Grant reporting requirements: a checklist

Read the award agreement first

Everything below is typical, not universal. Your agreement states what you actually owe and when. Read it when the grant is signed, not the week the report is due. That's when you can still build the habits that make the report easy.

The financial report

• Expenditure by budget line against the approved budget
• Explanations for big differences from the budget (material variances); your funder may set how big
• Any money you promised to add yourself (match or cost-share), including in-kind support such as volunteer time. To count volunteer hours, multiply them by a rate your funder accepts; the value of volunteer time calculator does the math. On a federal award, don't use the national average: under 2 CFR 200.306(e) the service must be necessary for the program, and the rate is what you pay for similar work or, if no one on your staff has the skills, what the labor market you hire from pays. Type that rate into the calculator.
• Figures that match your accounting records, so the report holds up if anyone checks

The programmatic report

• Progress against the objectives as written in the application, use their words, not new ones
• Numbers served, with a stated method for how you counted
• Outcomes, not just activities: what changed, not only what you did
• Honest reporting of what didn't work. An honest account builds more trust than a spotless one.

Supporting documentation to have on hand

• Records of how each person's pay was split across grants (payroll allocation) for anyone charged to the grant
• Volunteer hours by program and period, if you're claiming in-kind match
• Invoices and receipts for significant direct costs
• Records of how you chose vendors for purchases (procurement), where required (federal awards)
• Subaward agreements and monitoring records, if you passed money on to another organization (federal awards)

Build the habits that make reports quick

1. Put every deadline in one calendar

   With reminders several weeks out, not several days.

2. Track against their categories

   Set up your programs and budget lines to match how the funder asks you to report. Retro-fitting at deadline is where errors come from.

3. Record volunteer hours as they happen

   Reconstructing them at year end produces numbers you can't defend.

4. Keep a running narrative

   A few lines each month beats reconstructing twelve.

5. Reconcile before submitting

   Every figure ties to the accounting records. Every time.

If you're going to miss a deadline

Tell the funder before it passes. An early, specific heads-up costs you very little. A missed deadline with no warning is what damages the relationship, and it turns up in the next funding decision.

This is general information, not legal or accounting advice. Federal grant rules change and are applied differently by different agencies and auditors. Check with your auditor, your grant officer, or an attorney before relying on any of it.

The Ember tool for this

Ember Grants

Ember Grants keeps every award, deadline and report in one place. You can see what you owe each funder, and when. Unlimited users on every tier.

Sources: 2 CFR Part 200 (eCFR), subpart D, post-federal award requirements, and 2 CFR 200.306(e). Read 27 September 2026. Your award agreement governs.