Cost sharing, also referred to as match, is a requirement for many grants. It involves UMW “contributing” funds, employee time, or tangible goods toward the direct costs of a sponsored research project. Contributions can come from UMW, the Principal Investigator (PI), or other third parties, and all count as forms of cost share. Once identified in a proposal and approved by all contributing units, these cost-sharing commitments become binding obligations and part of the project’s scope.
Match/Cost Share and Awards
Committed cost sharing, whether voluntary or mandatory, becomes a binding obligation upon award. Any modifications to the cost share must be reported to the Office of Sponsored Programs and the sponsor. This includes changes that involve:
Voluntary or mandatory contributions
Modifications to the sources of cost share
Increases or decreases in the level of support
Whether the sponsor tracks the commitment
Changes initiated by a sponsor’s budget revision or PI request
If a cost share commitment is altered after an award is issued, the Office of Sponsored Programs should be contacted. An updated Cost Share Addendum signed by all contributors will be required, along with communication to the sponsor. In some instances, a revised budget may also be necessary.
Communicating Match/Cost Share Changes to the Sponsor
Since cost share commitments are binding at the proposal stage, it’s essential to inform the sponsor of any changes. This allows the sponsor the opportunity to approve or adjust the award accordingly. It also helps document the change in commitment for future reference, ensuring compliance with the terms of the award agreement, particularly if sponsors, auditors, or other parties later seek verification of the committed funds.
Moreover, committed cost share imposes financial and administrative responsibilities on the campus and must be managed carefully. Sponsors retain the right to reduce an award if the cost share is decreased, regardless of whether it was voluntary or mandatory.
Many federal grants require you to provide a 1:1 match for the federal grant dollars you request. You are also required to track and report the match dollars throughout the course of your grant. Rules, recommendations, and specifics on providing and reporting match dollars are outlined below.
Match will consist of the following:
Indirect costs and waived IDCs on federal grant dollars: Indirect costs are calculated on federal grant dollars requested but are excluded from federal funds used for tuition and equipment. The University of Montana Western’s federal IDC rate (31.1%) is used to calculated the IDC rate.
Example: A PI at UMW requests $15,594.35. She will use $4,457.40 for a student’s tuition, so the IDCs are calculated on the remaining $11,136.95.
Cost Match: Cost match is provided by the PI and can include salary, wages, tuition, supplies, services, travel or other grant project expenses provided by the PI or project partners.
Example: A PI at UMW provides match through (a) $5,000 in PI Salary (cell D5), (b) $1445 in PI Fringe (cell D10), and (c) $2050.00 for Services and Consultants (cell D31). In this case, the total direct match (Non-Federal Direct Costs) = $8495.00 (cell D35).
Indirect Costs for Non-federal Match and waived IDCs on match dollars: Indirect costs are calculated on the match dollars provided by the PI, excluding tuition and equipment, and are calculated using UMW’s federal IDC rate (31.1%).
Example: Match provided is $8495 x 0.311 = $2,641.95 (cell D37).
Total match dollars: The total cost match amount will be the sum of 1-3 above (cell D35) and should be equal to the amount of the total federal dollars (cell C45).
Foregone IDCs on your federal costs plus IDCs calculated on cost match provided should be the first sources considered as you build your 1:1 match.
Cost match provided from salaries, wages, and fringe is the easiest for the PI and UMW to track and report. For this reason, we recommend providing as much match through these means as possible. If match is provided through salary and wages, fringe match must also be calculated.
As mentioned above, Indirect Costs from non-federal funding may not be calculated on match provided for tuition and equipment.
Cost match may not come from other federal grants. Match may come from non-federal grants, if explicit permission is given from the non-federal funding source to provide that match. S tart-up funds for faculty are acceptable sources of match.
Cost match expenditures must take place during the period of the grant.
All cost match provided outside of salaries, wages, and fringe must be tracked within the PI’s department and must be reported through UMW’s Office of Sponsored Programs and Grants Team for each expenditure.
