Procedure No. 30.1

Grants, Competitive Contracts and Inter-agency Agreements, Procurement/Administration

Adopted: 04/23/1996

Revisions Approved: 09/06/2016; 11/15/2021

Area: Board of Trustees

Governance: President’s Cabinet

Responsible Executive Authority: Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Grants include funds awarded competitively and non-competitively from external and partnering funding sources, along with inter-agency agreements between a county Workforce Development Board and the College that are made at the discretion of Atlantic County and Cape May County on an as-needed basis.

  1. Administrative approval must be obtained before a proposal for a grant, or an application for a contract for services that Atlantic Cape will provide, is developed. The Request for Proposals (RFP) Review Form, developed by the Grants Office, is utilized for the appropriate President’s Cabinet member(s) to determine initially if a grant should be pursued.
  2. If it is determined that a grant opportunity should be pursued, approval to apply for a grant may be granted by the President’s Cabinet and President after analysis of the New Initiative Review (NIR) Form created in conjunction with the Grants Office. This requirement also applies to grant applications to be submitted by another organization, with Atlantic Cape as a proposed sub-grantee or contractor. (This process shall be conducted prior to the Board of Trustees’ Budget, Finance and Audit Committee's approval of RFP Review Forms and Resolutions to Apply for and Accept grants, and in accordance with the proposal development timeline as outlined in the RFP Review Form.)
  3. Upon approval to apply by the President and President’s Cabinet, the proposal originator and the Grants Office will coordinate the preparation of the grant proposal draft.
  4. Increasingly, grant applications are made via funders' websites and online application portals. All access to online application systems (e.g., grants.gov) shall be managed by the Grants Office. On an as-needed basis, the Grants Office will obtain access to grant-makers' application systems and will manage access for the College.
  5. The Grants Office will provide the following services:
      1. Preparation of RFP Review Form
      2. Collaboration with project staff in obtaining data for:
        • Cover page
        • Abstract
        • Needs assessment
        • Goals and objectives
        • Evaluation
        • Budget and budget narrative
        • Impacted areas that will provided institutional support to the project:
          1. Finance
          2. Human Resources & Training
          3. Recruitment
          4. Marketing
          5. Facilities/Grounds (equipment, rooms, scheduling)
        • Other proposal sections, as needed 
      3. Assistance in drafting of proposals and budgets (as needed)
      4. Final review, including proofreading and error-checking of proposals and budgets (required)
  1. The Grants Office will prepare the RFP Review Forms and Resolutions to Apply for and Accept grants for the College Board of Trustees' Budget, Finance and Audit (BFA) Committee. Workforce Development will prepare the abbreviated RFP Review Form for inter-agency agreements between an entity, (such as the county Workforce Development Board), and the College. The Senior Manager, Grants and the proposal originator may participate in the portion of the BFA meeting devoted to analysis of the RFP Review Forms and Resolutions to Apply and Accept grants.
  2. Upon completion of the final proposal draft, the Grants Office will provide the draft project goals and objectives and a complete budget summary to the Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer. The Vice President will coordinate a process in which President’s Cabinet has the opportunity to review the proposal’s goals and objectives, as well as budgets, and to provide any corrections or adjustments needed. Full draft proposals will be made available upon request and coordinated through the Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer.
  3. Upon approval of the final draft from the Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer, the Grants Office shall obtain any necessary signatures (paper and electronic, as applicable) from College personnel. The Grants Office will submit the final proposal to the funding agency.
  4. All submitted proposals and related documents will be on file (paper and/or electronic copies) within the Grants Office.

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF APPROVED GRANTS, COMPETITIVE CONTRACTS AND INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS

  1. All award notifications must be provided to the Grants Office. Upon receipt of notification of grant award, the Grants Office will notify all College personnel participating in the project. As appropriate, the Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer will notify President’s Cabinet of all developments related to the grant award. Grants include funds awarded competitively and non-competitively from external and partnering funding sources, along with inter-agency agreements between a county Workforce Development Board and the College that are made at the discretion of Atlantic County and Cape May County on an as-needed basis.
  2. Upon receipt of notification of complete documentation from the funder related to the award, the Grants Office will inform the Board of Trustees’ Budget, Finance and Audit Committee, and any other applicable Board Committees, via the President’s Cabinet. The Board’s Budget, Finance and Audit Committee shall also be notified in abbreviated fashion of the awards of all inter-agency agreements.
  3. Once notified that the grant has been awarded, the project director will have primary responsibility and accountability for the grant project operations, including reporting and technical assistance related to the funder’s guidelines and regulations.
  4. Upon receipt of the grant contract, the Grants Office will work with the project director and the Finance Department to communicate with appropriate departments regarding final signatures that they are responsible for, and establish the budget recording system for the grant.

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