Blanket Justification for NEA Funding Application Guidelines and Reporting Requirements for Nonprofit Organizations

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

INSTRUCTIONS FOR
REQUESTING PAYMENT
Revised September 2012

OVERVIEW:
Preparing Your Request: To request your grant funds, you must complete a Request for Advance or
Reimbursement (Payment Request) form, which is available online at www.arts.gov/manageaward. Follow
the instructions below carefully. Don’t forget to confirm that your SAM registration (formerly known as CCR) is
current; payment cannot be made to an organization whose status is not active.
Tracking Your Request: You can check to see if we have received your payment request (as well as
access other information about your award) online. Simply go to www.arts.gov/mygrant and enter your 10digit grant number.
Receiving Your Funds: If your payment request form is completed correctly, you can generally expect to
receive payment within 30 days from the date it was submitted. Please plan accordingly.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
These instructions are provided to assist you in completing this form. The availability of this information is not intended to
replace or relieve you of your responsibility to read the standard instructions for Federal grant recipients provided in the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars. In addition, if you receive your payments through an alternative method of funding
(i.e., working capital advance, cost reimbursement or certification), please refer to the instructions previously provided by the
Endowment’s Office of Inspector General. If you choose to create your own copy of our form, you must replicate it verbatim
including the certification to the Assurances as to Labor Standards on page 2 of the form.

Section 1.

The agency’s name is completed for you.

Section 2.

Enter the 10-digit Grant Number from your grant award letter (e.g., 12-XXXX-XXXX).

Section 3.

Type of Payment Requested:
a. Check ADVANCE if you wish to receive Federal funds for expenditures you expect to
incur and pay within 30 days (or less) from the date you sign this form.
Check REIMBURSEMENT if you are asking the Endowment to reimburse you for
expenditures already paid for this grant.
Check both if you are requesting a combined reimbursement and advance.
All costs must be incurred within the period of support indicated on your award letter (or as
amended).

b. Check FINAL if this will be the last (or only) payment you are requesting on this grant;
otherwise check PARTIAL.
Section 4.

Indicate the method used to record costs in your accounting ledgers. (If you are not sure, ask
your Finance office or bookkeeper.)
If you recognize expenses only as you pay them, check CASH.
If you recognize expenses before paying them, check ACCRUED EXPENDITURES.
NEA Payment Request Instructions – Page 1

Section 5.

If this is your first payment request for this grant, enter "1." For your second, enter "2," etc.

Section 6.

You must enter your "Taxpayer Identification Number" (also known as "Employer
Identification Number"). This nine-digit number is assigned to your organization by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Section 7.

Indicate the expenditure period covered by this payment request.
This is not the same as the overall period of support stated in your award letter. This expense period must
fall within the stated period of support, since Endowment funds cannot be used for costs incurred outside of
your grant period without an approved time amendment. Do not expect to receive any funds before the start
date of your grant.

The “From” date should reflect the earliest date for which the costs reported were incurred.
Remember, this date can be no earlier than the first date of your period of support.
The "To" date can be no more than 30 days from the date you sign this form. And, it cannot
be later than the last date of your period of support.
Section 8.

Enter the official IRS name and the address of your organization.
For universities and large organizations, this should be the official grantee name, not the “on behalf of”
organization or other component.

Section 9.

Computation of Amount Requested:
Round your payment request to the nearest dollar and consolidate requests so that the amount of Federal
funds requested at any one time is at least $1,000. If you are drawing down funds in installments, remember
that each subsequent request must reflect cumulative expenditures, and any NEA funds previously received
for the award.

a. Total project outlays to date: Enter all allowable project costs that have been
incurred and/or paid as of the date listed.
Report actual expenditures; do not simply reiterate your original budget. All costs claimed must be
allowable and appropriate expense documentation (e.g., contracts, receipts, invoices, payroll
records, cancelled checks, etc.) must be maintained and available for submission upon request.
Refer to the General Terms and Conditions for your award and the Financial Management Guide
on the Manage Your Award section of our website for more information.

b. Estimated net cash outlays needed for 30-day advance: Include funds here only
if you are requesting an advance of Endowment funds to cover expenses to be
incurred within 30 days or less from the date you sign this form. If no advance is
needed, leave this as zero.
c. Total: The sum of line a plus line b will calculate automatically.
d. Recipient share of amount on line c: Enter the total amount of non-Endowment
funds (aka, your share or “the match”) represented in the amount on line c.
e. Endowment share of amount on line c: The form will calculate the difference
between line c and line d. However, the Endowment share cannot exceed the
amount of your award.
f.

Endowment payments previously requested: Enter all Endowment funds
previously requested for this grant. You can use the payment history at
www.arts.gov/mygrant to confirm the amount(s) previously received.

g. Endowment share now requested: Line g will automatically calculate based upon
the previous fields. This is the amount you are now requesting. Remember, these
funds must be disbursed immediately upon receipt.
NEA Payment Request Instructions – Page 2

Section 10.

Progress Report. Unless otherwise stated in the blue Reporting Requirements that were
included in your award package, a progress report is required only once during the grant
period. It must be provided the first time the cumulative amount requested exceeds twothirds of the grant amount. We will not be able to process your payment request if it is not
accompanied by the required and acceptable progress report.
The progress report can be brief (sufficient for the space provided in the box) and should include a
description of all activities supported by the grant that have been undertaken since the grant period start
date, and a list of grant-supported activities scheduled for the remainder of the grant period. If you are
submitting your payment request in conjunction with your Final Report materials, you may refer to the Final
Descriptive Report as your progress report.

Section 11.

Authorizing Official. All requests must be submitted by an Authorizing Official.
For parent organizations of approved independent components, this Authorizing Official must
be a representative of the parent organization.
Colleges and universities may delegate authority to a fiscal officer to submit payment
requests. If the Endowment cannot verify the name and title of the individual submitting a
request via the organization’s website, etc., the grantee should provide written authorization
to the Grants & Contracts office confirming the person’s role and authority.
For additional information about Authorizing Officials, see item 16 of the General Terms.

Submission of a payment request indicates that the grantee agrees to all the terms and
conditions of the grant, including the Assurance as to Labor Standards outlined on page 2 of
the request form.
The complete text of 29 CFR Part 505 Labor Standards on Projects or Productions Assisted by Grants from the
National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities is available online here.

Section 12.

Bank Information. You must complete this section in order to receive your grant funds.
Funds will be transferred electronically to your bank and deposited directly into your account
as an automated clearing house payment.
The sample check below will assist you in identifying your routing and account numbers.
The Routing Number (RTN) must be nine digits.

Note: These numbers may be in slightly different places on your check. Please contact your financial
institution to verify the correct routing and account numbers.
Additional tips: If the first two digits of the RTN are not 01 through 12 or 21 through 32, the direct deposit
may be rejected. Your check may state that it is payable through a bank different from the financial
institution at which you have your checking account. If so, do not use the routing number on that check.
Contact your financial institution for the correct routing number. The checking account number can be up to
17 digits (no letters). Include hyphens but omit spaces and special symbols. Do not include the check
number. Funds can only be transferred directly to an ACH checking or savings account.

NEA Payment Request Instructions – Page 3

It is important to make sure that your bank's ACH RTN and your bank account
numbers are correct on each payment request form you submit. An incorrect number
will prevent your bank from crediting your account. We do not retain your banking
information and will not be able to transfer account information from a previous request.
To verify receipt of funds, call your bank, not the Endowment. You must ask your bank if
they received an ACH payment (do not use any other term) to your account.

SUBMITTING YOUR REQUEST:
You may FAX or E-MAIL your requests to the Grants & Contracts Office at:
FAX: (202) 682-5610 or (202) 682- 5609
E-MAIL: [email protected]
Please do not send a duplicate hard copy.
NOTE: The delivery of first-class mail to NEA has been delayed since October 2001. Delays are expected to continue for the
foreseeable future. If you do not FAX or E-MAIL your payment request, please consider using an alternative delivery service.

TRACKING YOUR REQUEST:
Due to the high volume of calls, faxes and e-mails that we receive, we ask that you please use the “My
Grant” feature on our website to confirm receipt of your request. Go to www.arts.gov/mygrant and input your
award number. A date in the “Date Received” column confirms we have received your request. Once it is
approved, a date will appear under “Date Approved” and the funds requested will appear under "Amount".
You can expect payment shortly.
It typically takes 24 hours for requests to be logged in. If it has been two or three working days since you
submitted your request, please re-send it.

GRANTEE ASSISTANCE:
If you have any other questions, please call the Grants & Contracts Office at (202) 682-5403 or e-mail us at
[email protected].

NEA Payment Request Instructions – Page 4