Grants

The purpose of this policy is to establish grant management requirements to assure NKY Health staff track grant activity, work collaboratively, and ensure proper administration and accounting of all grants.

The definition of a grant for purposes of this policy is: An award of financial assistance or resources by a funding source in addition to the usual funding allocations received from the Department for Public Health. 

Collaborative grants where the Health Department works in partnership with another agency for a common purpose and is not the fiscal agent of an award shall also be included and tracked for purposes of this policy. Examples include letters of support/commitment, provision of personnel, travel, supplies or space where resources are leveraged to have a greater overall impact that addresses an identified need.

The District Director of Health, or designee as authorized, has sole responsibility for approving the submission of grant proposals, the acceptance of grant awards and the execution of grant contracts/agreements. 

Relevant documents include, but are not limited to, letters of intent/support, applications, proposals, contracts, subaward agreements or memorandums of agreement with partnering agencies.

Senior Staff shall identify needs and prioritize whether they are short-term or long-range priorities. Grants must fit with the NKY Health mission or Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) while being relevant to NKY Health’s strategic priorities without causing a conflict of interest. 

Funding shall be evaluated in terms of impact and sustainability whether it is to cover a specific project, as startup to a new program or to continue/expand on ongoing efforts. 

Applications shall consider staffing requirements, match requirements/sources, total anticipated project cost and what source(s) of funding shall cover those costs and documentation of a continuation plan. 

No grant will be accepted that will incur management reporting costs greater than the grant amount unless funded by the grant. Indirect costs shall be included with personnel costs if guidelines do not require a federally approved indirect cost rate and indirect costs are allowed in the grant. These funds will be used to offset expenditures in overseeing the grant and overhead costs. 

Roles and responsibilities shall be included in job descriptions as appropriate. 

Grant Coordinators shall monitor grant activities, including those of subaward agreements and obtaining in-kind cash or match documentation. 

Administration staff shall maintain agency grant accounts, track overall grant activity and contracts, and provide fiscal oversight to assure compliance with fiscal requirements. 

Division Directors shall monitor performance to assure adherence to goals, timelines and requirements specific to the grant. 

Grant reports shall be prepared for Senior Staff on a periodic basis and upon completion of the grant period as to final disposition of funds and summary of grant outcomes and evaluation.

The following are the steps in the grant process:

1. NKY Health staff who receive notification of a grant opportunity notifies their supervisor, following the chain-of-command. If the District Director of Health receives notification of a grant opportunity, the respective Division Director(s) is notified.

2. The Division Director researches the grant opportunity, considers the cost/benefit and whether an IRB is needed, and involves Administration staff. If an IRB is needed, the Division Director shall follow the procedures identified in the NKY Health Research Policy.

3. The Division Director and Administration staff review the grant opportunity and determine whether to move ahead. If approved, staff continues to Step 4. If not, the process ends.

4. The Division Director informs the District Director of Health of the grant opportunity and recommends that NKY Health apply for the grant opportunity; Administration staff is copied on this communication.

5. If the District Director of Health approves of moving ahead with the grant opportunity, staff continues to Step 6.

6. The Division Director assigns a staff member to be the “Grant Coordinator” for this grant opportunity.

7. The Grant Coordinator consults with Administration staff on the grant and the plan for applying.

8. Administration staff creates an electronic folder in a single, centralized location in shareall. (See the “Electronic Grants Folder” section below for content details.) The Grant Coordinator writes the grant application and follows the grant requirements and/or checklist.

9. Administration staff prepares salary, fringe, draft budget, etc.; the Grant Coordinator involves Administration and key stakeholders in the writing of the grant application.

10. The Grant Coordinator shares the grant application draft through the chain-of-command, as well as Administration staff.

11. The Division Director approves or disapproves of moving ahead with the grant opportunity. If approved, staff continues to Step 12.  If not, the process ends.  (If revisions are required at this point, they are made and process goes back to Step 9)

12. The Division Director meets with the District Director of Health to review the grant application and recommends approval.  (If revisions are required at this point, they are made and process goes back to Step 9)

13. The Grant Coordinator submits the grant application and notifies the chain-of-command and Administration staff. Administration staff is the back-up in the event the Grant Coordinator is unavailable to submit the application.

14. The Grant Coordinator is notified whether the grant application has been awarded.

    • If it is not awarded, the Grant Coordinator requests a debriefing from the funding source explaining why the application was not awarded and notifies all involved parties, including Administration staff; Administration staff archives the grant proposal and updates the grants log in shareall.

    • If the grant is awarded, the Grant Coordinator communicates this to all parties involved, including Administration staff. Administration staff receives the grant contract, reviews it, obtains signatures, etc.

15. Administration staff creates a cost center and sets it up in required financial systems. The Grant Coordinator and Administration staff meet to define the respective roles of the Grant Coordinator and Administration staff, to address matching and in-kind tracking, and to create a timeline for fiscal program and reporting to specific parties, including periodic check-ins with Administration.

16. Administration staff invoices the grant, and performs financial reporting for the grant. The Grant Coordinator implements the grant, tracks progress and outcomes, and reports per the agreed upon timeline.

17. The grant ends (either completed or discontinued). The Grant Coordinator submits the summary report; and Administration staff archives the grant.

Per Step 8, Accounting will set up a shareall grants folder and store all grants in the following main folders:

• Policy

• Templates

• Tracking

• Applied

• In Process

• Archived

• Not Funded

The following is a list of files to be kept in each grant folder:

• Application / RFP

• Award notice

• Contract (including subaward agreements, MOAs, etc.)

• Billing

• Budget (budget modifications)

• Program plan

• Evaluation / Logic Models

• Letters of Support

• IRB documentation

• Correspondence

• Grant meeting minutes

• Committees / partnership work

• Progress / program / evaluation reports

• Financial reporting

• Sub- folders, as appropriate or as specified by each grant

Grant records are subject to an external audit by the funding source or an independent auditor and will be maintained on file in accordance with contract grant requirements and records retention limit schedules. 

Cash Receipts Policy – deposit of grant funding

Contracts Policy – subaward agreements

Purchasing Policy – procurement with grant funding

Research Policy – IRB review and approval process

10/3/2022

• Updated policy header. 

11/2/2023

• Replaced Accounting with Administration to update new division titles.