Free resource · Checklist

Grant Budget Sanity Checklist

Reviewers read the budget first and trust it last. These checks catch the errors that quietly kill otherwise fundable applications — arithmetic, allowability, and a budget that tells a different story than the narrative.

Free resource from the AfricaBridge method — print it, use it, share it. It reflects how we actually run this work; the judgment calls behind each check are what our engagements add.

A · Arithmetic (the silent killer)

Every column and every row totals correctly — recomputed by a second person or a spreadsheet, not eyeballed
Personnel math checks: salary × FTE% × months = the number shown, for every position
Fringe calculated at your documented rate and applied only to the salary base
Multi-year budgets: escalation applied consistently, and year totals sum to the project total
Budget total EXACTLY equals the amount requested everywhere it appears — cover sheet, narrative, forms

B · Allowability & compliance

Every line item is allowable under the funder’s rules (for federal: 2 CFR 200 cost principles — watch entertainment, lobbying, alcohol, most equipment thresholds)
Indirect rate is one you can claim: negotiated NICRA, the 15% de minimis (2024 revision), or the funder’s stated cap — and the base it’s applied to is correct
Nothing is charged that the solicitation says the funder won’t pay for
Match/cost-share, if claimed, is documentable, allowable as match, and not counted twice across funders

C · The budget tells the program’s story

Every major narrative activity has a visible budget line — and every major budget line appears in the narrative
Staffing level is credible for the outcomes promised (serving 400 people on 0.25 FTE reads as fiction)
Budget justification explains HOW each figure was derived (unit × cost × quantity), not just what it buys
Per-participant cost computed and sanity-checked against your own history and the field — you can defend it aloud
Nothing in the budget contradicts the sustainability story (e.g., 100% grant-funded positions with no continuation plan)

D · Before submission

The budget survives the “auditor test”: every number traceable to a documented basis
Someone who did NOT build the budget reviewed it cold
The file formats, templates, and forms match exactly what the funder specified

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