NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2015-2004213 Supplemental Instructions.pdf

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Helpful hints for filling out NOAA Grant application forms for FY2015

Community-based Marine Debris Removal Project Grants

Federal Agency Name(s): National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of

Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: FY2015 Community-based Marine Debris Removal

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2015-2004213

Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance (CFDA) Number:

11.463, Habitat Conservation

The information provided below is intended to supplement, not replace, the instructions provided in the federal grant application forms and the Federal Funding Opportunity. This information should decrease common errors and confusion when filling out federal grant applications for the FY15 NOAA

Community-based Marine Debris Removal Project Grants (other proposal solicitations from the NOAA

Community-based Restoration Program will have different timelines or required attachments). Please call or email Tom.Barry@noaa.gov, 301-427-8653, if you have any questions.

Important Notice Regarding Proposal Submission:

Please register with Grants.gov as soon as possible. This is a one-time, multi-step process that may take several weeks, and may require your organization to registrater with the System for Award

Management (SAM; at SAM.gov). Instructions are available at www.grants.gov. You may need to download the newest version of Adobe Reader to successfully navigate the Grants.gov pages and complete your application on Grants.gov; you can download the program and application before the registration process is complete. If, due to technical difficulties, you are not able to submit through

Grants.gov, please print your Grants.gov application and attachments, sign the forms (even where it says ‘will be completed upon submission’), and submit them by the post-mark deadline. Give yourself plenty of time to submit the application! If you are submitting through Grants.gov, do not wait until after your local post office or delivery service has closed on the due date to submit your online application. In the event Grants.gov is experiencing technical difficulties, you may need to submit a paper copy of the application and the deadline for submission cannot be extended for you even under such circumstances. Please remember there is always the possibility for human or computer error during the Grants.gov submission process. Receipt of reply messages from Grants.gov verifying acceptance or rejection of your application can take up to 48 hours.

mailto:Tom.Barry@noaa.gov

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Applications submitted through the Grants.gov website should include only three files in addition to the

Federal Application forms: 1) the project summary and narrative, (this includes the required Data

Sharing Plan) 2) the budget justification, and 3) all other attachments combined, including resumes, restoration plans, maps, out-year budgets and support letters. PDF files are the preferred format.

Form 424:

Make sure this form reflects the full dollar value requested and match proposed. Start dates are the first of the month, and end dates are the last day of the month. When asked for your project title, please choose a short, descriptive name including a location, if possible. Do not use a generic name such as

“Community-based Restoration Project.” This form asks for two contacts within your organization. The

“person to be contacted on matters involving this application” is a project manager or primary investigator. The document is signed and submitted by the Authorized Representative. This should be the person designated as Authorized Organization Representative in Grants.gov by your organizations’

E-business Point of Contact during the registration process. Only the Authorized Representative will receive official communications concerning your application.

Budget Form 424A:

It is particularly important to include an accurate and thorough budget. A complete budget consists of the SF-424A and a budget narrative for the project. The NOAA Restoration Center has a number of online resources to help you with your application. The following link provides Budget Guidelines for filling out the SF-424A form (http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/budgetguidlines.pdf). This form is critical to proposal reviews; as such please ensure it is filled out thoroughly. Use column 1 for federal requests and column 2 for non-federal match. Please enter whole dollar amounts on this form.

Budget Narrative Guidelines:

All applications must have a detailed budget narrative explaining and justifying the federal and the non-federal expenditures by object class. An example budget narrative is provided below. The budget narrative must accurately describe the budget breakdown of Section B (Budget Category) of the SF-424A form. For clarification and simplicity, it is best to discuss each expense by object class in the order they appear on the SF424A. Indicate whether or not expenditures are federal or non-federal in nature.

Include the dollar amounts in the discussion and how the dollar amounts were derived. A spreadsheet with federal and matching expenditures can also be included but is not required. Matching funds must be available and used during the stated project period and cannot be used to match other awards.

The following are highlights from the Budget Guidelines (see above) to help you formulate your budget narrative.

Object Class:

a. Personnel: include salary, wage, and hours or % of time committed to project of each person by job title

b. Fringe Benefits: should be identified for each individual. Must be described in detail if http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/budgetguidlines.pdf

P a g e | 3 the rate is greater than 35% of the associated salary.

c. Travel: all travel costs are listed here. Provide a more detailed breakdown of travel costs for trips over $5,000 or 5 % of the award amount. Include destination, duration, type of transportation, estimated cost, number of travelers, lodging, mileage rate and estimated number of miles, and per diem.

d. Equipment: Equipment is any single piece of non-expendable, tangible personal property that costs over $5,000 per unit and that has a useful life of more than one year

(i.e. truck, copy machine).

e. Supply: can be any supplies needed for the restoration or administration work. A detailed explanation is required for total supply costs over $5,000 or 5% of the award.

Purchases less than $5,000 per item are considered by the federal government as a supply.

f. Contractual: list each contract or subgrant as a separate item, give cost breakdown and describe products/services to be obtained by the contractor. Contingencies are not allowed.

g. Construction: only charge construction costs for construction of buildings (i.e. green house, educational center). All other project related construction costs should be contractual labor.

h. Other: list items, cost, and justification for each expense

i. Total direct charges

j. Indirect charges: In order to claim indirect charges on line (j), an indirect cost agreement with the federal government must already be established. Applicants will be limited to the amount of indirect costs stated in the FFO, but amounts in excess can be used as match. A copy of the indirect cost agreement should accompany your application. If the applicant does not have a current negotiated rate and plans to seek reimbursement for indirect costs, documentation necessary to establish a rate must be submitted within 90 days of receiving an award. If no agreement has been arranged, indirect costs can be incorporated into other line items (i.e. fringe benefits, other) as long as they are justified in the budget narrative.

k. Totals of direct and indirect charges

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Example Budget Narrative:

Personnel (Federal Share), $5,250

John Doe, engineer, will provide 120 hours of work at $25/hr for designing and planning the marine debris removal on Thompson Bay. Total: $3,000

Alice Doe, biologist, will provide 1 ½ months at $1,500/month of technical support, field work, and project coordination. Total: $2,250

Personnel (Non-Federal Share), $6,600

Administrative support that includes accounting, filing, developing outreach materials and coordinating volunteers will be the carried out by Mary Smith, Save the Ocean’s current administrative assistant. Mary will dedicate 300 hours at $15.00/hr to this effort. Total non-federal in-kind match:

$4,500

Fifty volunteers will be recruited to plant marsh vegetation at two sites along Thompson Bay. It is estimated that the volunteer work will take 4 hours per person for a total of 200 volunteer hours at

$10.50 / hr. Total non-federal in-kind match: $2,100

Fringe Benefits (Federal Share), $787.50

Save the Ocean’s fringe benefit rate is 15% of salary. $450 are for benefits for John Doe and

$337.50 for Alice Doe. Fringe benefits go toward FICA, medical and dental insurance, retirement and disability. Total: $787.50

Fringe Benefits (Non-Federal Share), $675

Fringe benefits for Mary Smith, 15%, to cover health insurance, FICA, retirement and disability.

Total: $675

Travel (Federal), $2,385

Travel funding will be required for volunteers and biologist to travel to and from the Thompson

Bay site and transport vegetation and gravel to site. Fifty volunteers will be transported in five rental vans ($55/day) for three days totaling $825. Mileage expense will be charged at $0.33 /mile for an estimated round trip of 200 miles / van. (Mileage total: $330). Total rental and mileage: $1155

Alice Doe, biologist, will be presenting papers on the project progress, techniques and completion at a major fisheries restoration conference (to be determined). Estimated airfare ($800), lodging (2 nights, $100/night, total lodging $200), food ($40/day, total $80), and car rental and gas

($150). Total conference travel:$1,230

Travel (Non- Federal) - none

Equipment (Federal) - none

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Equipment (Non-Federal), $15,000

The Town of Little Rock will purchase a marine debris grappler (value $15,000) for the completion of the Thompson Bay marine debris removal project. Total equipment: $15,000

Supplies (Federal), $7,840

1,000 native marsh plants ($5,340) will be purchased to re-vegetate 10 acres of marsh habitat along Thompson Bay. Total: $5,340

Gloves, trash bags, and first aid kits ($1,000) will be purchased and used by volunteers during removal and re-vegetation events Thompson Bay. Total: $1,000

A laptop computer will be purchased to record fisheries counts and marine debris accumulation data in the field prior to and after completion of the removal project. Vegetation plot data and surveys will be recorded and analyzed using the laptop computer. Total: $1,500

Supplies (Non-Federal), $4,000

Save the Ocean will purchase $2,000 in software for the lap-top computer to collect and analyze fisheries and wetland survey data. Total: $2,000

Save the Ocean will purchase gloves, soil, fertilizer, buckets, rakes, spades, and other supplies necessary for volunteers to plant native vegetation along Thompson Bay. Total: $2,000

Contractual (Federal), $10,000

One local contractor, J.P. Smith and Associates Environmental Consultants, will be hired to remove large debris during June - September 2002. It will require two trained engineers at $62.50/hr for 80 hours of removal work. Total: $10,000

Contractual (Non-Federal) - none

Other (Federal) - none

Other (Non-Federal), $250

Save the Ocean will cover the cost of cell phones, office phones, and local and long-distance charges for arranging and coordinating volunteer involvement. Total: $250

Total Direct Charges: Federal: $26,262.50

Non-Federal: $26,525.00

Total Indirect Charges: Federal: $0.00

Non-Federal: $0.00

Total Charges: Federal: $26,262.50

Non-Federal: $26,525.00