Federal Matching Fund Guidelines
[including OMB Form No. 3136-0134, expires 6/30/06]
The requirements in this document apply to awards issued by NEH
that have a gifts-and-matching component, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
CHALLENGE GRANTS. Please refer to the terms and conditions and/or
our written offer of matching funds to ensure that these
requirements apply to your application or grant.
If you have questions concerning these grant requirements, they
can be addressed to the Office of Grant Management specialist assigned to your
grant, whose name appears in the award documents under "Endowment
Administration of The Award." You can also reach the Office of Grant Management
by telephone at 202/606-8494, by fax at 202/606-8633, or via the
Internet at grantmanagement@neh.gov.
FEDERAL MATCHING FUND GUIDELINES
BACKGROUND
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to add their support
to NEH sponsored projects. To stimulate private support for projects
in the humanities, NEH offers potential donors the incentive of
doubling the impact of their contributions by matching these
contributions with federal funds. Federal matching funds may not be
released before third-party gifts have been raised that meet the
eligibility criteria set forth in these guidelines.
These guidelines do not apply to the NEH Challenge Grants
Program. Please refer instead to the
Challenge Grants
Administrative Requirements.
ELIGIBLE GIFTS
For the purposes of these guidelines, a gift is a voluntary
transfer of money (or a noncash contribution that is subsequently
converted to cash) from a nonfederal third party to the applicant
without compensation or consideration in return.
Gifts of Money Given to the Applicant
Both restricted gifts (gifts that are given specifically in
support of a project) and unrestricted gifts (gifts that may be used
at the recipient's discretion) are eligible to be matched. The
donors must give the gifts directly to the applicant, AND THESE
FUNDS MUST BE USED TO SUPPORT BUDGETED PROJECT COSTS DURING THE
GRANT PERIOD.
Noncash Contributions Made to the Applicant
Noncash contributions are not eligible to release matching funds.
However, the net proceeds from the sale of noncash contributions may
be matched if the proceeds are used to support budgeted project
activities during the grant period.
Gifts to Parties Other than the Applicant
If a gift of money is given to an individual or organization
associated with the project rather than directly to the applicant,
it normally will not be eligible to release federal matching funds.
The only exception is when the donor has given the gift specifically
in support of the project and the gift funds and control over the
expenditure of these funds are transferred to the applicant.
Pledges
A pledge is a legally enforceable written promise to pay a
specific amount of money during the grant period.
NEH will consider matching a pledge only if the applicant
certifies that (1) the pledge is legally enforceable, (2) the donor
is obligated to pay the pledge during the grant period, and (3) the
immediate release of NEH funds is necessary to carry out the project
activities. A copy of the donor's pledge letter must also be
enclosed with the certification. In the event a donor fails to pay a
pledge, it is the responsibility of the applicant to enforce the
pledge, to substitute other gift funds, or to return to NEH the
amount of federal matching funds awarded.
Grant awards from third parties are eligible for matching even if
full payment has not been received, provided the funds are not
federal in origin.
INELIGIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS
The following do not qualify as contributions that are eligible
to release federal matching funds:
- federally appropriated funds, whether they are disbursed
directly to the applicant by an agency of the federal government
or indirectly through another organization, for example, an agency
of state government or a state humanities council;
- income earned from a gift after the gift is transferred to the
applicant, for example, interest or rent;
- noncash contributions to a project, such as donated services
or equipment, which are not converted to cash;
- gifts that are given to an individual or organization
associated with the project that are not given specifically in
support of the project and that are not transferred to the
applicant;
- registration fees or any other fee or charge for participation
in or attendance at project activities;
- deferred giving, for example, a charitable remainder annuity
trust, a charitable remainder unitrust, or a pooled income fund;
- the applicant's own contribution to the project;
- money or property that is made available to the applicant
through a contractual agreement in which the donor establishes
rights over products resulting from funded activities or has the
right to withhold payment if levels of performance are not
attained;
- contributions that are made under circumstances where there is
the appearance the donor might benefit financially by contributing
to a particular project, for example, (1) contributions from any
institution or individual involved in project activities if the
individual, the institution, or persons in their employ will be
paid from grant or cost- sharing funds for services rendered to
the project; (2) contributions from persons closely related to and
living in the same household with someone who directs a grant
project if the project director will receive some form of
remuneration for work performed on the project.
If an
applicant has any question about whether or not a contribution
qualifies as an eligible gift to release federal matching funds, the
matter should be brought to the attention of the NEH Office of Grant Management.
NEH OFFER OF MATCHING FUND SUPPORT
Matching Offers
Although applicants are encouraged to identify potential sources
of gift funds at the time they make an application to NEH, they
should not seek to have gifts matched by NEH before they have been
notified in writing that their project has been approved for
matching fund support. The formal offer of NEH support will indicate
the maximum amount of federal matching funds that will be awarded
and the length of time the offer to match gifts will remain open.
Conditional Nature of NEH Offer
All matching offers are conditional on acceptance of the gift or
gift certification by the chairman and sufficient federal matching
funds being available in the program that will administer the grant
at the time the gift certification is received by NEH. Applicants
are therefore encouraged to certify the receipt of gifts as soon as
sufficient gifts are raised to carry out a viable project.
Expiration of Offer
The NEH offer of matching fund support will expire at the
termination of the offer period unless a formal extension request is
submitted to the NEH Office of Grant Management prior to the offer expiration
date. Applicants should note that an offer period and a grant period
are not the same thing and that the extension of the grant period
does not automatically extend the offer period.
GIFTS GIVEN TO AN APPLICANT
Solicitation and Documentation of Gifts
In soliciting gifts, applicants are requested to inform potential
donors of the purpose of the grant project and NEH's offer to match
gifts donated for the project. When gifts are to be raised through
special events or a fund-raising campaign, this information should
appear on benefit circulars, invitations, posters, etc.
Documentation that substantiates the amounts, sources, and
eligibility of gifts must be retained by the applicant for three
years following the submission of a final financial report for the
grant. NEH reserves the right to request copies of this backup
material.
Certification of Gifts
To have NEH funds awarded as a match for gifts that are given to
an applicant, the applicant should retain the gifts and forward to
NEH a certification letter that follows the format of the sample
certification letter included in these guidelines. Please note that
all of the statements contained in the sample letter are essential
for certifying the receipt of a gift and that a pledge will not be
processed unless the pledge letter is enclosed with the
certification. Certification of the receipt of gifts should be
addressed to the
Donations Section Office of Grant Management, Room
311 National Endowment for the Humanities 1100 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20506 Certified Gifts
and Cost Sharing
Gifts that are retained by the applicant constitute a part of the
applicant's cost-sharing contribution to the project and, as such,
must be expended on budgeted project activities during the grant
period. In addition, for every dollar of federal matching funds that
is expended on the project, an equal amount of gift funds must be
expended.
GIFTS GIVEN DIRECTLY TO NEH
Although donors are encouraged to give their gifts to applicants,
there may be reasons, such as tax considerations, for donors to give
gifts directly to NEH. In such cases, the donor's transmittal letter
to NEH should clearly indicate that the gift is made to NEH for a
particular project and that the gift is to be matched by NEH. Checks
should be made payable to the National Endowment for the Humanities
and should be forwarded with a transmittal letter to the Donations
Section of the NEH Office of Grant Management. Gifts that are given directly to
NEH become federal funds dedicated to the particular project once
they are accepted by the chairman of NEH.
TAX IMPLICATIONS
For federal income tax purposes, funds donated to NEH are
deductible as charitable contributions pursuant to Section 959(a) of
Title 20 of the U.S. Code.
Funds donated to applicants are not covered by this section of
the U.S. Code but may be deductible under provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code. When a gift to a grantee would not be deductible, the
project could be supported through a gift made directly to NEH
(refer to Gifts Given Directly to NEH).
WHEN CERTIFYING RECEIPT OF A GIFT, PLEASE FOLLOW THE TEXT OF THE
SAMPLE CERTIFICATION LETTER THAT FOLLOWS.
Instructions for completion of the letter appear in [brackets]
and should not be included in the letter submitted to NEH.
Address the letter to:
Donations Section Office of Grant Management, Room
311 National Endowment for the Humanities 1100 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20506 Dear Sirs:
I certify that $????????? has been received in the form
of a gift/gifts, which have been donated to ??????????
[name of the applicant or grantee] and which will be used
in support of ??????????????? [Project title and NEH
application or grant number]. These gifts meet the
criteria for eligibility established by NEH and will be
expended for project purposes during the grant period.
Documentation that substantiates the amounts, sources,
and eligibility of the gift/gifts will be retained for
three years following the submission to NEH of the final
financial report for this project.
The funds certified above were provided by a
donor/donors in the foIlowing category/categories:
Donor Category* Number of Donors Amount
______________ ________________ $___________
______________ ________________ $___________
Total: $___________
[* - Please use the following numerical designations
for donor categories:
1 - Individuals
2 - Corporations and businesses (including company-
sponsored and corporate foundations)
3 - Private and public foundations (including
independent, operating, and community
foundations)
4 - Labor unions and professional associations
5 - Nonfederal government units (state, county,
municipal)
6 - Affiliated groups (alumni/ae, memberships,
"Friends")
7 - Special events and benefits (use only when gifts
raised through this means cannot be readily
assigned to any of the above donor categories)
8 - Other (specify)]
[The following sentence must be included in the
certification letter when a pledge is certified:]
The amount certified in this letter includes $??????
in pledges. I hereby certify that (1) the pledge is
legally enforceable, (2) the donor is obligated to pay
the pledge during the grant period, and (3) the immediate
release of matching funds is necessary to carry out
project activities.
[A copy of the donor's pledge letter must be attached to the
certification letter.]
Sincerely yours,
????????????
[Name and title of certifying official]
The following is a statement required by the Office of Management
and Budget:
"OMB NO: 3136-0134, expires: 6/30/06
NEH estimates that the average time to complete this form is
thirty minutes. Please send any comments regarding the estimated
completion time or any other aspect of this form, including
suggestions for reducing the time to complete, to the Director,
Office of Publications and Public Affairs, National Endowment for
the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503."
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