Section 340.80  Grant Agreement, Disbursement, and Monitoring

a)         Grant Agreements

1)         All approved projects must have a signed grant agreement to receive funding.

2)         The grant administrator will send a grant agreement to the awarded recipient.

3)         The recipient will be required to review the agreement and complete any information indicated, and return it to the grant administrator.

4)         When the grant administrator determines the grant agreement is completely and correctly filled out, the recipient will be notified that the agreement is ready for their signature.

5)         A grant agreement, signed by the recipient and the grant administrator, must be in place grant before the grantee is eligible to receive grant funding.

b)         Grant Disbursements

1)         Funds will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis.

2)         Grantees must submit all requests for reimbursement prior to the end of the fiscal year in which they were awarded a grant (June 30) to facilitate the most efficient and streamlined payment processing.

3)         Grantees that expect to continue to incur costs that are eligible for reimbursement after June 30 must notify grant administrator in writing, along with an explanation for the timing of these costs.

4)         Grant administrator will make best efforts to process reimbursement requests prior to August 1 of the following fiscal year. Any reimbursement request submitted after August 1, or prior to August 1 but without sufficient time for grant administrator to process, are subject to additional delays and processes to receive payment.

5)         If an awardee does not submit reimbursement requests for the entire amount they were awarded, the leftover amount will remain in the Fund and expended for the purposes of the Act.

c)         Grant Performance, Monitoring and Reporting Requirements

Grantees shall report information to the grant administrator as required in the grant agreement as well as the following information:

1)         Economic impact of awarded grant, including but not limited to jobs created, local food sales increased and communities served.  [505 ILCS 92/25(3)]

2)         Progress and financial reports on a quarterly basis, or more often as/if required in the grant agreement, along with proof of expenditures.

3)         All reporting required in the grant agreement.