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I. Project Review and Selection Process

A. The project initiator brings a project to his/her Division Chair and Dean or Manager and Vice President and the Director of the Grants Program for review. 

1. The project initiator and Division Chair/Manager make a preliminary determination that the project addresses specific unit goals and is in line with the annual College Plan and the Master Plan.

2. The project initiator completes the Checklist for Cabinet Project Review (available on the Grants Program webpage, http://academic.cuesta.edu/grants/ . There is a general project checklist review period in October-November, although projects may also be submitted at other times, if need or opportunity arises.

3. Note: The project initiator and/or Manager or Division Chair may consult with the Director of the Grants Program  at any point during this process.

B. The project initiator brings the project checklist to his/her Dean or Vice President for discussion and review.

C. The Dean or Vice President sends the finalized checklist via email to Cabinet and the Grants Program.

D. The Cabinet assesses the project, determining whether or not the project is in line with current College Plan goals and the Master Plan. The Director of the Grants Program determines whether or not funds are available for such a proposal and if it can be submitted in a timely manner, given the research and writing needed and the Grants Program’s other commitments. Cabinet then determines whether the Grants Program will pursue funding opportunities for the project.

E. In the case of project requests occurring outside the fall checklist submission period, they will be discussed in the third regular Cabinet meeting of the month. If Cabinet is unable to meet to discuss the project, determination regarding submission of a grant proposal will be made by email.

F. The Director of the Grants Program informs the project initiator and Division Chair or Manager that the project has been selected or not and begins seeking potential funding sources for the project.

II. Grant Proposal Writing Process

A. After a project is reviewed and selected and possible funding sources located, the Grants Program will contact the project initiator and provide him/her with an outline of information needed for the proposal and a due date for the needed materials. If the prospective funding source is found by the Grant Writer, she will also provide the project initiator with a copy of the foundation’s/agency’s guidelines or RFP/RFA.   

     Basic information will include:

1.      background and structure of project—basic need for the project, goals,  

objectives and activities;

2.      regional data and student data, and a short  scholarly or professional

bibliography on the topic of the project;

     3. a project timeline;

     4. project organizational chart and project staff biographies;

     5. supporting materials from community partners, such as Memoranda of

     Understanding or letters of commitment;

     6. project budget—line items and sources/amounts of matching funds or in-kind 

     with assurance that project staff salaries are in line with Human Resources

     ranges and steps and College staff salaries used as match are in fact available

     (Nancy Acebo in Administrative Services is available to help organize budgets,

     but she must have your numbers first);

     7. if available, “best practices” information from other colleges on similar 

     projects; and

     8. project outcomes evaluation methods

Please Note:  If the project initiator does not provide the needed materials by the agreed due date, the Director of the Grants Program will contact Cabinet and the project initiator to inform them that the grant proposal cannot be completed in a timely manner.

B. The Grant Writer will prepare the proposal according to funding source guidelines.

C. Copies of the proposal will be provided to the project initiator, the appropriate Dean or Vice President and the Grants Program project file. Abstracts and budget narratives will be emailed to all Cabinet members for review one week prior to the mailing date.

D. The Director of the Grants Program will inform the project initiator,  the supervising Dean or Vice President and the Superintendent/President of the grant proposal’s success or failure in the funding review or competition. If the project initiator is the point of contact, he/she will inform the Grant Writer of the outcome and provide a copy of the award contract to the Grants Program for the project’s file.

III. Grants Management and Reporting Process

A. If the grant is awarded, the awarding organization will send the unsigned contract either to the Superintendent/President or the project initiator. In rare cases, it will be sent directly to the Grants Program. Whoever receives the contract should convey it as soon as possible to the Director of the Grants Program, who will gather the needed signatures and return the contract to the funding organization for final approval. When the fully-executed contract is returned, a copy will be sent to the project’s director and the relevant Dean or Vice President and Superintendent/ President. The original will be placed in the grant file in the Grants Program office.

B. After receiving the fully-executed contract, the Director of the Grants Program will send a copy to Fiscal Services, requesting that a categorical cost center and account numbers for the project be opened. The accountant will provide the project director with the account numbers and the Grants Program with copies of receipts for checks deposited in the accounts and account expenditures, to be included in the grant file.

C. The project's director, whether the initiator or another person, will provide Fiscal Services with copies of receipts and records for all grant-funded project activities when requesting funds or reimbursements.

C. The Grants Program will maintain a file on each funded grant, which will include the grant proposal, a copy of the executed award contract, instructions and forms for progress and final reports, copies of receipts, periodic expenditure and balance statements and copies of progress and final reports.

D. Fiscal Services will maintain financial records for each grant-funded project, including records of all College in-kind and release time used as match, matching funds provided through the Cuesta College Foundation and any subcontractor contracts and expenditures. Fiscal Services will provide a financial report to the project's director and the Grants Program at intervals to be determined during the project period. In the case of grants which have the Foundation as the fiscal receiver, these activities will be coordinated with the CFO of the Foundation.

E. The Director of the Grants Program will meet with the project’s director at the beginning of the project to review with her/him the grant award’s proposed activities, expenditures and the funder’s reporting requirements.

F. The project’s director will write all progress and final reports, submit them to the Director of the Grants Program and the appropriate Dean or Vice President for review and send the reports to the funding agency. Fiscal Services staff will provide progress and final budget reports, using the forms or format requested by the granting agency or foundation.