Recipient Responsibilities

This is the fourth article in a series on grant writing. Read the introduction to the entire series.

 You have done your research, written a solid application, and have now been awarded. Congratulations! Now it is time to understand what your responsibilities are as an award recipient.

Your organization is now legally obligated to spend the award as detailed in the grant proposal and instructed by the funder. Some suggested action steps include:

• Develop a plan to track expenditures that both your program staff and financial staff understand. Track every cent and be able to tie it back to the funded program.
• Ensure the program staff, partners, or volunteers understand the funder’s requirements. They will be the ones to ensure the program is delivered as planned and, most likely, collect (and maybe even compile) the data.
• Set internal deadlines for any required reports to be submitted, and note deadlines of any other responsibilities you have to the funder. This will be in your grant award agreement.
• Once your plans are in place to track finances, deliver the program as planned, and collect any required data, ensure someone is ultimately responsible for managing the grant and seeing the plans through.

Sometimes you may find that the program needs to change significantly from the promises you made in the grant. If that is the case, contact your funder to explain the circumstances and work with them to modify the terms. Many funders understand that things sometimes happen and, as long as the spirit of the grant is not violated, will work with you to develop a new plan.