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1. What are my reporting obligations to RWJF?
2. How will I receive my grant payments?
3. Questions about unused grant funds
4. Does RWJF audit projects who receive their grant funds?
5. Can I request an extension to the award date? What is the RWJF procedure for extension requests?
6. What happens if we don't accomplish the goals identified in our proposal by the end of the grant?
7. What do I do if I need more time to complete a report or to provide information to RWJF?
8. What information does RWJF require when subcontracts are included in a grant budget?
9. Do I have to report interest earned under my grant?
10. Questions about indirect costs.
11. What are my financial reporting obligations?
12. Is there a glossary of financial terms that can help me do my budget?
13. When and how do I revise my budget?
14. What is the difference between annual and final narrative reports?

1. What are my reporting obligations to RWJF?
   

   Your reporting obligations depend on the nature of your grant. In general, you should expect to submit annual and final financial and narrative For details, please review the Foundation's guidelines found under Grant Reporting. The Grantee Reporting Guideline apply both to grantees who receive a grant directly from the Foundation and to grantees who are working on a project within a National Program.

   If you are working on a project within a National Program, you may also have to report to the National Program Office. Contact your National Program Office for more information.

   National Program Office reporting instructions are available on NPONet, the Foundation's extranet for National Program Office staff (login and password required).

2. How will I receive my grant payments?
   

   All grants receive an initial payment by the start date. For grants of $50,000 or less, the award is paid in full. Grants $50,001 to $200,000 that are 12 months or less will receive 90 percent of the award amount; if multiyear, the initial payment is 100 percent of the first year's approved budget with subsequent payments based on the next year's budget and receipt of a financial report. For grants in excess of $200,000, the initial payment is one half of the first year's approved budget, with subsequent payments made semi-annually upon receipt of a financial report. It is RWJF's practice to withhold a portion the grant funding for awards over $50,000 until the final financial and narrative reports have been received and accepted. This is typically 10 percent of the final year for grants $50,001 through $200,000, and 10 percent of the award on grants above $200,000.

3. Questions about unused grant funds
   
   • Is it common to have unused funds?
     Unused funds are not uncommon. Typically, unused funds result from a late project start; delayed hire or loss of key project staff; increased project funding from other sources that may reduce the amount required from RWJF in a given year; and/or a change in your project that reduces expenses.
     
     
   • Must unspent funds be used the very next year?
     No. The balance remains in your account and is available for your use in subsequent years with an approved budget revision.
     
     
   • How do I access unspent funds?
     You must request a budget revision to carry over unused funds. Please refer to the RWJF Grant Budget Revision Guidelines for additional information.
     
     
   • What happens with unused funds at the end of my award period?
     The funds are returned to RWJF by cancellation of the unpaid balance, your refund of a cash balance, or a combination of both.
     

    

4. Does RWJF audit projects who receive their grant funds?
   

   The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has initiated a program whereby grantees and contractors are selected at random to receive an internal audit review. The purpose of this review is to:
   
   1) Provide the Foundation with the assurance that our funds are being used for their intended purpose.
   
   2) Provide recommendations to our grantees and contractors on methods to improve their organizations' fiscal business processes. If your organization is selected, you will be notified in advance of the audit.

5. Can I request an extension to the award date? What is the RWJF procedure for extension requests?
   

   Please refer to the RWJF Guidelines for Extension of Award. Please note that extensions to awards are reviewed for both financial and programmatic appropriateness and are not automatically granted.

6. What happens if we don't accomplish the goals identified in our proposal by the end of the grant?
   

   The answer depends on the situation.

   Sometimes circumstances arise that delay progress on a project. It is important that you keep your program officer (or the National Program Office in the case of grantees under a National Program) informed as soon as you encounter difficulties that might delay or prevent you from accomplishing the grant objectives.

   When the grantee is still able to complete the project with the grant funds available but simply needs more time, they can request an extension of their grant time period. Please refer to the RWJF Guidelines for Extension of Award.

   Please note: Grant extensions need prior approval. Please submit your extension request at least six weeks prior to the end of the grant so your request may be reviewed and any questions addressed.

   In some cases, particularly for grantees funded under an RWJF National Program, technical assistance may be available to help resolve difficulties or delays. To obtain such assistance, grantees funded under a national National Program should contact their National Program Office. Other grantees should contact their RWJF program officer.

7. What do I do if I need more time to complete a report or to provide information to RWJF?
   

   The procedure for requesting more time to complete a report or to provide information to RWJF is provided in the RWJF Guidelines for Extension of Due Dates.

8. What information does RWJF require when subcontracts are included in a grant budget?
   

   When subcontracts are included in your budget, RWJF needs a fact sheet or copy of the actual subcontract showing the subcontractor's name, the contract dates, the dollar amount of the subcontract, and the deliverables. If a subcontract is be amended, we need to see a copy of the amendment or a memorandum explaining what elements are being changed. If this information was not provided at the time your budget was negotiated, it must be provided prior to expending any funds for the subcontract. Please refer to the RWJF Contractual Agreements Guidelines for additional information.

9. Do I have to report interest earned under my grant?
   

   Most awardees will not be required to report income earned to RWJF. Those that are required will be specially notified. RWJF assumes that the grantee organization will use all income earned on RWJF grant payments to support the project we have funded. As stated in the RWJF Project Support and Conditions of Grant form, grant income is considered part of the grant and is subject to the same conditions as funds paid under the award.

10. Questions about indirect costs.
    
    • What are indirect costs?
      Indirect costs, or overhead, are those costs that are not easily identifiable in an economically feasible way as exclusively related to a particular project but are necessary to conduct the grant. Some examples of these costs are human resources department costs, payroll processing and accounting costs, janitorial services, utilities, property taxes, property and liability insurance, and building maintenance.
      
      
    • How much does RWJF allow for indirect costs/overhead?
      Indirect costs are limited to 12 percent of total direct costs (Personnel, Other Direct Costs and Purchased Services). When Purchased Services total more than 33 percent of the RWJF portion of a budget, the Foundation limits indirect costs on the Purchased Services category to 4 percent.

     

           
11. What are my financial reporting obligations?
    

    All grantees are required to submit annual and final financial reports. Some grantees also will be asked to submit expenditure reports semiannually. Expenditures must be reported against the line-item budget that was approved for your grant.

    Financial reporting instructions and reporting forms are sent to the grantee's fiscal officer with the first payment of the grant. After the initial payment is made, further grant payments are predicated by submission of a financial report to RWJF. (For more details, please see question #14). The financial reporting form shows the line-item budget approved for the reporting period and other grant-related information. It is not necessary to use the specific form; you may recreate the format using your own software.

    Grantees funded under a RWJF National Program should contact their National Program Office for more information about reporting requirements. All other grantees should contact the Grants Administrator assigned to your project when awarded.

     
12. Is there a glossary of financial terms that can help me do my budget?
    

    A financial glossary is available in the Grantee Resources section of this site. 

13. When and how do I revise my budget?
    

    Your budget will need to be revised if you anticipate spending in excess of 105 percent of an approved budget category; when you need to add a line item or adjust your line-item distribution because of a change in your project; or if you wish to carry over unspent funds from a prior period. The request should be sent to your RWJF grants administrator and program officer and to your National Program Office if your grant was awarded under one of RWJF's National Programs. More information is provided in our Budget Revision Guidelines.

14. What is the difference between annual and final narrative reports?
    

    For specific guidelines, please visit the Grant Reporting section of our site.

    Annual narrative reports are filed at the end of each year of a multiyear grant, usually at the same time as the annual financial report. These reports, together with the annual financial reports, are our principal means of staying informed about your project.

    Your final narrative report is filed at the end of your grant and covers the entire grant period. For multi-year grants, it takes the place of the annual narrative report in the last year of the grant. If your grant is one year or less, you will file only a final narrative report. It is a substantive record both of the activities conducted during the entire grant period and how they met the goals set forth in your proposal, and of the accomplishments of the project. Information from your final narrative report may be used to summarize the results or findings of the project, both in the RWJF Grant Results Reports (see Grants and Program Reporting for each of the interest areas), published on this site, and in other Foundation-related publications.

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