FAQs

1. What can grantees expect during the contracting process?

   After receiving your email award letter, grantees will need to speak with the Program Manager to review the period of performance start and end dates, budget, objectives, revisions (if applicable), payment schedule, reporting requirements, signatories for DocuSign, any significant changes that may have occurred since the proposal was submitted (such as key personnel changes) prior to receiving the grant agreement. The grant agreement will be sent through DocuSign to the signatory and then countersigned by the County. Payments will be made once the agreement is signed.

2. What is expected of grantees?

   All grantees are expected to comply with reporting requirements and submit their reports in a timely manner. Grantees are expected to keep in regular and ongoing communication with the Program Manager and provide updates on the progress of the funded project.

3. What should a grantee do if the awarded program runs into unforeseen challenges?

   It is not uncommon for unexpected variances to occur throughout the project period. These range from underestimating or overestimating the project’s expenditures, staffing changes, or delays in completing the project by the deadline. When the grantee realizes that their funded project is not on track or that variances are occurring, they should contact the Program Manager to discuss the situation. LCBHS will determine whether or not a formal amendment to the agreement needs to be initiated. If an amendment is required, the Program Manager will request that the grantee submit its request in writing, detailing the need and/or justification for the change, along with the necessary revised reports showing these variances (SOW and/or Expenditure Report, if applicable).

4. What if there are changes to the project, but an amendment is not required?

   Certain adjustments can be made without having to formally develop an amendment to the original grant agreement/contract. These include budget revisions that do not exceed 25% or $1,000 per budget summary line item.

5. What happens when a project has underspent the grant funding provided to them?

   In the final evaluation report, the grantee should indicate the unspent funds and reasons for under-spending (e.g., fewer expenses than expected, delayed hiring, etc.). The grantee will be instructed to return all unspent funds to "Larimer County" and mail a check to Larimer County Behavioral Health Services, Attn: Jessica Plummer 200 W. Oak Street, 5th Floor, Fort Collins CO 80521. Please note that the grantee is not allowed to retain the remaining grant funds or apply them other projects or other activities outside of the scope of the grant agreement.

6. How does a grantee know which reports are due and when?

   This information can be found in the "Reports / Report Schedule" section of the signed grant agreement. The table provides the report type and corresponding due dates. The grantee will also receive two system generated e-mails reminding them that reports need to be completed at 60 day and 30 days weeks prior to the due date.

7. Can reports be submitted early?

   Yes. However, the soonest a grantee can submit their reports in the grant portal (SmartSimple) is 30 days prior to the due date. Otherwise it will not capture the entire program/project reporting period.

8. When are payments made and how often?

   This information varies by grant and can be found in the "Grant Award & Payment" section of the grant agreement. Please note that some payment timeframes are dependent upon the grantee submitting their required reports by the due dates and the LCBHS staff's approval of the reports.

9. How does a grantee know if their reports have been approved?

   If LCBHS staff have questions about the reports, they will contact the grantee to seek clarification. Revisions and re-submission of reports may be requested. Once the reports have been approved, the grantee will receive an automatically generated e-mail from SmartSimple with notification that the report has been approved. Reports are reviewed within 30 days and approvals depends on what questions, if any, need to be addressed.

10. What is considered an allowable or eligible expense in the budget for my program/project funded by the grant?

    In general, expenses must be allowable, allocable, necessary, reasonable, adequately documented and incurred during the approved period of performance for the grant award. Detailed descriptions of each criteria can be found through our Accounting Support page which is found under our Post-Award Guidance. You may also view the list of exclusions for expenses that are not covered by grant funding.