Grant Administration Information for Current Grantees

Recipients of State funding through the Maryland Historical Trust Grant Fund (Capital Historic Preservation, Non-Capital Historic Preservation, or Museum Assistance grants) or the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Financing Fund are expected to carefully manage public funds by running cost efficient operations and documenting all expenditures.

To ensure that project responsibilities and expectations are clearly established, Grantees must execute a Grant Agreement with the Maryland Department of Planning, MHT’s parent agency.  This Grant Agreement outlines how and within what timeframe the project will be accomplished.  Of particular importance are the Scope of Work, Timeline, Budget and Special Conditions sections.  Please note the deadlines and required actions listed in each.  Your project monitor will work closely with you to ensure the project is completed as described in the Grant Agreement. 

If you are unsure who your project monitor is, contact Ruth Scheler at 410-514-7699.

Grantee Responsibilities

• Respond in a timely manner to MHT requests for information.
• Return signed Grant Agreement to MHT within 45 days of its receipt.
• Submit reports as required according to the grant agreement Timeline.
• Complete the project according to the Timetable in your Grant Agreement.
• Submit all necessary financial documentation materials with your final report.  See Grantee Responsibilities for Financial Reporting [hyperlink] for detailed instructions on financial documentation requirements.
• Contact your MHT project monitor if any aspect of the project changes, as such changes may require an amendment to the Grant Agreement with MHT. 
• Grantees may make minor transfers among project budget line items of up to 10% of the amount of the Grant.  Any changes greater than 10% require the written consent of the Project Monitor.

Financial Documentation

Grantees are required to document all project costs shown in the Budget of the Grant Agreement, both MHT grant funds and matching funds provided by the Grantee. 

This documentation must be submitted with the project final report and final disbursement request. 

The expenditure of funds can be documented through invoices, receipts, cancelled checks, and staff or volunteer time logs. 

Before the final payment is processed your project monitor will review the documentation to ensure that it is eligible, necessary and verifiable.  More detail is provided in the Grantee Responsibilities for Financial Reporting document.

Current Reimbursement Rates (FY2012)

• Mileage must be billed at the currently approved state rate of $0.55/mile.
  
• Daily meal reimbursements may not be billed in excess of the current approved State rate of $41/day.
• Volunteer time may be valued at $22.32/hour.
  
• Staff time may be billed at an employee’s hourly rate, including benefits.
  
• All other costs must be reasonable and customary for the region in which the project is located.
  

When to Contact MHT

Should your project deviate from that outlined in the Grant Agreement, contact your project monitor immediately to discuss how those changes may affect State funding.  It may be necessary to execute an amendment to the original Grant Agreement. 

If your project is behind schedule and you feel you will need an extension of the completion date, submit a letter to your project monitor with the following information

• statement of why the project cannot be completed as scheduled;
• description of what work has been completed and what remains to be done;
• revised timetable with a new project end date. 

No extensions will be granted once the Grant Agreement has expired.