Budget Form Instructions

Use the Official Budget Request Form to summarize your project expenses. Round off all figures to the nearest dollar.

Funds received from the Foundation must be matched equally by your organization. The total cost-share (cash and in-kind) must equal or exceed the total MFH funds requested, but line items need not be matched equally. The exception is line A (project director).

Funds may not be requested for expenses incurred before the beginning of the grant period, nor may expenditures made before the start date be used as cost-sharing.

Cost-Sharing
Cost-sharing may be achieved by combining in-kind and cash contributions.

Cash Cost-Sharing
In cash cost-sharing, actual money changes hands and must be documented with canceled checks and/or receipts. Expenditures that may be counted toward the cash cost-share include salaries, travel costs, or other project-related expenses paid from your operating budget, registration fees, or other funding sources (except NEH).

At least 10 percent of the funds requested must be matched in cash.

Note: When the amount awarded by the Foundation represents less than half the total cash needed to complete a project (i.e., the sum of columns 1 and 2 on the Official Budget Request Form), the Foundation may, at its discretion, withhold the release of grant funds until at least 80 percent of the total cash needed to complete the project has been secured. (The 80 percent includes the MFH grant.)

In-Kind Cost-Sharing
Examples of in-kind cost-sharing include donations of time by people participating in the project (e.g., members of the planning committee); the use of facilities (e.g., an office or lecture hall) or equipment (e.g., a film projector or tape deck); or other donations of goods or services for which a fair market value can be determined.

Budget Explanation

The budget explanation is a line-by-line explanation of how you calculated each item on the budget request form. Be as specific as possible. Make sure to provide the basis for all cost estimates—for example, the estimated number of hours or days a person will work on the project and the rate per hour or day. Identify the sources of all matching funds, both cash and in-kind.

For more Notes on the Official Budget Request Form please refer to the application available from the download library.