Guidance for Preparing a MEPI Budget and Justification

This is a suggested template to guide applicants in assembling a budget that meets MEPI requirements. A budget that includes the elements below, and complies with the description and justification for each, improves a MEPI grant application and expedites the decision-making process.

Both U.S. Government (USG) and non-USG resources should be identified, detailed, and justified. Cost sharing is an important element of the budget process. USG resources refer only to the MEPI grant application. Please note that cost-sharing is an important element of the budget process. We suggested that applicants present budget amounts and computations in columns (as shown below): the: first column should be the Object Class Categories; the second column should be the "USG budget"; the next column(s) should be for non-USG budget(s); and the last column should indicate the total budget.

BUDGET SUMMARY

OBJECT CLASS CATEGORIES

Explanation of Object Class Categories

PERSONNEL

Description: Costs of employee salaries and wages.

Justification: Identify the project director or principal investigator, if known. For each staff person, provide the title, time commitment to the project in months or as a percentage of full-time equivalent, annual salary, wage rates, etc. Do not include the costs of consultants or personnel costs of companies providing services to the project. Those costs should be detailed as contractual expenses in the appropriate line below.

FRINGE BENEFITS

Description: Costs of employee fringe benefits, unless treated as part of an approved indirect cost rate. (see below)

Justification: Provide a breakdown of the amounts and percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health insurance, retirement insurance, taxes, etc.

TRAVEL

Description: Costs of project-related travel.

Justification: For each trip, show the total number of traveler(s), travel destination, duration of trip, per diem, mileage allowances if privately owned vehicles will be used, and other transportation costs and subsistence allowances.

EQUIPMENT

Description: Costs of tangible, non-expendable, personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.

Justification: For each type of equipment requested, provide a description of the equipment, the cost per unit, the number of units, the total cost, and a plan for their use on the project, as well as a description of the use or disposal of the equipment after the project ends.

SUPPLIES

Description: Costs of all tangible personal property other than that included under the Equipment category.

Justification: Specify general categories of supplies and their costs. Show computations and provide other information that supports the amount requested.

CONTRACTUAL

Description: Enter allowable direct program expenses to sub-recipients, including consultant fees and travel expenses under this cost category format. Sub-recipients are subject to the same budget requirements and regulations as primary recipients.

Justification: Detail any proposed sub-awards using this format, with one budget for each proposed sub-recipient organization.

OTHER

Enter the total of all other costs. Such costs, where applicable and appropriate, may include but are not limited to insurance, professional services costs, space and equipment rentals, printing and publication, computer use, training costs, such as tuition and stipends, staff development costs, and administrative costs.

Justification: Provide computations, a narrative description and a justification for each cost under this category.

INDIRECT CHARGES

Description: This category may be used only when the applicant has received an approved indirect cost rate from a U.S. government agency. If a cost is incurred for common or joint objectives of an organization and cannot be readily identified with a particular cost objective, it is considered an indirect cost. In all other cases, no indirect charges should be included, and all anticipated expenses should be listed in one of the direct charge categories.

Justification: An applicant that will charge indirect costs to the grant must enclose a copy of the current negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). When an indirect cost rate is requested, the costs included in the indirect cost pool should not also be charged as direct costs to the grant.

PROGRAM INCOME

Description: The estimated amount of income, if any, expected to be generated from this project. Interest income on US funds is not allowed.

Justification: Describe the nature, source and anticipated use of program income in the budget or refer to the pages in the application that contain this information.

NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES

Description: Amounts of non-USG resources that will be used to support the project as identified in Block 15 of the SF-424.

Justification: The firm commitment of these resources must be documented and submitted with the application in order to be given credit in the review process.