I'm looking for advice on an accounting matter. My organization, a small
rural hospital, has received HRSA funding for a project which also
involves a nearby university. The hospital is the fiscal agent of the
project, but faculty members at the university are supporting the
project in various way.

The grant budget includes funds to purchase computer equipment for use
on the project (less than $6,000 with no single unit costing more than
$4,999), and this equipment will be used by the university partners in
the project, so it will be housed at the university. However, HRSA has
stipulated that they would prefer that the hospital retain title to the
equipment, and we have agreed. (The equipment we're talking about is a
file-server-capable PC.)

What is an allowable method of the hospital making this expenditure?
While it would be more convenient for the university partners to conduct
the purchase through university channels, I am uncertain about how to
navigate the accounting and property control concerns (let alone the
vendor contracts which might specify equipment is titled to an
educational institution).

The funds are in the budget under the category of "equipment." Can we
allow them to be used to reimburse the university for a purchase through
their purchasing department? Could we request the order be placed by the
university but the invoice be sent to us? Or should the purchase be
conducted solely through the hospital's purchasing and accounting
offices?

Sorry if this is a Grants Accounting 101 question, but some of these
issues are new to this organization, and we're all learning together.
Thanks for your help.

Molly Daniel
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
Mattoon, IL