A Note for Readers

To reduce clutter and ease reading, DOJ has used acronyms instead of the full phrasings for organizations, positions, and other items referenced more than once in the Guide. For the reader’s convenience, the list of acronyms is organized alphabetically.

A

ACCRUAL BASIS is the method of recording revenues in the period in which they are earned, regardless of when cash is received, and reporting expenses in the period when the charges are incurred, regardless of when payment is made.

ADDENDUM RECORD is what the bank receives that explains what a payment is for and gives the detail necessary for accurate posting into the correct account.

ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS are set forth at 2C.F.R. Part 200.

AMUSEMENT/SOCIAL EVENT is an informal gathering which is not mandatory for all participants to attain the necessary information. An indicator of a social/amusement event is a cash bar.

AUTOMATED STANDARD APPLICATION FOR PAYMENTS (ASAP) is a system that allows entities receiving federal funds to draw funding securely from pre-authorized accounts established by the agency issuing the payment

AWARDS typically means grants or cooperative agreements for financial assistance that a non-Federal entity receives directly from a Federal agency, or indirectly via a pass-through entity.

B

BLANKET REQUEST a series of the same or similar pre-arranged events containing multiple delivery dates scheduled to take place within the same fiscal year.

BREAK FOODS consist of cookies, sodas, and fruits or other snack items, and may be served at a training program, a meeting, or a conference.

BREAKS are short pauses in an ongoing informational program at trainings, meetings, conferences, or retreats. Typically, an all-day event may include one break during a morning session and one break during an afternoon session.

BUDGET PERIOD means the time interval from the start date of a funded portion of an award to the end date of that funded portion during which recipients and subrecipients are authorized to incur financial obligations of the funds awarded, including any funds carried forward or other revisions pursuant to § 200.308.

C

CASH BASIS is the method of reporting revenues and expenses when cash is actually received or paid out.

CLOSEOUT is the process by which the Federal agency or pass-through entity determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed and take actions as described in § 200.344.

COGNIZANT AGENCY FOR AUDITS means the Federal agency designated to carry out the responsibilities described in § 200.513(a). The cognizant agency for audit is not necessarily the same as the cognizant agency for indirect costs. A list of Federal agency Single Audit contacts can be found on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) website.

COGNIZANT AGENCY FOR INDIRECT COSTS means the Federal agency responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and approving cost allocation plans or indirect cost proposals developed under this part on behalf of all Federal agencies. The cognizant agency for indirect cost is not necessarily the same  as the cognizant agency for audit. For assignments of cognizant agencies refer to the appropriate Appendices.

CONFERENCE includes meetings, retreats, seminars, symposia, or training activities, it means an event whose primary purpose is to disseminate technical information beyond the recipient or subrecipient. See 41 C.F.R. § 300-3.1; 2 C.F.R. § 200.432.

CONSULTANT is an individual who provides professional advice or services.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST means a light breakfast that may include a selection of coffees, teas, juices, fruits, and assorted pastries, and is allowable provided several hours of substantive material directly follows the continental breakfast. Grant recipients are reminded that the least expensive of the available selections should be chosen.

CONTRACT means a legal instrument by which a recipient or subrecipient conducts procurement transactions under a Federal award. The term does not include a legal instrument, even if recipient or subrecipient considers it a contract, when the substance of the transaction meets the definition of a Federal award or subaward. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS means a legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal agency and a recipient or a pass-through entity and a subrecipient that, consistent with 31 U.S.C.6302-6305.

COST SHARING means the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds or contributions (unless authorized by Federal statute). This term includes matching, which refers to required levels of cost share that must be provided.

D

DISCRETIONARY AWARDS is an award in which the Federal agency, in keeping with specific statutory authority that enables the agency to exercise judgment (“discretion”), selects the recipient or the amount of Federal funding awarded through a competitive process or based on merit of proposals. A discretionary award may be selected on a noncompetitive basis, as appropriate.

DOMESTIC TRAVEL includes travel within and between the United States and its territories and possessions. However, for organizations located in foreign countries, domestic travel means travel inside of the organization’s country.

DRAW OR DRAWING DOWN is the term used to describe the process when a recipient requests and receives money under an award agreement.

E

EQUIPMENT is tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than 1 year and a per-unit acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the recipient or subrecipient for financial statement purposes, or $10,000.

EXPENDITURE is a charge made by a recipient or subrecipient to a project or program for which a Federal award is received

F

FEDERAL AGENCY generally refers to the agency that provides a Federal award directly to a recipient unless the context indicates otherwise.

FEDERAL CONTRACTOR is a person or entity that contracts with the Federal Government to provide supplies, services, or experimental, developmental, or research work. Entities may include commercial organizations, educational institutions, construction and architect-engineer companies, State and local governments, and nonprofit organizations. See Title 48 C.F.R. § 31.103-105, § 31.107-108.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES are those persons employed in or under an agency of the United States Federal Government or the District of Columbia. See 5 U.S.C.  4101 (1994) [PDF – 35.9 Kb].

FOOD AND/OR BEVERAGES retain their common meanings. Food or beverages are considered in the context of formal meals and in the context of refreshments served at short, intermittent breaks during an activity. Beverages do not include alcoholic drinks.

FOREIGN TRAVEL includes any travel outside of the United States and its territories and possessions. For an organization located in a foreign country, this means travel outside that country.

FORMAL AGENDA provides a list of all activities that shall occur during the event, using an hour-by-hour timeline. It must specifically include the times during the event when food and beverages will be provided.

FORMULA AWARDS are awarded to the States to provide assistance to State and local units of government for programs in accordance with legislative requirements.

G

GRANT AGREEMENT or grant is a legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal agency or pass through entity and a recipient or subrecipient to carry out a public purpose. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

H

HIGH RISK is a determination made by the agency of a recipient’s ability to administer Federal project funds based on issues such as a history of unsatisfactory performance; financial instability; inadequate financial management system; non conformance to terms and conditions of previous awards; or is otherwise not responsible. Additional reporting or other requirements may be placed on high- risk recipients.

I

INTEREST FUNDS are fixed- or petty-cash funds in the form of currency or coin that have been advanced as funds held outside of the usual secure account. Agencies typically use interest funds to reimburse employees for expenses, to make small purchases, to make emergency beneficiary payments, and to pay informants, among other uses.

INCIDENTAL means (in the conference context) relating to a formal event where full participation by participants mandates the provision of food and beverages.

INDIRECT COST means those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved.

INTERNAL CONTROL means processes, implemented by a recipient or subrecipient, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories:

1.    Effectiveness and efficiency of operations;
2.    Reliability of reporting for internal and external use; and
3.    Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.61.
 

J

JUSTICE GRANTS SYSTEM (JustGrants) represents a significant IT modernization effort to develop and implement a single grants management system for all three DOJ grant-making components. It also gives applicants and award recipients new ways to manage their own entity information and users in the system. JustGrants offers the ability for applicants and award recipients to:

1. authenticate each user with their own login and password,
2. manage multiple users and associate individual roles which govern access to information and tasks in the system, and
3. assign users to one or many applications and award tasks and activities.

L

LIQUIDATION PERIOD provides awardees time to receive ordered goods or services, and make final payments on trailing costs. It is usually a 120 day period after award end date.

LOBBYING is generally considered to be the act of trying to influence legislation. An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.450.

M

MODIFIED TOTAL DIRECT COST (MTDC) means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $50,000.

N

NONEXPENDABLE PERSONAL PROPERTY (i.e., equipment) includes tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than 1 year and an acquisition cost of $10,000 or more per unit. A recipient may use its own definition of nonexpendable personal property provided that the definition would at least include all tangible personal property as defined below. See 2 C.F.R. §  200.1.

O

OBLIGATION means orders placed for property and services, contracts and subawards made, and similar transactions during a given period that require payment by the recipient or subrecipient during the same or a future period (i.e., a legal liability to pay under a grant, subgrant, and/or contract determinable sums for services or goods incurred during the period of performance). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

P

R

REAL PROPERTY means land, including land improvements, structures, and appurtenances thereto, and legal interests in land, including fee interest, licenses, rights of way, and easements. Real property excludes movable machinery and equipment.

REASONABLE means those costs that a prudent person would have incurred under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.

RECEPTION means an informal gathering which is not mandatory for all event participants to obtain necessary information. Indicators of a reception include a cash bar, inadequate seating for the entire group, food items from a reception menu (such as finger foods), and a longer break (than utilized throughout the day) between the substantive meetings and the reception. Receptions are expressly prohibited and are considered to be an unallowable cost with Federal funds.

RECIPIENT means an entity that receives a Federal award directly from a Federal agency to carry out an activity under a Federal program. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are participants or beneficiaries of the award. 

REGIONAL INFORMATION SHARING SYSTEMS (RISS) is a national program of regionally oriented services designed to facilitate the coordination and communication capabilities of local, state, federal, and tribal criminal justice agencies.

S

U

UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER is the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. Government as of April 4, 2022. All entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) must register in SAM.gov to obtain a 12-character unique number to do business with the Federal government.

UNALLOWABLE COSTS are costs the government is unwilling to pay as a direct charge or through an indirect cost pool applied to the federal grant or contract. An organization is not prohibited from incurring unallowable costs but they cannot be recovered either directly or indirectly under federal grants or contracts.

W

WORKING LUNCH means a formal and mandatory dinner necessary for all participants to have full participation in the conference or event. A working dinner must include a formal agenda including a program or speakers that will impart necessary information important for full understanding of the subject matter of the conference. There should be several hours of informative sessions providing substantive information scheduled both before and after a working dinner. Indicators of a working dinner include seating for all participants. A cash bar is expressly prohibited.

WORKING LUNCH is a formal and mandatory lunch necessary for all participants to have full participation in the conference or event. A working lunch must include a formal agenda including a program or speakers that will impart necessary information important for full understanding of the subject matter of the conference. There should be several hours of informative sessions providing substantive information scheduled both before and after a working lunch (exhibits are not included). Indicators of a working lunch include seating for all participants. A cash bar is expressly prohibited.

WORK-RELATED EVENT is a conference or meeting involving a topical matter of interest within the purview of the agency’s mission and function.

Appendix I: Sample ACH Template Instructions

The sample ACH template should be completed by the recipient’s Financial Institution for the remittance of Automated Clearing House (ACH) credits to the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Sample ACH Template Instructions

Appendix II: Sample Fedwire Template Instructions

The sample Fedwire template should be completed by the recipient’s Financial Institution for the remittance of Fedwire payments to the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Sample Fedwire Template Instructions