Key Steps to Successfully Close Out an Award
By AmpliFund

We all recognize that award closeout is a vital process. However, the multitude of administrative tasks necessary to manage grants often consume a grant manager’s time and attention. To ease the award closeout stress, Jennifer Zarek, CGMS, LSSYB, AmpliFund Implementation Team Lead, gave an NGMA webinar presentation on how to prepare for closeout from the time your grant is awarded. To support you in that process, below are five steps to help you create a solid foundation.
 
1. Create a Checklist
 
Create a standard checklist to use as your base for all awards. This can be customized once you receive your Notice of Award (NoA). For example, your checklist should note what reports are due and when. Further customize it to include any special conditions that apply to your award. Then group your checklist items by dates to best prepare for closeout—starting at 90 days before the end of the award. Finally, assign each checklist item to the role responsible for that task.

2. Establish Checkpoints

Improve compliance throughout the life of the award by implementing checkpoints in your award management processes. These are planned points where you assess the effectiveness of your grants management processes as well as your team’s efficiency to date. Regular audits of your grants management practices help you (and your team) stay on track, create capacity down the line, and identify potential issues before they become a problem.  
 
3. Monitor Budget and Performance

Closely monitoring both budget and performance will allow you to draw down effectively, and in turn, ensure that funding will be proportionate throughout the timeline of the award. Best practices, such as establishing good internal communication and blocking off adequate time to prepare reports, can help you effectively monitor budget and performance from the start of your award. (If you are managing subrecipients, consider downloading this Subrecipient Monitoring Checklist.)
 
4. Centralize Documentation

Proper documentation is essential for successful closeout. Centralizing your document storage will spare you stress and significantly ease the process when it’s time to demonstrate what your program accomplished against the award goals and that you spent the funds properly per the award agreement. (Unfortunately, if you’re unable to prove this, you may have to return funds regardless of if the expense was allowable or not.) View AmpliFund’s Grant Management Centralization Guide for guidance.
 
5. Plan for the Next Award

After closeout, look back at the award with your team and discuss what worked, what didn’t work, and why. Solicit internal and external feedback for a broader perspective. Leverage this feedback to adjust your processes and fine-tune a plan for closeout that works for your organization. Then you can duplicate that process and use it for future awards.

Members: You may view the full webinar recording here for additional information on award closeout. For additional help and resources, view AmpliFund’s Award Closeout Toolkit.