Select an Instruction:
- First Time Using Grants.gov?
- Download the Application Package
- How to Fill Out the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance SF-424
- How to Prepare Your Project Budget
- How to Prepare and Submit Attachments
- Complete All Other Required Forms
- Uploading Your Application to Grants.gov
- How to Submit Supplementary Materials
- Are you a Grantee?
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Application Instructions
These application instructions apply to all NHPRC grants. Before you apply, make sure you understand all applicable requirements and regulations, including:
All institutions and individuals applying for an NHPRC grant should apply via Grants.gov, the government-wide grants portal.
- You will no longer have to send in multiple paper copies of your applications.
- The easy way to begin is by printing out the specific NHPRC Grant Opportunity and these instructions and have them handy as your prepare your application.
How to Prepare Your Project Budget
Select NARA/NEH Budget from the Grants.gov menu.
Applicants should review the relevant NHPRC Grant Opportunity announcement for particular cost-sharing requirements, the kinds of funding available, and any restrictions on the types of costs that may appear in the project budget. Your budget should include the project costs to be charged to grant funds as well as those supported by applicant or third-party cash and in-kind contributions.
All of the items listed, whether supported by grant funds or cost-sharing contributions, must be reasonable, necessary to accomplish project objectives, allowable in terms of applicable federal cost principles, auditable, and incurred during the grant period. Charges to the project for items such as salaries, fringe benefits, travel, and contractual services must conform to written policies and established practices of the applicant organization.
The NARA/NEH Budget form calculates some, but not all, of the values in the budget. You may copy and paste values from a desktop calculator, and from one field to another within the form to ensure accuracy.
Budget Form Header
Complete the Project Director information; the applicant organization field is filled from data in the SF424.
Choose a requested grant period for your project. Grant periods being on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. All project activities must take place during the requested grant period.
Projects with grant periods up to 18 months should show total expenses in each of the categories under Section A. If the proposed grant period is 18 months or longer, project expenses for each 12-month period must be developed and listed separately. The form will automatically create additional copies of Section A; use one, two, or three periods as appropriate. You must first complete all required fields in the previous Section A (those highlighted in yellow). You may need to fill some fields with zero until the data from all pertinent periods are entered.
SECTION A
Complete the beginning and ending dates for this project period.
Complete each line of each budget category as necessary. You should distribute the costs among NHPRC (column a) and Cost Share (column b). Column c is auto-filled from the sum of columns a and b. The subtotals for each of the categories are also auto-filled.
If there is insufficient space for all of your budget lines in any category, create a budget overflow document (name it BudgAttach.pdf) and attach it to Section B, Additional Budget Information. Your budget overflow form should be a table or a series of tables; it can be created with a word processing or spreadsheet program, but it must be converted to PDF before it is attached. The table should replicate the form for each relevant category and be clearly labeled with the budget period and category. Reserve the last line in the category for the sum of the lines listed in the Budget Overflow. (For example, if a category on the Budget Form has 6 lines, but you need 7 or more, enter the first 5 lines on the Budget Form and enter the sum from the Overflow on the line 6 with the note: See Overflow Document. This is necessary to ensure that totals on the Budget Form include the figures on the Overflow form.
Total Direct Costs are calculated (the sum of subtotals of categories 1 through 7) automatically.
Total Indirect Costs are overhead costs incurred for an organization's common or joint objectives which cannot be readily identified with a specific project or activity. Typical items of indirect costs are salaries of an organization's executive officer, costs of operating and maintaining facilities, local telephone service, office supplies, and accounting and legal services. Indirect costs are computed by applying a percentage rate to a distribution base (usually the direct costs of the project).
Care should be taken that expenses included in the organization's indirect cost pool are not charged to the project as direct costs.The NHPRC does not require formal negotiation of an indirect cost rate, provided the charge for indirect costs does not exceed 10 percent of direct costs, up to a maximum of $5,000 per year. (Applicants who choose this option must maintain documentation to support overhead charges claimed as part of project costs.) If you choose this option, select the fourth option under Indirect Costs and enter the appropriate rate under Item B.
The NHPRC will recognize other indirect cost rates already negotiated between its applicants and other Federal agencies. Choose the first, second, or fifth option under Indirect Costs and complete Item A and B, as necessary. Total Project Costs. Calculated (the sum of Items 8 and 9) automatically.
SECTION B
The top part of Section B is auto-filled from data for each of the periods. Distribute the amount of Total Project Costs (Direct & Indirect) by completing the required fields.
Under the Grant Funds Requested box, please be sure that you have not exceeded the percentage available from the NHPRC, usually up to 50 percent of total project costs, for the particular Grant Opportunity announcement.
Budget narrative (optional)
If needed, prepare a brief supplement to the narrative explaining projected expenses or other items in the financial information provided on NHPRC's budget form. The budget narrative may be single-spaced and included with other attached documents.
How to Prepare and Submit Attachments
Use a computer word processing system, following the instructions in the Grant Opportunity announcement, to prepare the following attachments:
- Project Summary
- Project Narrative
- Participants' Resumes & Job Descriptions
- Budget Narrative
- Appendices.
Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don't already have software to convert your files into PDFs, there are many low-cost and free software packages available. To learn more, go to http://www.grants.gov/resources/download_software.jsp#pdf_conversion_programs. Select Attachments from the menu then click the Open Form button to open it. Attach the documents using this scheme:
- ATTACHMENT 1: To this button, please attach your Project Summary. Please name the file "summary.pdf".
- ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your Project Narrative. Please name the file "narrative.pdf".
- ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your Project Participants' Resumes & Job Descriptions. Please name the file "participants.pdf".
- ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your Budget Narrative. Please name the file "budgetnarrative.pdf" .
- ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your Appendices. Please name the file "appendices.pdf".
Use the remaining buttons to attach any additional materials (if appropriate). Please give these attachments meaningful file names and ensure that they are PDFs.
Complete All Other Required Forms
Select each form from the menu then click the Open Form button to open it. In most cases, these forms can be completed by filling a few highlighted fields.
Uploading Your Application to Grants.gov
When you have completed all forms, use the right-facing arrow to move each of them to the "Submission" columns. Once they have been moved over, the "Save and Submit" button will activate. You are now ready to upload your application package to Grants.gov.
During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives). These AORs typically work in your institution's Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that was assigned to him or her during the registration process.
To submit your application, your computer must have an active connection to the Internet. To begin the submission process, click the "submit" button. A page will appear asking the AOR to sign and submit your application. At this point, your AOR will enter his or her username and password. When the AOR clicks the "sign and submit application" button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov. Please note that it may take some time to upload your application package depending on the size of your files and the speed of your Internet connection.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a tracking number, will appear indicating that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail.
The NHPRC suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on the day of the deadline. That way, should you encounter a technical problem of some kind, you will still have time to contact the Grants.Gov helpdesk for support. The Grants.gov Help Desk is open Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST at 1-800-518-4726. ou can also send an e-mail to support@grants.gov.
How to Submit Supplementary Materials
Send any supplementary materials (those that cannot be submitted electronically) to:
Supplementary Application Materials
[Add the Grants.gov tracking number here]
National Historical Publications and Records Commission
National Archives
Room 106
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408
NHPRC continues to experience lengthy delays in the delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service, and in some cases materials are damaged by the irradiation process. We recommend that supplementary materials be sent by a commercial delivery service to ensure that they arrive intact by the receipt deadline. If you wish to have the materials returned to you, please include a self-addressed, pre-paid mailer.
PDF files require the free Adobe Reader.
More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.