TBF Budget Guidelines & Categories

Guidelines

  • When you open the Budget template, look at the “Example” sheet first to see how TBF would like the template to be filled out.
  • Use the template provided.  Please note that if you need to add rows/cells for additional line items, the automatic tally on the sheet may not work properly.  You may need to adjust or add the numbers manually.
  • PLEASE NOTE:  TBF Funding column vs. Other Funding column:
  • In the TBF Funding column – please input the funding amounts you are requesting from TBF.
  • In the Other Funding column – please input the funding amounts requested/received from other sources other than TBF, including contributions from your own institution for the project.  If you are seeking funding from multiple other sources, please combine your amounts for each line item.  If you are not seeking funds from sources other than TBF, please leave the “Other Funding” columns blank.
  • This template was created to accommodate both one-year and multi-year projects.
  • If you are submitting a one-year grant project, please only complete the “Year 1” sheet.
  • If you are submitting a multi-year grant project, please breakdown the project expenses by year, and fill out each year’s sheet accordingly.
  • Please ensure that the numbers on the “Summary” sheet are tallied correctly.
  • Please use the budget narrative section given in the application as additional space to explain your budget, and to describe how the expenses relate to the project goals.

Category Descriptions

Personnel:

Staff:  Employee of the grantee institution.  Provide information for all roles on the project:

  • Role title for this project. (e.g. Project Manager)  In some cases the individual’s personnel title (e.g. Professor) is not appropriate.
  • Compensation:  ($/hr) x (hrs/week) x (# of weeks) OR:  (% of salary) x (# of weeks)
  • Benefits:  Cannot exceed 25% of the salary requested

Consultant Costs:  Professional services obtained from individuals who are not employees of the grantee institution.  Provide an explanation for how the fee is calculated.

  • The rate may be calculated on an hourly or daily basis, or may be based on completion of a task or milestone.
  • Honoraria and stipends fall under this category.

Project Expenses:

Travel:  Specify the number of trips and destinations anticipated and the number of individuals traveling.  Explain how the cost was derived.

Supplies:  All non-permanent, disposable supplies needed to implement the program.  Provide a list of the types of supplies needed for the project and explain how their cost was calculated.

Equipment:  Equipment is defined as durable goods with a purchase price of at least $250 per item and a useful life of at least one year.

  • Specify the type of equipment, and explain how it will be used in the project and why it is necessary to purchase equipment dedicated to this project rather than use of shared resources.
  • IT equipment (computers, projectors, software, etc.) is to be included in this category.

Media and Marketing:  Provide a list of the types of expenses and how they relate to project goals. (e.g. Advertising, non-personnel website expenses, etc.)

Books and Journals:  Explain research related expenses and how they were calculated  (e.g. books and periodicals).  Explain how the expenses relate to the project goals.

Other:  Use this category to detail expenses that do not fall into the provided categories.  Explain how the costs were estimated and how they relate to the project goals.

Indirect Expenses:  TBF caps indirect expenses at 10%.