Generally speaking, if there are significant funds left over on a private grant award, we first see if the project is still on-going and get the PI to request a no-cost extension.  It really depends on the nature of the award and project.  If it's a private contract and the terms have been met, then we keep any balance for the investigator to use.  Any remaining overhead is taken at that point, once we receive in writing that the project has been completed to satisfaction.
I would agree, anything $100 or less should not be returned.

Matthew D. Katz, MHA
Assistant Vice President,
Sponsored Research and Contract Management
Western University of Health Sciences
309 E. 2nd Street
Pomona, CA  91766
xxxxxx@westernu.edu
(909) 469-5567
(909) 469-5569 FAX

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] On Behalf Of Otiji, Karen
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 8:57 PM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] retaining unspent funds on private grant awards

I am looking to compare practices on returning residual unspent funds on a private grant award.

Does anyone retain a certain percentage (e.g. 1%, 5%) of the total award amount if it has not been spent at the end of the grant?  We normally state on the final financial report that we will not return anything less than $100 (it costs us $180 to process a check!) unless the sponsor objects.  We routinely never get an objection from the sponsor.

We are looking to see if we should increase the amount retained, such as a percentage of the whole award, which could be more than $100.

Can anyone share their own practices? If you wish to respond offline, you can send your response to xxxxxx@si.edu<mailto:xxxxxx@si.edu>.

Thanks very much!

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