OSBM Grants FAQ
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about OSBM-administered grants here. Don't see your question here? Email NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
If funds were appropriated in the first biennium (FY23-24), then all non-expended funds revert on October 3, 2025. If funds were appropriated in second biennium (FY24-25), then all non-expended grant funds revert June 30, 2026.
S.L. 2021-180, sec. 40.8.(3) states that SCIF Grant funds “shall not revert until expended or the particular project has been completed.” That said, grant agreements will have a termination date that can be extended as needed.
Yes, so long as it is the same town/county that was named in the Committee Report. For example, we cannot change Town of Lewisburg to County of Franklin but can alter things like "Township" to "Town of" since the recipient stays the same.
You should not co-mingle state grant funds with your organization's general funds. You will need to track and report on all grant funds separately from all other sources of funds. If your accounting software is not set up for fund accounting, you should deposit the grant funds into a new bank account. If your organization has more than one Directed Grant, each grant needs its own account. (internal transfer)
Yes. Digital signatures are accepted.
Please submit only one EP and one W-9 with consistent information. We will make the transfer and then you can transfer the funds into a separate account for each grant as soon as you receive it, unless you have a Fund Accounting structure where you can account for each set of funds separately.
Please reach out to NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov and we will provide your upload link and put you in contact with the assigned grant administrator.
Please review our online Directed Grants Database to locate the point of contact for your grant.
You will need to submit documents to both agencies. Please keep in mind that other agencies may have different requirements than the OSBM-administered grants.
Yes. Your state grant funds may reimburse for project expenses that were paid on or after the fiscal year in which your funds were appropriated.
To apply your grant funds to any project expenses, they should be paid no earlier than the start of the state fiscal year for which the grant funds were awarded. State fiscal years begin on July 1.
If they were appropriated for the first biennium (FY23-24), then the expenses can be reimbursed beginning on July 1, 2023. To apply your state grant funds to any project expenses paid prior to July 1, 2023, you will need to contact your legislator for language changes in the law to allow that.
We can disburse grant funds after the grant recipient has submitted all required documents and a signed contract.
For FY 2023-24, the General Assembly identified 14 projects to receive funding from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund (TSF) first. After those 14 projects are disbursed in the order prescribed in session law, DHHS will transfer funds for non-State Capital Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) allocations first in order of least to most, followed by SCIF allocations in order of least to most.
DHHS will transfer funds in one lump sum amount to each agency charged with disbursing money for these projects. For your convenience, we have provided an anticipated disbursement schedule. This is merely an estimate. Funds will not be transferred until they are available. Funding may be available either before or after the anticipated disbursement in the schedule.
In addition, before a non-state entity may receive a grant funded by the ARPA TSF, the organization must submit several documents to the administering state agency. Please see the OSBM guidance to grant recipients for a list of the required documents.
Please email NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov.
Allowable costs are typically determined by the description for your grant in the legislation and the Scope of Work that is part of your signed grant agreement.
The appropriations act language for the grant will determine its allowable uses. The language in the law may be general, such as “capital improvements,” or it might name a specific project the funds must be used for. The description in the appropriations act will form the basis of the grant contract and scope of work, which will clearly describe allowable uses of the grant funds. Please consult the language in the appropriations act in which your organization's grant was included.
Generally, no. However, please discuss your specific situation and plans with your assigned OSBM Grant Administrator to get an answer about the specific costs you have in mind.
Yes, although staffing cost must be directly related to the grant project. We would prefer staff be 100% dedicated to the grant if you plan to use grant funds for staffing. Timesheets must be kept for efforts spent on grant projects if the employee is not 100% dedicated to the Grant Project, with a description of activities completed and signed off by the manager for each pay period (weekly or monthly depending upon the organization).
Per S.L. 2023-134, Section 5.4, no more than one hundred forty thousand dollars ($140,000) 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.
Your Conflict of Interest Policy should address conflicts of interest that may arise involving your organization's management employees and the members of its board of directors or other governing body. The policy shall address situations in which any of these individuals may directly or indirectly benefit, except as the grantee's employees or members of its board or other governing body, from the grantee's disbursing of state funds, and shall include actions to be taken by the grantee or the individual, or both, to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety.
It is a best practice to have all board members sign your conflict-of-interest policy, but it is not required. If you have a policy in place already, you do not need to go back and get it signed before you submit it.
Yes, but please make sure the Conflict of Interest (COI) specifies it covers state grants. The federal COI says federal funds. What you submit must say state funds.
The more detailed the better. We understand not everything may be decided before you receive the funds, but we need to understand what you plan to use the grants funds for.
We need to have all required documents and the final Scope of Work for a grant project before we can send an organization a grant contract.
Each grant will have it's own Contract with a unique Scope of Work.
It depends on the source of your grant funds and their reversion date. Please let your assigned OSBM Grant Administrator know if you anticipate a longer grant term period.
Once all required documents are submitted and approved and the contract has been signed, then funds will be transferred for the first fiscal year. The second fiscal year funds will be administered once a contract is signed for the second round of funding in the new fiscal year, as long as all reporting requirements have been met for the first round of funds.
Medicaid Expansion will begin December 1, 2023, enabling North Carolina to receive an additional 5% federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for 2 years beginning retroactively from October 1, 2023. SL 2023-7 established the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund as a special fund consisting of the General Fund savings realized by Medicaid as a result of additional federal receipts arising from the enhanced FMAP available to the state under section 9814 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will receive these federal receipts monthly starting in December 2023 and deposit the savings into the ARPA TSF monthly. The General Assembly appropriated all of the funds that are anticipated to be deposited into the ARPA TSF. However, in recognition that the funds would not be available all at once, they established an order of disbursement schedule in Section 4.9 of SL 2023-134.
Please see the ARPA TSF Anticipated Disbursement Schedule.
In addition, before a non-state entity may receive a grant funded by the ARPA TSF, the organization must submit several documents to the administering state agency. Please see the OSBM guidance to grant recipients for a list of the required documents.
There is if your grant is funded by the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund. Grants funded by ARPA TSF included a restriction on administrative costs:
S.L. 2023-134, sec. 4.9.(e) Administrative Costs. – State agencies and departments and any non-State entities receiving funds from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund may use a portion of those funds for administrative costs, including time-limited positions, related to the designated purpose of the funds. Unless otherwise specified, the amount of funds from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund used for administrative costs for each purpose designated for the allocation described in this act, or in the Committee Report described in Section 43.2 of this act, may not exceed the lesser of the following amounts:
(1) Up to five percent (5%) of the amount of funds allocated specifically to that designated purpose.
(2) One million dollars ($1,000,000).
This subsection does not apply to any funds appropriated to the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund.
The following sections of SL 2023-134 apply to all State Capital and Infrastructure Grant Funds (SCIF) grants (including Local Government Infrastructure grants):
Sec. 40.7 states that GS 143C-6-23 (b) through (f) and (f2) through (k) apply to all grants. See GS 143C-6-23.
The section also provides guidance regarding compliance with rules, reporting, conflicts of interest, reverting funds, etc., and provides guidance regarding the use of funds for non-sectarian, nonreligious purposes.
Sec. 40.7 provides guidance regarding the use of funds.
Note, these provisions refer to the definition of Capital Improvement in GS143C-1-1(d) sub 5: "Capital improvement - A term that includes real property acquisition, new construction or rehabilitation of existing facilities, and repairs and renovations over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in value."
As the grant recipient, you remain responsible for the reporting and required documents. The rules governing how the money is spent remains the same for your subgrantees. The sub-recipient can't use the funds for purposes outside the purpose of the grant and will need to provide you with information that allows you to submit all required reports. Please include subgrantee information in your scope of work, so we can include it in your grant contract.
Be sure to let your OSBM Grant Administrator know if your organization has been in discussions with your a state legislator about making changes to your grant with a technical corrections bill. If you have not spoken to anyone yet but feel your grant needs a technical correction, please let us know. We are not able to make these changes. It must be done by the NC General Assembly
No, they are not because they are state dollars. However, you must abide by all state and local laws.
The budget in the scope of work document should have more detail about what those administrative costs will be. We understand that a capital project will have administrative expenses. However, all fund uses must be directly related to the project, and more detail, either in the budget text box or using attachments, would show how those uses connect to the project. These funds are not meant to support administrative activities already being done but could support new administrative tasks as required by the project.
Grantees can keep interest earned but must use those funds for same purpose as the grant (G.S. 143C-6-23.(j)).
Placing grant funds in a high interest savings account would be permissible, but a brokerage account or investing the funds would not be allowed. Investing grant funds would not be appropriate as these funds were intended to be spent in a prompt manner.