How to Meet a Federal Grant Match

Our firm, Think and Ink Grant Consulting helps large nonprofit organizations with budgets of $3 million or more, institutions of higher education, and municipalities increase their grant dollars. The heart of our work is in federal grants.

One of the main barriers many organizations must overcome is their ability to meet a federal match requirement. Not all federal grants require a match, but some do. A match requirement is when a funder requires a percentage of funds from you as the applicant to support the intended project. They, in turn, will fund the remaining portion. This is analogous to you as the applicant having "skin in the game" by putting up a percentage of the funds.

How to meet a federal match requires more detailed discussion than what can be shared in one article. Schedule a complimentary consultation here if your organization needs additional support or guidance on this or any other topic.

Here are a few ways to meet a federal match requirement:

1. Cash. Cash is king. If you have good old hard cash, you are #winning.
2. Excess reserves. If your organization is fortunate to have excess reserves, depending on the stipulations for using excess reserves, this may be an option.
3. Fundraise. Using dollars generated from a previous or current fundraising campaign is sometimes allowable. Sometimes funders require these to be new, not existing dollars.
4. Other grants. This can be other foundation grants or federal grants. Some funders from whom you want to use the grant may have a stipulation about using the grant dollars given as a match. Check into this to be sure it's allowable.
5. In-kind donations. Track the dollar value of each in-kind donation receive. In-kind donations can include supplies, food, goods, services, and sometimes even land.
6. Volunteer hours. As a form of in-kind donation, volunteer hours are one of the most overlooked ways to meet a federal match. Start by tracking your volunteer hours and separating them by whether they are hours spent by professional volunteers or more traditional volunteer work. Then, determine the value of each hour. (If you are interested in this or the general in-kind donation match, we must talk because there are a lot of moving parts with this one.)

The key is accurate recording and tracking of each option. As with all of these options, if it is not already stated, ask the funder if a particular option is allowable BEFORE you go down this path. If allowable, you and your organization will be well on your way to meeting your federal grant match.

This is an ultra-short list of ways to meet a federal match requirement. How else had your organization met a federal grant match?

- Shavonn

About Shavonn Richardson, MBA, GPC

Shavonn is the Founder and CEO of Think and Ink Grant Consulting. As a former nonprofit leader and grantmaker, Shavonn has over 20 years of experience delivering practical, real-world advice to nonprofit leaders nationwide.??Shavonn earned the GPC (Grant Professional Certified) credential from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2020 and is a Grant Professionals Association Approved Trainer. Shavonn also serves as President of the Grant Professionals Association.

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Think and Ink Grant Consulting? helps large nonprofit organizations with budgets of $3 million or more, institutions of higher education, and municipalities increase their grant dollars. Need help? Let's chat here.

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