Grant Compliance Tracker

Overview

Grants come with strings attached—reporting requirements, spending restrictions, and deadlines. Missing a deadline or misusing funds can result in returned grants, damaged funder relationships, and reputational harm. This skill provides a framework for tracking and meeting grant obligations.

The Compliance Challenge

COMMON GRANT COMPLIANCE FAILURES:
─────────────────────────────────
• Missed reporting deadlines
• Spending outside approved budget
• Commingling restricted funds
• Inadequate documentation
• Failure to meet match requirements
• Incorrect indirect cost allocation
• Missed deliverables
• Late or incomplete reports

Grant Lifecycle

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      GRANT LIFECYCLE                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  AWARDED         ACTIVE              CLOSEOUT        POST       │
│  ────────        ──────              ────────        ─────      │
│  • Accept        • Track spending    • Final report  • Audit    │
│  • Set up codes  • Meet deliverables • Reconcile     • Retain   │
│  • Note terms    • Submit reports    • Return unused • Archive  │
│  • Calendar      • Document          • Closeout docs            │
│    deadlines                                                    │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Grant Setup Checklist

When Award is Received

GRANT SETUP CHECKLIST
─────────────────────

DOCUMENTATION:
□ Award letter/agreement received
□ All terms and conditions reviewed
□ Authorized signatory approved
□ Signed agreement returned
□ Copy filed in grant folder

FINANCIAL SETUP:
□ Unique fund/grant code created
□ Budget entered in accounting system
□ Indirect cost rate applied (if applicable)
□ Restricted fund designation set
□ Match tracking set up (if required)

COMPLIANCE TRACKING:
□ Reporting deadlines calendared
□ Deliverables timeline created
□ Compliance requirements documented
□ Staff responsibilities assigned
□ Funder contact information noted

NOTIFICATION:
□ Program staff notified
□ Finance staff notified
□ Executive Director briefed
□ Board notified (if required by policy)

Grant Master Record

GRANT MASTER RECORD
───────────────────

IDENTIFICATION:
Grant Name: _________________________________
Funder: _____________________________________
Grant Number: _______________________________
Internal Fund Code: _________________________

AMOUNTS:
Award Amount: $______________
Indirect Cost Rate: _____%
Match Required: $______________ (Cash: $______ In-Kind: $______)

DATES:
Award Date: ______________
Start Date: ______________
End Date: ________________
No-Cost Extension Deadline: ______________

KEY CONTACTS:
Program Officer: _____________ Email: _________ Phone: _________
Internal Lead: ______________ 
Finance Contact: ____________

RESTRICTIONS:
□ Geographic restrictions: _______________________________
□ Population restrictions: _______________________________
□ Activity restrictions: _________________________________
□ Other: ______________________________________________

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
[See Reporting Schedule below]

Reporting Schedule

Report Types

Reporting Calendar Template

GRANT REPORTING CALENDAR
────────────────────────

Grant: [Name]
Funder: [Name]
Period: [Start] to [End]

┌────────────┬─────────────────┬────────────┬──────────┬─────────┐
│ Report     │ Period Covered  │ Due Date   │ Assigned │ Status  │
├────────────┼─────────────────┼────────────┼──────────┼─────────┤
│ Q1 Fiscal  │ [dates]         │ [date]     │ [name]   │ □       │
│ Q1 Narrative│ [dates]        │ [date]     │ [name]   │ □       │
│ Q2 Fiscal  │ [dates]         │ [date]     │ [name]   │ □       │
│ Q2 Narrative│ [dates]        │ [date]     │ [name]   │ □       │
│ ...        │                 │            │          │         │
│ Final      │ [full period]   │ [date]     │ [name]   │ □       │
└────────────┴─────────────────┴────────────┴──────────┴─────────┘

DEADLINE ALERTS:
Set reminders at: 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, 1 day before due

Financial Compliance

Budget Tracking

GRANT BUDGET TRACKING
─────────────────────

Grant: [Name]
Period: [Start] to [End]
Total Award: $____________

┌──────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬────────┐
│ Budget Category      │ Approved │ Spent    │ Remaining│ % Used │
├──────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────┤
│ Personnel            │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Fringe Benefits      │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Travel               │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Equipment            │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Supplies             │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Contractual          │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Other Direct Costs   │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
├──────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────┤
│ Total Direct         │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
│ Indirect Costs       │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
├──────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────┤
│ TOTAL                │ $        │ $        │ $        │   %    │
└──────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴────────┘

BURN RATE CHECK:
Grant period elapsed: ____%
Budget spent: ____%
Status: □ On track □ Underspending □ Overspending

Budget Modification Rules

BUDGET MODIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
────────────────────────────────

TYPICALLY ALLOWED WITHOUT APPROVAL:
• Reallocation <10% between categories
• Reallocation within a category
• Minor timing shifts

TYPICALLY REQUIRES PRIOR APPROVAL:
• Reallocation >10% between categories
• Adding new budget categories
• Equipment purchases over threshold
• Change in scope or objectives
• Change in key personnel
• Subcontracting not in original budget
• No-cost extension
• Carryover of funds to next period

CUSTOMIZATION REQUIRED:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Check each funder's specific rules.         │
│ Federal grants typically stricter than      │
│ foundation grants.                          │
│                                             │
│ Document funder-specific thresholds here:   │
│ ___________________________________________ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Restricted Fund Accounting

RESTRICTED FUND TRACKING
────────────────────────

FUND TYPES:
• Temporarily Restricted: Time or purpose limited
• Permanently Restricted: Principal cannot be spent
• Unrestricted: No donor restrictions

FOR EACH GRANT:

Restriction Type: □ Temporarily Restricted □ Permanently Restricted
Restriction Nature: □ Time □ Purpose □ Both

Time Restriction:
Available after: ____________ Expires: ____________

Purpose Restriction:
Specific use: _________________________________

RELEASE FROM RESTRICTION:
Restriction released when: □ Time passes □ Purpose met □ Both
Document release with: _________________________________

SEGREGATION:
□ Separate bank account required: □ Yes □ No
□ Separate fund code: ____________
□ Monthly reconciliation: □ Yes

Match Tracking

MATCH REQUIREMENT TRACKING
──────────────────────────

Grant: [Name]
Total Match Required: $____________
Match Ratio: ______:______ (e.g., 1:1, 2:1)
Match Type Allowed: □ Cash □ In-Kind □ Both

MATCH DOCUMENTATION:

Cash Match:
┌─────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────────────┐
│ Source          │ Amount     │ Date       │ Documentation      │
├─────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│                 │ $          │            │                    │
│                 │ $          │            │                    │
├─────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Total Cash Match│ $          │            │                    │
└─────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────────────┘

In-Kind Match:
┌─────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────────────┐
│ Description     │ Value      │ Valuation  │ Documentation      │
│                 │            │ Method     │                    │
├─────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│                 │ $          │            │                    │
│                 │ $          │            │                    │
├─────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Total In-Kind   │ $          │            │                    │
└─────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────────────┘

TOTAL MATCH: $____________
MATCH STATUS: □ Met □ On track □ At risk

Deliverables Tracking

GRANT DELIVERABLES TRACKER
──────────────────────────

Grant: [Name]

┌────┬─────────────────────────┬────────────┬──────────┬─────────┐
│ #  │ Deliverable             │ Due Date   │ Assigned │ Status  │
├────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────┼──────────┼─────────┤
│ 1  │                         │            │          │ □       │
│ 2  │                         │            │          │ □       │
│ 3  │                         │            │          │ □       │
│ 4  │                         │            │          │ □       │
│ 5  │                         │            │          │ □       │
└────┴─────────────────────────┴────────────┴──────────┴─────────┘

STATUS KEY:
□ Not Started  ◐ In Progress  ✓ Complete  ⚠ At Risk  ✗ Missed

Report Preparation

Financial Report Checklist

FINANCIAL REPORT PREPARATION
────────────────────────────

□ Run expenditure report from accounting system
□ Verify all expenses coded to grant
□ Check for expenses coded to wrong period
□ Calculate indirect costs
□ Reconcile to budget categories
□ Prepare budget vs. actual comparison
□ Calculate match (if required)
□ Write variance explanations
□ Attach required documentation
□ Finance review and sign-off
□ Executive approval
□ Submit by deadline
□ Confirm receipt by funder

Narrative Report Checklist

NARRATIVE REPORT PREPARATION
────────────────────────────

□ Review grant objectives and deliverables
□ Collect data from program staff
□ Document activities completed
□ Calculate output metrics
□ Document outcome metrics
□ Write success stories (if required)
□ Address challenges and how overcome
□ Describe any changes to plan
□ Include photos/documentation (if required)
□ Program Director review
□ Executive approval
□ Submit by deadline
□ Confirm receipt by funder

Report Content Template

GRANT PROGRESS REPORT TEMPLATE
──────────────────────────────

SECTION 1: SUMMARY
[Brief overview of progress toward goals]

SECTION 2: ACTIVITIES
[What you did during the reporting period]
• Activity 1: [description, dates, participants]
• Activity 2: [description, dates, participants]
• Activity 3: [description, dates, participants]

SECTION 3: OUTPUTS (What you produced)
┌────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬───────────┐
│ Output Metric              │ Goal     │ Actual   │ % of Goal │
├────────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼───────────┤
│                            │          │          │           │
│                            │          │          │           │
└────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴───────────┘

SECTION 4: OUTCOMES (What changed)
[How participants/community benefited]

SECTION 5: STORIES/EXAMPLES
[Illustrative examples of impact]

SECTION 6: CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
[What obstacles encountered and how addressed]

SECTION 7: PLANS FOR NEXT PERIOD
[Upcoming activities and focus]

SECTION 8: BUDGET NARRATIVE
[Explanation of spending, variances]

Grant Closeout

Closeout Checklist

GRANT CLOSEOUT CHECKLIST
────────────────────────

Grant: [Name]
End Date: [Date]
Closeout Deadline: [Date]

PRE-CLOSEOUT (60-90 days before end):
□ Review remaining budget
□ Accelerate or wind down spending
□ Identify need for no-cost extension
□ Notify program staff of end date
□ Plan final activities

CLOSEOUT ACTIVITIES:
□ Complete all grant activities
□ Collect final program data
□ Prepare final narrative report
□ Prepare final financial report
□ Reconcile all expenditures
□ Calculate any unexpended funds
□ Prepare inventory of equipment purchased
□ Submit required certifications
□ Return unused funds (if required)
□ Submit all required reports

POST-CLOSEOUT:
□ Archive all grant files
□ Retain records per funder requirement (typically 3-7 years)
□ Note lessons learned
□ Thank funder
□ Assess relationship for future funding

Document Retention

GRANT DOCUMENT RETENTION
────────────────────────

RETAIN FOR THE REQUIRED PERIOD AFTER CLOSEOUT:

Federal Grants: Typically 3 years after final report
State Grants: Check specific requirements (often 5-7 years)
Foundation Grants: Check grant agreement (typically 3-5 years)

DOCUMENTS TO RETAIN:
□ Original award and amendments
□ All correspondence with funder
□ All reports submitted
□ All financial records and receipts
□ Time and effort documentation
□ Match documentation
□ Deliverables and work products
□ Audit reports
□ Closeout documentation

STORAGE:
Location: _________________________________
Destruction Date: _________________________

Compliance Monitoring

Monthly Compliance Check

MONTHLY GRANT COMPLIANCE REVIEW
───────────────────────────────

Month: ____________

FOR EACH ACTIVE GRANT:

Grant: _______________

□ Spending on track? (compare burn rate to timeline)
□ Any upcoming deadlines in next 30 days?
□ Deliverables on schedule?
□ Match on track?
□ Any compliance concerns?
□ Documentation complete?

Issues Identified:
_________________________________________________

Action Required:
_________________________________________________

Red Flags

GRANT COMPLIANCE RED FLAGS
──────────────────────────

⚠ IMMEDIATE ATTENTION REQUIRED:

Financial:
□ Spending >20% over/under pace
□ Expenses outside approved budget
□ Missing documentation >$500
□ Indirect costs calculated incorrectly
□ Match shortfall projected
□ Costs incurred outside grant period

Reporting:
□ Report deadline in <7 days (not started)
□ Missing required data
□ Conflicting information
□ Unable to verify metrics

Programmatic:
□ Key personnel change not reported
□ Scope change not approved
□ Deliverable significantly delayed
□ Beneficiary numbers below target

Resources

references/

• funder-requirements-database.md — Common funder-specific requirements
• federal-grants-guide.md — Federal grant compliance specifics
• report-writing-tips.md — How to write effective grant reports

scripts/

• deadline-alerter.py — Sends deadline reminders
• burn-rate-calculator.py — Calculates spending pace

assets/

• grant-tracker.xlsx — Master grant tracking spreadsheet
• report-templates.docx — Standard report templates
• closeout-checklist.xlsx — Detailed closeout workbook