KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL

Key project personnel are considered the individuals listed on the grant agreement / sub-award agreement and are responsible for managing all components of this grant: project execution, deliverables stated in the application, following grant guidelines and submitting reports.

These individuals will be the primary point of contact providing event promotion content, requesting permission from NMHC to implement any changes to your grant funded program, and submitting all required reports, etc. Changes in any of the below personnel after the submission of application requires written notification and approval by NMHC.

REQUIRED KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL

PROJECT DIRECTOR

The Project Director co-signs the application with the Fiscal Agent.

This person is also listed on the sub-award agreement and considered key project personnel for the purpose of managing and coordinating all elements of this grant (including but not limited to fulfilling the deliverables listed in the application, submitting programmatic-related information, performance updates and required reports).

The Project Director is to actively work alongside the Fiscal Agent in the execution, oversight and reporting aspects of the grant funded project.

NOTE: NMHC reserves the right to require that the applicant (non-federal entity / sponsoring organization) identify a different Project Director if the proposed Project Director has previously received a risk assessment score that has raised concerns. NMHC makes these decisions based on the risk assessments we complete as part of our sub-awarding process mandated by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

FISCAL AGENT

The Fiscal Agent has the authority to represent the applicant organization (the nonprofit applying for the grant). This person co-signs the application with the understanding that he/she/they is certifying to NMHC that the applicant organization is eligible to receive federal funds and will comply with applicable federal law if funds are awarded. The instructions for certification are included on our website.

The Fiscal Agent is also listed on the subaward agreement and considered key project personnel for the purpose of managing this grant.

The Fiscal Agent is to actively work alongside the Project Director in the execution, oversight and reporting aspects of the grant funded project.

The Fiscal Agent should attend project planning meetings with the Project Director to ensure:
1) program changes remain in alignment with the approved budget;
2) the deliverables listed in the application are being upheld.

Fiscal Agents who function on a passive level will have their personal and organizational risk assessment scores increased.

Fiscal Agents should track, evaluate and report on all financial components of the project. This includes but is not limited to itemized documentation of expenses applied to the grant and all forms of matching (purchases logged by cost per unit, tracking mileage, per-diem, volunteer time, project personnel’s timesheets, in-kind contributions, etc.)

Some forms of documentation will be required for final reports. However, for auditing purposes documentation should be retained in your organization’s records. Documentation should include but is not limited to: receipts, invoices, copies of checks, deposit slips, donor letters, and sponsorship letters.

IMPORTANT: For these reasons the applicant organization/fiscal sponsor is responsible for:

retaining any awarded grant funds within their organization’s bank account;
issuing checks for grant program expenses from their organization’s bank account;
tracking expenses through their organization’s software system;
retaining the forms of documentation mention above;
attending project/program planning meetings to stay financially aware of any changes to expenses;
directly contribute to the marketing of the grant funded project.

IMPORTANT: Fiscal Agents cannot be operating solely as a Fiscal Sponsor that is acting as a passthrough entity (PTE). Please review the content on our eligibility and registration page for additional information.

OTHER POTENTIAL KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL

AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL

An organization’s Authorized Official may not be actively involved in the execution of a grant funded project, but this individual is responsible for authorizing all legally binding commitments that the organization is involved in. Frequently the authorizing official is the executive director or the board president in an organization. This individual must sign the application before it is submitted to:

show proof that the primary leadership of an organization is aware of the proposed project and it’s deliverables;
the cost-sharing/matching requirements;
the level of commitment required by key project personnel;
and to confirm the organization is legally eligible to receive a federal grant if awarded.

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Development Director / Grant Manager will only be added to the subaward agreement as additional key project personnel if the sponsoring organization’s (the grantee/subrecipient) employee structure system meets the following criteria: the grantee organization has a paid employee with one of these job titles whose primary function within the organization is to manage paperwork related to grants awarded to the organization.

ALL KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL

All key project personnel are responsible for managing the project to ensure that activities are conducted on schedule, within budget and according to the grant guidelines. If awarded, please be sure to refer to both the Grant Management Handbook and to the sub-award agreement for important dates.

OTHER PROJECT PERSONNEL PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROJECT

PROJECT EVALUATOR

The Evaluator is independent and separate from the applicant organization. The Evaluator cannot be tied to executing the project’s goals and objectives and he/she/they cannot be a participant in the project. All NMHC grant funded projects are required to have an Evaluator that fits this criteria. Evaluators are required to attend programs and assess the program’s effectiveness related to the criteria outlined in the submitted application.

At minimum the Evaluator needs to attend and assess one public event that is part of the larger project.

NOTE: Evaluators should complete their reports during the grant’s project performance period, and not within the reporting period. This is because the evaluator is an outside contractor providing a service that must take place during the performance period. Separately, the Project Director and Fiscal Agent will be responsible for uploading the signed evaluator’s report with the final report which is submitted during the reporting period.

NOTE: Changing an Evaluator after the submission of application requires written notification and approval by NMHC.

PROJECT SCHOLAR

Traditionally, humanities scholars have been individuals with specialized competence or training in one or more of the humanities disciplines, usually reflected in advanced degrees.

However, since humanities subaward grants seek to uplift the voices of those who have historically been marginalized, we encourage applicants to also select presenters who have a direct relationship to the content being presented to enable the narrative to be shared with greater authenticity. For these reasons, project scholars are not limited to individuals rooted in academia. Instead it’s encouraged to also select community elders, tribal leaders, tradition bearers and community historians with lived experiences to lead conversations as scholars. With the participation of these individuals it becomes possible to ensure languages are passed down and preserved, the origins of traditions are not forgotten, and recorded history is no longer told from a predominantly colonial lens.

NOTE: As part of the application, a concise statement will need to be provided for each humanities scholar which confirms they are an appropriate fit for the work they will be completing. Please provide a direct statement that ties the scholar’s background/experience to the subject they are presenting.

NOTE: Changing a Scholar(s) after the submission of application requires written notification and approval by NMHC.

TIP: MAKE YOUR APPLICATION MORE COMPETITIVE

It is preferred for a project to show at least 70% of the scholars committed at the time when the application is submitted. Make the application more competitive by providing letters of commitment from these scholars. Because of the function they serve and their expertise, Evaluators are also considered Scholars.

NOTE: The application has a button to upload one PDF in this section. So please combine all commitment letters into one file. Commitment letters do not have to be formal. They can be something as simple as an emailed statement saved as a PDF.