Office of Budgets & Financial Planning

1. The Office of Budgets and Financial Planning/Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is service-oriented and can assist you with the entire process of grant budget development. For this to happen, you need to meet with the office early in the process. The office can advise on all budget and grants categories, including payroll and fringe benefits, indirect cost rates, matching requirements, etc. If you are unfamiliar with budgets or with writing grant budget narratives, we will assist with both.
2. Get an early start in preparing your budget. Budget development can be an effective tool to help you conceptualize your project from beginning to end. Think about the daily activities associated with your project. If there will be substantial administration involved, be certain to arrange and budget for release time or hiring administrative help. If there is an assessment phase in the middle or at the end of the project, allot sufficient time and resources to undertake the assessment(s).
3. Make sure your budget is realistic. Get discounted prices from vendors. Reviewers generally will know the prices of equipment and supplies. Unrealistic prices will harm your chances of being awarded the grant. Butler’s Purchasing Department can assist with price estimates.
4. Grantors frequently require cost-sharing, in the form of a cash or in-kind match, as evidence of institutional commitment to a project. Matching funds must be approved in advance by your Department or Program Chair and College Dean (or appropriate supervisor if you are not faculty), as well as the Provost and Vice President of Finance and Administration before a proposal is submitted. It is a good idea to get this commitment early in the process—even before you have begun formally writing your proposal. Matching funds, in the form of smaller cash matches, may also be available through the Office of Sponsored Programs. For more information, contact the director of OSP.
5. Many grantors allow for general Facilities and Administrative costs, (also called “indirect costs,” “overhead costs,” or simply “F&A”). If a grantor allows for these costs, the University budgets them at the maximum rate allowed by the grantor. For federal grants, if a grantor requires Butler University’s federally-negotiated Facilities and Administrative cost rate, that rate is 41.0% of direct costs (with some exclusions—see below). In some cases a percentage of the total direct costs may be used on federal grants. Check with the office and the grant program guidelines to ensure that you are applying the correct rate.
6. The University’s fringe benefit rate is 32% during the academic year for full-time employees and 8% for graduate students, part-time employees, and full-time faculty who are on a nine-month contract and are seeking funding for the summer. Faculty on 12-month appointments should use the 32% rate year-round. There are no fringe benefit costs associated with full-time undergraduate students.
7. Avoid general language and categories. Use budget categories which describe in detail the item or activity being purchased. For example, instead of “faculty development,” use terms such as “travel,” “conference registration,” and “food and beverage.” Also, avoid use of undefined “miscellaneous” and “other” categories. The office can provide you with the list of current and suggested account categories.
8. If the grantor requests a budget in a form incompatible with Butler’s chart of accounts, the office will require a parallel internal budget, which translates the proposed budget into a form compatible with Butler’s accounts. Both of these budgets must be completed and reviewed by the office before the proposal is submitted.
9. A routing through Birs GO must accompany all applications submitted to external entities. This form has a brief description of the grant and space to detail any cost-sharing or other University commitments. OSP can assist with filling out this form, and the routing will be sent to the appropriate parties automatically.
10. All grant applications (including proposal narratives and budgets) must be submitted using the online routing system to OSP before the application deadline. OSP recommends starting the routing a week to two weeks before the deadline. This procedure allows adequate time to ensure that you have a fully-developed application and also ensures that the University has approved of any cost-sharing requirements or other grant-related commitments. Failure to submit these materials by the internal deadline will jeopardize chances of timely University approvals and could result in a delayed or missed submission.

Fringes and payroll taxes must be included in your budget for all individuals paid through Butler’s Payroll Office, including students. There are no exceptions. The following rates should be used in preparing your budget:

• 32% for full-time (FT) staff and FT faculty on 12-month contracts
• 32% for FT faculty on nine- or 10-month contracts during the fall and spring semesters
• 18% for nine- or 10-month faculty during summer semesters
• 8% for part-time staff
• 8% for adjuncts
• 8% for graduate students
• 8% for part-time undergraduates*
• 0% for full-time undergraduates*

*A full-time undergraduate is any student taking 12 or more credit hours of courses during the fall or spring semesters or a minimum of 6 credit hours (combined) over the two summer semesters. A part-time undergraduate student is any student taking less than this amount, or a student working over the summer but not enrolled in classes.

Non-employees (i.e., those not paid through Butler’s Payroll Office) do not have fringe benefits applied to their payment; nor are payroll or income taxes withheld. So you do not need to apply a fringe rate for these individuals. Non-employee individuals receiving more than $600 in remuneration in a calendar year will receive a 1099 form and will be responsible for their own tax reporting.

This rate is negotiated with the Department of Health and Human Services, Butler’s cognizant federal agency, every three years. If a federal grant program allows indirect costs to be applied, you must include this in your budget. The current rate is 41.0% of all direct costs including payroll supplies and operating costs. However, there are two common exclusions:

• Capital expenditures in excess of $5,000 on a single piece of equipment or capital project are excluded from this rate. The regular 41% rate is applied to the first $5,000.
• Payments to sub-recipients or subcontractors in excess of $25,000 are excluded from this rate. This exclusion applies for the duration of the grant. For example, if a sub-awardee is awarded $50,000 each year for a three-year grant, indirect recovery is applied only to the first $25,000 and not to the remaining $125,000. The exclusion applies to each individual sub-awardee or subcontractor.