Caring for Kids: Expanding Dental and
Mental Health Services through
School-Based Health Centers

Grant application period closed.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Budget Preparation Guidelines
Go to web site


OVERVIEW

An important component of your grant application is the preparation of a detailed budget and budget narrative. This document links the funding you have requested with specific elements of the project you have proposed. Therefore, the budget you propose should be an appropriate and accurate projection of the program expenses.


Policy guidelines established by the Foundation's Board of Trustees usually preclude support for:

  • ongoing general operating expenses or existing deficits
  • items for which third-party reimbursement is available
  • endowment or capital costs, including construction, renovation, or equipment
  • basic biomedical research
  • conferences or symposia, publications or media projects - unless they are integrally related to the Foundation's program objectives or an outgrowth of one of its grant programs
  • research on unapproved drug therapies or devices ! international programs or institutions
  • direct support to individuals


Your proposed budget will be reviewed in detail and negotiated to ensure that it meets the goals and objectives of your proposed project and that it is consistent with Foundation policies. Therefore, during budget negotiation, your budget may need revisions.

During the budget negotiation process, Foundation staff may deem it appropriate to eliminate a line item or support only a percentage of the funding requested for a particular line item. In these cases, you may need to identify and specify other sources of support.

Applicants should read carefully the "Request for Project Support and Conditions of Grant" form, which must be signed as part of your application package. This document contains information regarding the legal, financial, communications, and program responsibilities of a grantee and becomes binding upon you if you receive a grant.

Any questions concerning the budget preparation for a proposal to be submitted to The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation can be directed to the Financial Monitoring Office at 609-627-5851.

PLEASE NOTE: Attachment A outlines The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Financial Reporting/Budgeting Practices and Attachment B outlines the Grant Budget Revision Guidelines.

GUIDELINES

The budget must be independent of the proposal document. If information is contained in your proposal that will strengthen the budget narrative provided, please reference the page number. This, however, cannot substitute for a separate and complete explanation for each line item in the budget.

The budget should be divided into two parts: a line-item budget and a budget narrative.

The sample line-item budget attached shows the format in which costs associated with the proposed project should be identified. Not all line items will be applicable to your proposal, and, in some cases, you will need to add line items. Note: Line items entitled "Miscellaneous" should not be included. If your institution's accounting system does not adhere to the line items listed on the sample line item budget, you may present your budget using your institution's format.

The budget narrative must include an explanation for every line item. In general, each narrative statement should describe, in as much detail as possible:

  • what the specific item is
  • how the specific item relates to the project
  • how the amount shown in the budget was arithmetically determined


For grant proposals that require funding for more than one year, the budget is usually divided into twelve-month periods. If your project warrants it, you may request periods of other than twelve months, such as three eight-month periods or one fifteen-month period and one nine-month period. Occasionally, a project may be for an uneven length of time. For example, if a grant lasts 27 months, the budget may be prepared utilizing two twelve-month budgets and one three-month budget. The three-month budget can be either at the beginning or the end of the proposed grant period. A line-item budget and budget narrative should be prepared for each year/period for which you are requesting Foundation support, and a consolidated line-item budget should be prepared for the entire proposed grant period.

A column labeled "Other Support" is included in the sample line item budget. This column is to be completed if other sources of funds are to be applied to the line items in the budget. For example, if a Project Manager is to be partially funded by the Foundation and partially or completely by his/her institution, the institution's commitment should be listed as "Other Support." All sources of non-Foundation financial support should be identified in the budget narrative.

The following pages of this document contain a sample line-item budget as well as budget narrative guidelines. Please read them carefully.

Next: Sample line item budget