Improving Sustainability of Grant Funded Initiatives at South Florida State College
Impact at a Glance
Integrated grant planning into business office practices
Better aligned grant opportunities with institutional priorities
Improved the speed and accuracy of grant budget development
Strengthened planning for costs after grant funding ends
Built infrastructure to sustain successful grant-funded initiatives
The Challenge
South Florida State College, a public community college in Florida, wanted to strengthen how grant-funded initiatives were incorporated into its budgeting and financial planning. With grants varying significantly in size and duration, the college needed a more coordinated approach across the grant lifecycle.
The college wanted to:
- Better align grant opportunities with strategic and operational goals
- Prepare stronger funding requests when opportunities emerged
- Improve coordination across departments affected by grant activities
- Support employees without financial or grant management expertise
- Plan for ongoing resource needs after grant funding ends
The goal was to ensure grant opportunities supported institutional priorities while considering their full operational and financial impact.
The Action
South Florida State College customized NACUBO’s Budget Builder resources to strengthen grant planning, budgeting, and management.
The college:
- Modified Budget Builder templates for grants of different sizes and durations
- Refined templates based on feedback and experience
- Captured narrative information to assess how grants align with institutional goals
- Used the resources to identify financial and operational needs across the grant lifecycle
- Created a dedicated business office role to support grant activities
- Began integrating ongoing grant-related resource needs into operating budgets
The customized tools provided a more consistent approach to evaluating grant opportunities, developing budgets, and planning for sustainability after funding ends.
The Results
Immediate Impact
- Integrated pre- and post-award grant support into business office practices
- Improved coordination between grant activities and financial planning
- Developed reusable resources for grant solicitation and budgeting
- Enabled grant budgets to be developed more quickly and accurately
Process Improvements
- Established a more consistent approach to assessing grant opportunities and resource needs
- Improved alignment between grant-funded initiatives and institutional goals
- Created a dedicated role providing support throughout the grant lifecycle
- Built a process for sharing previous grant budgets and resource information with future applicants
- Strengthened planning for sustaining successful initiatives after grant funding ends
Ongoing Momentum
- Continue integrating grant activities with business office processes
- Refine tools and practices as new grant opportunities emerge
- Improve assessment of outcomes from grant-funded investments
- Incorporate ongoing resource needs into operating budgets
- Use improved processes to guide decisions about sustaining successful initiatives
“There are two mindsets around grants. One is that any money is good money. The other acknowledges that grant opportunities and activities need to align with the organization's goals and the outcomes we're trying to achieve. We are trying to operate with the second mindset ...”
Peter S. ElliottVice President for Administrative Services
