As applicants build their proposed budgets, they should be aware that all costs must conform to requirements in the program statute, the Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for FY 2005, EDGAR and the applicable cost principles in Office of Management and Budget Circulars: A-21 for institutions of higher education, A-87 for State and local agencies, and A-122 for nonprofit organizations. Among other things, these cost principles contain basic rules that all costs charged to federal grants must be "necessary and reasonable" for the purposes of carrying out authorized grant activities.

Yes. Indirect costs may not exceed the amount determined on the basis of the applicant's approved negotiated indirect cost rate. However, applicants may wish to consider whether their overall applications will be stronger if they maximize the amount of direct program services that their projects will be able to provide by voluntarily limiting the amount of indirect costs charged to federal Presidential Academies for American History and Civics Education program funds

If your organization does not have an established indirect cost rate, you may negotiate one with your "cognizant" Federal agency. Your cognizant Federal agency is usually the agency that provides the majority of Federal funds received by your organization. If your organization currently does not have any Federal grants and you are awarded a grant under this competition, you may request the U.S. Department of Education to negotiate an indirect cost rate for you. To find out more about indirect costs, you may wish to visit the U.S. Department of Education website for an overview: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/fipao/icgindex.html. Please note that the Department will not be able to negotiate an indirect cost rate for you unless you have a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.