Grant Budget Template Calculator
Build a compliant grant budget with personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, other direct costs, and indirect (F&A) costs per federal Uniform Guidance.
Inputs
Results
Total Project Cost
$202,400.00
≈ 5 Teslas
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter total Personnel / Salaries costs and the Fringe Benefits Rate to calculate combined personnel and fringe costs.
- Enter non-personnel direct costs: Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual / Subawards, and Other Direct Costs.
- Enter your organization's negotiated Indirect / F&A Rate; it is applied automatically to the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base, which excludes equipment costs.
- Enter a Cost Share percentage if your organization is contributing matching funds toward the project.
- Review the Total Direct Costs, Indirect (F&A) Costs, Total Project Cost, and Federal / Funder Share, along with the Personnel % of Direct Costs benchmark (typical range 40-70%).
How the result changes with Personnel / Salaries ($)
| Personnel / Salaries ($) | Total Project Cost |
|---|---|
| 100,000,000 | $149,523,000.00 |
| 350,000,000 | $523,273,000.00 |
| 650,000,000 | $971,773,000.00 |
| 900,000,000 | $1,345,523,000.00 |
What each input means
- Personnel / Salaries ($)
- Total salaries and wages for all key personnel and staff.
- Fringe Benefits Rate (%)
- Fringe rate covering FICA, health insurance, retirement, etc.
- Travel ($)
- Domestic and international travel for project activities.
- Equipment ($)
- Capital equipment (items >= $5,000). Excluded from MTDC base.
- Supplies ($)
- Consumable materials, software licenses under $5,000, etc.
- Contractual / Subawards ($)
- Subcontracts, consultants, and subaward costs.
- Other Direct Costs ($)
- Participant support, publication costs, communication, etc.
- Indirect / F&A Rate (%)
- Your organization's negotiated indirect cost rate (NICRA).
- Cost Share (%)
- Percentage of total costs your organization will contribute.
What each result means
- Total Project Cost
- Total direct costs plus indirect costs.
- Total Direct Costs
- Sum of all direct cost categories.
- Personnel + Fringe
- Combined salary and fringe benefit costs.
- Fringe Benefits
- Calculated fringe costs based on personnel and fringe rate.
- MTDC Base
- Modified Total Direct Costs base (excludes equipment).
- Indirect (F&A) Costs
- Indirect costs applied to the MTDC base.
- Federal / Funder Share
- Amount requested from the funder after cost share.
- Cost Share Amount
- Your organization's contribution.
- Personnel % of Direct
- Personnel as a percentage of total direct costs. Typical range: 40-70%.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersPersonnel / Salaries ($) = 120000, Fringe Benefits Rate (%) = 30, Travel ($) = 5000, Equipment ($) = 0 = 9 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total Project CostTotal Project Cost = totalDirectCosts + indirectCosts202400 = $202,400
- Calculate Total Direct CostsTotal Direct Costs = totalPersonnel + travelCosts + equipmentCosts + suppliesCosts + contractualCo...176000 = $176,000
- Calculate Personnel + FringePersonnel + Fringe = personnelCosts + fringeCosts156000 = $156,000
Engine last updated .
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