SAMPLE — fictional funder and organization, shown as an example of the deliverable. A real rulebook is built from your actual grant agreement.
Grant Rulebook · One page per funder
Meridian State Arts Council — FY27 Project Support Grant
Prepared for Brightwater Arts Collective
Award $25,000
Period Jul 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2027
Prepared by 21 Light Street · Aug 2026
01How this grant pays you
- Cost reimbursement. You spend first, then invoice. Costs must be paid — not just entered in your books — before they can appear on an invoice.
- Invoices go in quarterly, in arrears, with the quarterly report.
- 1:1 match required. Every award dollar must be matched by a documented dollar of yours — cash or in-kind (§4.2).
- Final 10% ($2,500) is withheld until the final report is approved.
02Documentation you must keep
- Signed timesheets for every person whose time is charged — every pay period, not reconstructed later.
- Receipts or vendor invoices for all non-personnel costs, plus proof of payment (bank line or canceled check).
- In-kind match memos written at the time of the contribution: who gave what, when, and the basis for its value.
- Records retained 4 years past the grant period.
03What it won't pay for
- Food & hospitality — any amount, any reason.
- Fundraising costs, including staff time spent fundraising.
- Equipment over $500 per item (capital).
- Out-of-state travel.
- Admin/indirect capped at 10% of the award ($2,500 max).
04Every deadline
- Quarterly report + invoice: 15 days after each quarter ends (Oct 15, Jan 15, Apr 15).
- Final report + final invoice: 30 days after period end (Jul 30, 2027) — late = the withheld $2,500 is forfeited.
- Budget amendments: requested in writing 45+ days before period end; line moves over 10% need prior approval.
05How to submit
- State grants portal (not email) — report form REV-2.
- Invoice as PDF on org letterhead, signed by the authorized signer on file — if your ED changed, update the portal first.
- Match documented on Schedule B with each quarterly invoice, not just at year end.
06The three ways orgs get burned by this contract type
- 1. Billing on "incurred" instead of "paid." Reimbursement means the money left your bank. An expense that's entered but unpaid on invoice day is a disallowed cost in monitoring — sometimes clawed back a year later, after it's spent.
- 2. The match evaporates at audit. In-kind counted from memory at final report gets its valuation questioned — and every disallowed match dollar reduces the award dollar-for-dollar. The memo has to exist the week the contribution happens.
- 3. The quiet forfeit. The 30-day final invoice window closes before most orgs close their June books. Miss it and the last 10% is simply gone — most never know they forfeited it.