501(c)(3): Section of the Internal Revenue Tax Code that defines nonprofit, charitable (as broadly defined), tax-exempt organizations. Contributions made to these organizations are tax-exempt for the donors. To convey that status, they often represent themselves as 501(c)(3) organizations, rather than merely nonprofit organizations.

Abstract: Summarizes the purpose, importance and scope of the proposed project.

Accessibility: The extent to which programs or services can be reached or obtained by those who want or need them.

Administrative Costs: All direct and indirect costs associated with the management of grant programs. Often capped by the grantor at a certain percentage of the grant.

Applicant: Party requesting a grant.

Assurances: Represent a listing of a variety of requirements, found in different federal laws, regulations, and executive orders that applicants agree to by signature in an application.

Audit: An examination of grants records and financial accounts for accuracy and legal compliance, which may lead to recommendations for corrective action.

Bidder's Conference: A meeting with potential bidders to discuss the technical, operational and performance specifications, and/or the full extent of financial security and contractual obligations related to a grant solicitation.

Block Grant: Lump sum of money given to a state or local governing agency based on a formula to be spent in generally eligible areas. Purposes are broadly defined and few restrictions are mandated from the funding source. Restrictions can be imposed by the re-granting agency.

Boilerplate: A form or section of a document that is used so often as to become standard and reused.

Budget Period: An interval of time, which a project period is divided for budgetary purposes, usually twelve months.

Capital Support: Refers to funds provided for endowment purposes, buildings, construction or equipment.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): A publication, and database, that lists the grants and assistance programs of all federal agencies and gives information about a program's authorization, fiscal details, guidelines, eligibility requirements, program contacts, applications and award process. The program's CFDA number is required on federal grant application forms.

Challenge Grant: A grant that is offered with the stipulation that the recipient will raise additional funds from another source or sources. Also called a “matching grant.”

Charitable Choice: A requirement that state governments contracting with private sector organizations cannot discriminate against a faith-based social services provider because the provider is religious.

Code of Federal Requirements (CFR): A compilation of all final regulations issued by federal agencies, published annually and divided by numbered “Titles.”

Community Foundation: A 501(c)(3) organizations, usually considered a public charity that makes grants for specific purposes in a specific community or region. Funds are derived from many donors and held in an endowment that is independently administered.

Concept Paper: Contains key elements of a project, including information about the applicant, the target population, the need, objectives, total budget, other contributors and what makes it remarkable. Concept papers usually do not exceed three pages, including the cover letter.

Consultant: Someone brought in for a limited time to solve one or more specific problems. This can be done under a contract for a specific problem or on a longer-term contract for ongoing needs related to a specific problem. The term consultant is often used interchangeably with the terms independent contractor, freelancer, and vendor.

Contact Person: The representative of the funder for the grant program, and may also serve as the program administrator or grant officer.

Continuation Grant: Provides additional funding for budget periods subsequent to the initial budget period.

Contract: A legal, written agreement between two or more parties to perform certain services in exchange for money or other remuneration; also used to describe a type of funding in which specific services are performed for a set fee. Contracts are often awarded on the basis of a Request for Proposal, often referred to as an RFP.

Corporate Foundation: A private foundation whose assets are derived primarily from the contributions of a for-profit business. While a company-sponsored foundation may maintain close ties with the parent company, it is an independent foundation with its own endowment and its own board of directors.

Corporate Giving Program: A grant-making program established and administered by a profit-making company. Corporate giving is planned as part of the company's budgeting process and usually is funded with pre-tax income.

Deadline: The receipt date by the funder for an application to be considered for funding. However, some deadline dates are mailing dates and need to be confirmed by a postmark or private shipping company date.

Deliverables: Those products that are produced by a grant project. They may be quantified achievement i.e., enrollments, or singular outcomes, i.e., a curriculum.

Demonstration Grant: A grant made to fund an innovative project with the intention of duplicating the project elsewhere.

Direct Costs: Specific and identifiable costs of project operation.

Discretionary Grant: Competitive grant program in which the applicant designs the proposal, and the funding agency ranks the proposals received and determines which will receive grant awards; also called competitive grants or project grants.

E-Application: Electronic grant application system (online submission)

EDGAR (Education Department General Administrative Regulations): Administrative regulations covering the Department of Education's grant programs as found in Title 34 of the CFR. The website for EDGAR is: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/edgar.html .

Education Foundation: Raises funds for school programs, but is a private, non-profit corporation, legally independent from the educational institution. They can serve as a broker between the school and community or fiscal agent between a school and a private funder. Education foundations often operate mini-grant programs for teachers.

Encumbrance: An obligation in the form of a purchase order, or commitment, which is chargeable to a grant award and for which part of the awarded amount is reserved. Ceases to be an encumbrance when paid in full.

Endowment: Financial support kept permanently by an institution and invested to provide income to support programs or operations.

ESEA (Elementary & Secondary Education Act): Legislation that authorizes most education grants. Reauthorized in 2002 as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Evaluation: Process of collecting and analyzing data on various aspects of a program, usually for the purpose of program planning and goal setting, improving processes and outcomes, securing and allocating resources. Includes formative (collecting and analyzing data to focus on “what's working and what needs to be improved”) and summative (collecting and analyzing to investigate “what's been achieved” in a program).

Expiration Date: Date specified in the grant award notification after which
expenditures may not be charged against the grant unless to satisfy obligations committed before that date.

Federal Register (FR): A daily compendium of federal regulations and notices, including announcements or RFPs (Request for Proposals) for grant awards.
(http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html)

Federal Giving Program: Joint-fundraising effort, usually administered by an umbrella organization that, in turn, distributes the contributed funds to several non-profit agencies.

Fiscal Year (FY): The 12-month accounting period at the end of which the books (accounting) are closed for an agency or governmental unit.

Formula Grant: A formula grant program is a noncompetitive award based on a predetermined formula. These programs are sometimes referred to as state-administered programs.

Freelancer: A person who pursues a profession, usually in the arts, under no long-term contractual commitments to any one employer or company. They are on their own to find work, negotiate the terms and compensation for that work, and deliver the work to the satisfaction of the paying client. The term freelancer is often used interchangeably with the terms independent contractor, consultant, and vendor.

Funder: Governmental unit, foundation, corporate giving program or other entity that awards grants.

Funding Cycle: The schedule of events starting with the announcement of the availability of funds, followed by the deadline for submission of application, review of applications, award of grants and release of funds.

Funding Priorities: A means of focusing a competition on the areas in which the agency is particularly interested in receiving applications. Priorities take the form of specific kinds of activities that applicants are asked to include in an application to receive preference points in the review process. The U.S. Department of Education has the following classifications for priorities:

• Absolute priorities are those that the applicant must address to be considered for funding.
• Competitive priorities are optional and may provide bonus points or are given some other advantage in funding.
• Invitational priorities also are encouraged, but not required. The only advantage they offer is serving as a tiebreaker between proposals with the same score.

Grant: An award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, by a funding agency. The grant is usually advertised through an RFA. The grantee is required to account for spending the money in the manner specified by the grantor.

Grantee: An organization that has been awarded financial assistance for a project.

Grantor Grant Maker: A governmental unit, foundation, corporate giving program or other entity that awards grants.

Grant Period: A period of time that extends from the effective date through the expiration date.

Grant Seeker: An organization (school, school district, nonprofit, person) who is applying for a grant.

In-kind: Contribution of equipment, supplies or other tangible resource, as distinguished from a monetary grant. Some organizations may also donate the use of office space or staff time as an in-kind contribution.

Independent Contractor: Person or a business that follows an independent trade, business, or profession in which they provide goods or services to the public. The business contracting for their services must have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result. In other words, the business or organization contracts for certain work to be done, but does not tell the independent contractor when, where or how to do the work. The term independent contractor is often used interchangeably with the terms vendor, freelancer and consultant.

Indirect: Costs that cover general administrative costs of a project, including such items as rent, utilities, maintenance, depreciation and custodial services.

Indirect Cost Rate: Percentage of a grant, approved by a federal or state department, or that a particular organization can use to reimburse itself for indirect costs incurred in doing the work of the grant project.

LEA (Local Educational Agency): The district education department that applies for and oversees a grant.

Letter-of-Intent: Expresses the grantor's willingness to commit funds to a project if other conditions are met. From an Applicant: A letter of intent should describe the purpose of the request, the applicant's credentials and state the amount of funding requested. If the request fits the funder's priorities, applicants may be asked to submit a full proposal.

Letter-of-Commitment: Specifically lists services, activities, money promised to the project by a partner organization.

Letter-of-Support: Written endorsement of an application for funding provided by organizations or individuals who are familiar with the applicant's ability.

Matching Funds: Funds required by a grant program to pay the percentage of project costs not covered by the grant.

Matching Grant: Grant made by one grantor or donor to match those provided by another grantor or donor.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): An agreement developed and executed among partners relating to their roles in a joint operation.

Mini Grant: Funding for small projects, usually less than $2,500.

Monitoring: A grantor's review and evaluation of specific aspects of a grantee's activities under a grant agreement.

NCLB: No Child Left Behind Act. Reauthorized ESEA in 2002.

Nonprofit: An incorporated organization approved by the Secretary of State as "nonprofit". This means that, in addition to certain advantages realized by the corporation in return for the nature of its public services, any profit (surplus) earned from its services must remain within the corporation for program improvement, enhancement or expansion, and cannot be distributed to owners, shareholders, etc. In addition, Board members receive no remuneration from its activities.

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA): Term some agencies use for the announcement of a funding competition or a Request for Proposal (RFP).

OESE: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. One of six agencies within the USDE under which grants are organized and authorized.

OSERS: Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services. One of six agencies within the USDE under which grants are organized and authorized.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): A branch of the federal government that oversees procurement, financial management and regulatory policies. OMB Circulars are policy documents, which include the administration of federal grants.

Operating Foundation: Uses the majority of its funds to conduct research or run programs for the common good. An operating foundation may make a few, small grants.

Outreach: An active effort by program staff to encourage individuals in the designated service delivery area to avail themselves of program services.

Partnerships: Involve similar organizations that help each other meet their respective goals, without making substantial changes in the services they provide.

Performance Funding: Based on the timely submission of deliverables according to the specifications negotiated between grantor and grantee.

Program Year (PY): The 12-month period beginning in July 1 and ending June 30 for the state and beginning October 1 and ending September 30 for the federal government.

Project Period: An extended amount of time, during which a grantee is required to complete the approved work of a project. Can be for longer than a 12-month period.

Proposal Responsive Proposal: A submission that meets all the mandatory requirements stipulated in the RFP or RFA and addresses the legislative intent of the program.

Replicability: A project requirement of most demonstration grants to replicate the grant elsewhere.

Request-for-Application (RFA): 1.) Often used in non-competitive grant programs, seeking information from a grantee that usually is entitled to receive funds according to a demographic formula. 2.) Formal announcement of an opportunity to apply for a grant. An RFA specifies the requirements for applying for the grant. RFAs are issued by governments and foundations.

Request-for-Proposal (RFP): A solicitation by a grantor seeking applications from potential grantees. Formal announcement of an opportunity to apply for a grant. An RFP specifies the requirements for applying for the grant. RFPs are issued by governments and foundations. Also used by organizations to hire professional services.

Request-for-Quotation (RFQ): When the government is merely checking into the possibility of acquiring a product or service, it may issue a Request for Quotation (RFQ). A response to an RFQ by a prospective contractor is not considered an offer, and consequently, cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. The order is an offer by the government to the supplier to buy certain supplies or services upon specified terms and conditions. A contract is established when a supplier accepts the offer.

Responsive Proposal: A submission that meets all the mandatory requirements stipulated in the RFP and addresses the legislative intent of the program.

Grant Reviewer, Peer Reviewer, Field Reviewer: An individual who serves the funder by reviewing and scoring a competitive proposal. Reviewers are chosen for their subject-area expertise. They serve on a panel or “technical” panel of at least three members.

SEA (State Educational Agency): A state-level entity such as the California Department of Education authorized under federal law to administer federal funds directed to education in the state. The state board of education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the supervision of public elementary and secondary schools in a state.

Seed Money: Grant or contribution used to start a new project or organization.

Selection Criteria or Evaluation Criteria: Standards by which different components of a proposal are rated and scored to qualify for funding.

Set-Asides: Funds reserved by a grantor for a specific purpose or project.

Solicitation for Grant Application (SGA): Term some agencies use for the announcement of a funding competition or an RFP.

Standard Form 424: Application for federal assistance. The form is available for download at: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html

State Single Point of Contact (SSPOC): State entities designated by the States to review and coordinate proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development. See the following website for the SSPOC in your state:
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html)

Sub grant: An award of financial assistance in the form of money or property made under a grant by a grantee to an eligible recipient called a sub grantee.

Target Area: Geographic area, such as a city, neighborhood, county, certain census tracts or schools districts, school service areas.

Targeted Population: Target population group to receive direct assistance through the project.

USDE: U.S. Department of Education

Vendor: A Vendor is a seller of products or services. Often in contracting with a business or the government, the supplier is called a vendor. The term vendor is often used interchangeably with the terms independent contractor, freelancer, and consultant.