About Legislative Grants
The North Carolina state budget may include legislatively directed grants to non-state entities. These grants provide a specific amount of state funds be directed to a named organization for a purpose described in the appropriations act in which the grant was included. The state agency responsible for administering the grant will be named in the same appropriations legislation.
These grants have a variety of funding sources and can be funded with recurring or nonrecurring funds. All state grants are subject to corresponding statutes and rules, most notably G.S. 143C-6-23 and 09 NCAC 03M. See also State Budget Manual Section 3.15.
Legislative Grant Databases
Information in the grants databases should be deemed reliable but not guaranteed. For the most accurate information contact the North Carolina General Assembly and refer to the appropriate appropriations act and/or technical corrections acts that included the grant.
Grant recipients should look at:
- which state agency is administering their award
- the source of funds for the award
Frequently Asked Questions
According to Sec. 5.2 of S.L. 2021-180, a directed grant is defined as non-recurring funds allocated by a state agency to a non-state entity as directed by an act of the General Assembly. Directed grants are subject to the requirements of Section 5.2.
Nonrecurring appropriations to non-state entities that are part of existing competitive or formula-based grant programs run by the state are subject to the requirements of the existing grant program, not Section 5.2.
Grants to non-state entities funded through the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) are subject to the requirements of Sec. 40.8 of S.L. 2021-180.
Directed grant recipients and award amounts were decided by the North Carolina General Assembly and enacted into law via an appropriations act. There was not an application process for these funds.
For specific questions about receiving a directed grant(s), contact your legislative delegation.
Your administering agency contact is included in the directed grants database. This database includes county, recipient, administering agency, funding source, and agency contact information for all directed grants. Click the + sign next to the county name in each entry to see these details for each grant.
To find a specific grant, you can use the search bar to type an organization name, scroll through grant awards by county, or sort by any of the fields at the top of the database. You can sort the database by each of these fields using the up and down arrows in the database column headers.
The source of funds for each directed grant is included in the database because grant requirements vary depending on the source of funds. For example, grants funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds have different reporting requirements than state-funded grants; while State Capital and Infrastructure (SCIF) funds and General Fund funded grants have different expenditure deadlines.
Contact NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov for assistance.
If the recipient is the same and it is a technical change, it can be adjusted. For example, the grantee may say "Township of" in the legislation but the recipient is "Town of."
However, agencies can't change the recipient from what is in the legislation. For example, it cannot change from Town of Lewisburg to County of Franklin unless the Legislature makes the change in statute.
State grant administrators will contact recipients after the appropriations act in which the grant is included becomes state law. Recipients should look for these communications and respond with required information in a timely manner.
Most recipients should expect to receive funds within 100 days after the budget becomes state law or the start of the fiscal year for which they were awarded. However, disbursement of funds requires the recipient complete several documents (see list of required forms in the next question). The sooner these forms are accurately completed, the sooner funds can be disbursed.
All grant recipients, regardless of administering agency, are required to submit the following five documents:
W-9 (09 NCAC 03M .0202)
Electronic Payment / Vendor Verification Form (09 NCAC 03M .0202)
Conflict of Interest Policy (G.S. 143C-6-23.(b))
Sworn (Notarized) No Overdue Tax Debt Certification (G.S. 143C-6-23.(c))
Grant Agreement / Contract (09 NCAC 03M .0703)
Grants administration processes may differ by agency, so please defer to your administering agency on the form and manner in which materials should be submitted.
In addition to these forms, once grant funds have been disbursed, each recipient should be prepared to submit reporting documentation (09 NCAC 03M .0401) pursuant to the grant agreement.
While certain requirements apply across all administering agencies, each administering agency may have different contracts/grant agreement terms and reporting requirements. A complete set of documents will be required for each grant.
Recipient should work with the administering agency to develop a scope of work as part of the contract/grant agreement. This scope of work will outline the uses for the grant funds.
Funds may only be used for the purposes outlined in the Appropriations Act and purposes must be nonsectarian and nonreligious (See Sec. 5.2 of S.L 2021-180). In addition, no more than $120,000 in state funds, including any interest earnings accruing from those funds, may be used for the annual salary of any individual employee of a nonprofit organization (See Sec. 5.3 of S.L. 2021-180).
You should not co-mingle state grant funds with your organization’s general fund. You will need to track and report on all grant funds separately from all other funds. If your accounting software is not set up to separate grant funds, you should deposit the grant fund into a new bank account. If your organization has more than one Directed Grant, each grant needs its own account.
Yes. However, any interest earned on the funds must be used for the same purpose as the grant funds. State funds, and the interest earned on the funds, should not be mixed with other funds