Sponsored Programs

Using Budget Templates

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Sponsored Progams has created budget templates which will help you calculate items in your proposal budget accurately and appropriately (especially time and effort, fringe benefits, and F&A), even though sponsors will often require you to submit a budget in a format of their own choosing as well.

Templates

Form TitlePurposeVersion Date
MTDC Template (Modified Total Direct Cost) (XLSX)The MTDC template is the most commonly used template for federal grants and corporate sponsors. It calculates F&A on all costs with the exception of equipment over $5,000, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs of off-site facilities, participant support costs, student tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, as well as that portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.

As of 8/2/2024

NIH Template (National Institutes of Health) (XLSX)The NIH template should be used for all NIH projects. It calculates F&A on all costs with the exception of equipment over $5,000, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs of off-site facilities, participant support costs, student tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, as well as that portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.

As of 8/2/2024

NSF Template (National Science Foundation) (XLSX)The NSF template mirrors the budget categories on NSF's FastLane budget form. It calculates F&A on all costs with the exception of equipment over $5,000, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs of off-site facilities, participant support costs, student tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, as well as that portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.

As of 8/2/2024

TDC Template (Total Direct Costs) (XLSX)The TDC template is used when F&A is being charged on all items in the budget. If you have a contract with a state agency, foundation, or non-profit agency, you will probably use this template.

As of 8/2/2024

General Tips for Using Budget Templates

  • You need to save the template to your desktop first because the formulas in the cells are locked.
  • List all faculty/ staff personnel at Appalachian and their current 9-month base salary (for faculty) or annual salary (for 12-month EPA Administrative and SPA personnel) on the worksheet tab for the current fiscal year, even if your first project year begins at a future point in time. Because the template includes formulas which automatically increase salaries by 3% each year, and the cells containing those formulas are locked, you cannot enter salary amounts for non-student Appalachian personnel on any but the first tab.
  • The F&A rate is set to default to Appalachian's current negotiated rate. If the sponsor does not allow F&A, you may change this amount to 0. If the sponsor requires a reduced amount, enter that rate in place of Appalachian's current rate.