Nonprofits that receive federal funds need to comply with the stringent requirements associated with government funding.
Every year the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases an updated version of the Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards. This year’s issuance is effective for awards issued after October 1, 2024.
Read on for a summary of the latest significant revisions, and find out whether your organization is subject to a Single Audit.
In the new issuance, the Uniform Guidance increases the Single Audit threshold from $750,000 to $1,000,000 for organizations with fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024. This means that the Single Audit threshold increase is not available until audits of calendar year 2025 and fiscal year June 2026.
In addition, the allowable value of equipment that can be retained, sold or disposed of at the end of a grant period was increased from $5,000 to $10,000. The value of unused supplies that recipients are required to sell at the end of a grant period also increased from $5,000 to $10,000. The de minimis indirect rate was increased from 10% to a maximum of 15%.
The new issuance clarifies that recipients of federal awards are allowed to use funding for evaluation, data gathering and data analysis activities.
The OMB acknowledges the importance of evaluation activities as a way for agencies and recipients of federal funding to better understand what is and isn’t working with a specific program. Data gathering and analysis helps recipients of federal funding in understanding the impact their programs have on the affected populations, and whether program goals are being achieved.
Examples of costs that can be incurred to execute evaluation, data gathering and data analysis include staffing, materials, contractors, data systems and cybersecurity.
The revised guidance emphasizes the need for agencies to make their grant announcements as straightforward as possible. By simplifying the language, length and content of the announcements, the federal government hopes funding is accessible to a more diverse pool of potential applicants. In addition, a new NOFO template was created for federal agencies to follow. You can find the full text of the NOFO here.
With every release, the OMB strives to streamline and clarify requirements for federal funding. Additionally, they are continuously finding ways to alleviate the administrative burden so recipients can focus more of their time on successfully achieving program goals. This year was no exception to that.
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