Thompson Grants Federal Grants Forum
Secure Your Federal Funding: Build a Strong Foundation for Compliance in 2026 and Beyond
Federal grants compliance requirements continue to evolve, including updates from the 2024 Uniform Guidance and increased oversight. Thompson Grants’ two-day virtual forum is designed to help grants professionals build a solid foundation in compliance fundamentals. Attendees will get expert-led sessions covering the basics of federal grants management, practical strategies for aligning policies with federal requirements, and common compliance challenges and solutions.
Featured Presentations
Procurement 101 – Basic Rules for Buying with Federal Funds
Buying goods and services with federal funds comes with specific requirements, but beginners don’t need to memorize every citation to be compliant. This session walks through the core procurement standards in user‑friendly terms and explains how to select vendors, document competition, and maintain basic files that satisfy federal expectations.
Learning Objectives:
Learn the fundamental procurement standards that apply to federal grant purchases.
Understand the basic methods of procurement and when they apply.
Review who should be involved in procurement decisions and documentation.
See examples of simple procurement files that help avoid common findings.
Indirect Costs 101 – Understanding and Choosing a Strategy
Indirect costs often feel mysterious, but they are essential to recovering the true cost of running your programs. This session will explain, in plain language, what indirect costs are, why they matter, and the basic options available under Uniform Guidance—such as the de minimis rate and negotiated indirect cost rates. We’ll focus on helping newer grants professionals understand the trade‑offs so they can ask the right questions inside their organizations.
Learning Objectives:
Understand what indirect costs are and how they differ from direct costs.
Learn the basic options for recovering indirect costs (including de minimis and negotiated rates).
Explore simple practices for reviewing whether your current approach is helping you recover a fair share of administrative costs.
