General Fund Grants
| What's New? |
Posted Date |
| Request for Exception to the Expenditure Freeze (REEF) requirement rescinded, effective August 10, 2004. |
August 13, 2004 |
Guidelines for Spending General Fund Grants:
How do I know if my grants are associated with General Funds?
The most common grants associated with General Funds dollars are the Intramural Grants known as the State Research, Scholarship And Creative Activity Grants. These grants provide either a Mini-Grant of $5,000, a Summer Stipend, or a Spring Leave Research Grant.
Request for Payment of Intramural Grant Funds form
NOTE: For grants which involve human participants or animal subjects, you must have appropriate approval from either the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to funds being disbursed. Please contact the Office of Grants and Contracts for further information.
What are General Funds?
General Funds, also known as "State Funds," generally represent funds provided by the State Legislature or funds that have been received from another source and deposited into General Fund accounts. General Fund Accounts are numbered as 1-1XXXX-XXXX accounts.
What kinds of restrictions apply to General Fund Grants?
There are several general restrictions that affect your use of General Fund grants:
- General Funds may not be used to pay for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, gifts or awards.
- General Funds may not be used to pay for food and beverages for business meetings or other hospitality events attended only by employees of the University or its auxiliaries.
- General Funds may not be used for any expenditure prohibited by statute, including the California Budget Act.
- Expenditures of General Funds must comply with all state, CSU, and CSUF guidelines, restrictions and policies, including the university's Presidential Directive No. 11 policy. Click here for more information on Presidential Directive No. 11.
How can I pay for my grant-related expenses?
Your grant may include various guidelines or restrictions on how you may spend the funds. Be sure to consult with Erika Blossom in the Office of Grants and Contracts if you have questions. Below are general guidelines and information for spending General Fund grants available to CSUF Faculty:
Mini-Grant expenses
Before making mini-grant expenses, be sure to submit to the Office of Grants and Contracts (MH-112) a Request for Payment of Grant Funds. Send the completed form to the attention of the Intramural Grant Coordinator. Grant funds may be transferred to a departmental budget in 50% increments, one prior to the commencement of grant activities and the balance transferable after the Final Report has been submitted.
All Mini-Grant funds must be committed by June 15th. (Purchase Requisitions must be properly submitted to Contracts and Procurement, Check Requests must be properly submitted to Accounts Payable for processing, etc. before June 15th).
Expenditures may include:
- the purchase of supplies,
- payments to undergraduate and graduate students to function as research assistants,
- payment for travel, and
- the purchase of extra secretarial assistance.
No salary for the grantee may be paid from these grants. Please plan your expenditures accordingly.
Types of grant expenses:
- Supplies
- Furniture
- Research Assistants
- Reimbursements for Expenses
- Using a Procurement Card
- Travel Expenses
- Extra Secretarial Assistance
Summer Stipend expenses
Provides support for the summer to inaugurate, continue or complete a project of creative scholarship or research. Recipients may not undertake other gainful employment with a CSU campus during the month of the award. This restriction includes employment on grants or contracts, and employment with CSU auxiliaries, but it does not preclude projects already undertaken or committed as an overload. Awards will be for one summer month only.
Employees who are awarded Summer Stipends:
- may receive an amount equal to their current salary at the time payment is issued in June of each year.
- must remain employees of the CSU during the following fall term. Failure to do so may result in a request to repay grants funds awarded.
For more information, contact Erika Blossom, in the Office of Grants and Contracts.
Spring Research Leave Grants
These awards allow for the release from teaching during the spring semester in order to carry out the funded project.