Budget Templates

These templates will guide you through the various budget categories. Certain templates are correlated with specific funding agencies, so if you will be applying to one of those please use that agency’s template. Otherwise, please use the “Simple Budget Template.”

• Simple Budget/Department of Education Template (coming soon!)
  • Simple Budget Categories Guide (coming soon!)

• NSF Budget Template 
  • NSF Budget Categories Guide (see NSF PAPPG, link below, for additional budget information)​ 

• ​​​NIH Budget Template (coming soon!)​

Fringe Benefit Rates

Fringe benefits are the employer-paid portion of employee benefits (FICA, leave, employee insurance, social security, retirement, other payroll-related taxes, etc). The following fringe benefit rates must be used when applying for external funding:

• Faculty: 33% 

• Classified/Exempt Staff: varies from 33%-60% (dependent upon full-time/part-time, health benefit eligibility, employment period, and salary level)

• Students (undergraduate & graduate), hourly:
  • 3% during academic year
  • 9% during summer

• Temporary staff/hourly: 12%

To calculate: salaries/wages x fringe benefit rate = total fringe benefits amount to include on the budget form

Graduate Student Assistantship Costs (GA)

Some external funding agencies (i.e., NSF, NIH) support the costs of employing graduate students to carry out project objectives and/or research as part of a grant. These costs include salary/wages, fringe benefits, and a tuition waiver. The following are the costs for a graduate assistantship during the academic year:

• Click here for current GA costs (2021-2022)

• Projected GA Costs thru 2027

Indirect Cost (IDC) / Facilities & Administration (F&A) Rate

Indirect costs are those overhead expenses associated with the general operation of the institution (e.g., accounting services, payroll, utilities, maintenance, etc.). CWU requires the inclusion of indirect costs to enable the institution to recover a portion of these expenses.

The following indirect cost rate must be used when applying for external funding, based on CWU’s Indirect Rate Agreement effective 07/01/2020 – 06/30/2024 (unless reduced or disallowed by the specific funding agency your proposal will be submitted to):

• 51.5% of salaries/wages (excluding benefits)

To calculate: salaries/wages (excluding benefits) x indirect rate = total indirect cost to include on the budget form

NSF Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) Training

If an NSF grant is awarded, all undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers receiving support (salary/wages, stipends, or participant support) from the grant are required to complete ‘Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research’ (RECR) training prior to beginning any work on the grant and/or receiving any funds from the grant. 

RECR Policy | RECR Procedure 

Certification of RECR training for NSF Grants Form - Principal Investigator must submit this form prior to NSF proposal submission.

Instructions for logging into CITI to complete the RECR training

NSF Financial Conflict of Interest

If a Principal Investigator (and any Co-Principal Investigator) will be submitting a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF), each individual is required to disclose financial conflicts of interest prior to proposal submission. 

Conflict of Interest in Relationships Policy | Research Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Policy  | Conflict of Interest - All Employees Policy

Certification of Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) for NSF Grants Form - Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator(s) must submit this form prior to NSF proposal submission.

Pre-Proposal Approval Form 

[download]

Federal-wide and agency-specific Research Terms and Conditions

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 

[download] Effective 06/01/2020

[download] Effective 10/04/2021