide updates to you as they become available. More to follow!
Written by
David C. Moja, CPA www.mojacompany.com
The information provided herein presents general information and should not be relied on as accounting, tax, or legal advice when analyzing and resolving a specific tax issue. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, please consult with competent accounting, tax, and/or legal counsel about the facts and laws that apply.
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