Manage Your Grant

Requirements

The California State Library will provide grant recipients with all required evaluation surveys and tools. Lunch at the Library’s evaluation and reporting tools help libraries collect necessary statewide data on California’s public library summer meal programs and summer meal outreach/partnerships. Results from libraries’ evaluation efforts show the impact of Lunch at the Library across the state.

Narrative and Financial Reports

All grant reports will be submitted via the online submission portal. Deadlines are as follows:

  • First Financial and Narrative Reports due June 20, 2024.
  • Second Financial and Narrative Reports due October 17, 2024.
  • Final Financial Report, Final Narrative Report, and Expenditure Detail Report due February 20, 2025.

2024 Lunch at the Library Annual Outputs Survey

The annual outputs survey is for all participating libraries to complete after summer activities conclude. This year, it is due no later than September 4, 2024. Submission also occurs in the online grants management system. (Format may differ slightly from PDF linked below but content will not change.)

Lunch at the Library Outcomes Surveys

All Outcomes surveys are required and should be administered as follows:

  • Meal Sites and Pop-ups shall administer the Outcomes Survey to any adults representing children (side 1) or Children and Teens (side 2), unless they indicate they have already completed the survey.
  • Meal Sites and Pop-ups shall administer the Youth Development Survey to all Teen Volunteers/Interns one time, at or toward the end of their volunteer period.

Grantees may submit Outcomes Survey data throughout the summer or all at once. All surveys need to be submitted prior to September 4, 2024. Input both individual or tallied data using the following Microsoft Forms links:

Unallowable Expenditures

Unallowable costs include but are not limited to the following (please ask if you have questions):

  • Food and refreshments
  • Performers for the purpose of entertainment (Presentations offering enrichment for attendees are allowable)
  • Fundraising activities, including grant writing
  • Cash reserves and endowment holdings; purchase of land, buildings or major construction
  • Permanent construction or installations (discuss any plans related to this area with the Lunch at the Library team beforehand)
  • Non-educational social activities such as receptions, parties, galas
  • Gifts/prizes/incentives/giveaways; including cash prizes or gift certificates with monetary value, and Take and Make Kits (Books to build home libraries, which include literature connecting families to summer reading are allowable)
  • Contributions, donations, honorariums, stipends
  • Expenses incurred before the start of the grant period or after the ending date of the grant period without an approved extension
  • Lobbying activities that are intended to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials
  • Backfill and salaries or benefits for individuals not directly contributing to the grant-funded project are not allowable as direct costs

Note for Youth Development program plans:

Interns: Payment using grant funds made to interns as wages, salaries, and payment for work under contract are allowable provided that the interns are only being paid for time spent directly on project-related activities and the payment method is not a stipend. This form of payment belongs under Salaries/Wages/Benefits on your Core Program budget.

Scholarships: Grant funds can be used to fund scholarships for those participating in educational and workforce development activities as part of the grant program and in alignment with the primary purpose of the grant. Note, this is different from a stipend as listed above and belongs under Services on your Core Program budget.