Lesson 98 · The Grant Architect

98. Budget Revisions

30 min

By the end you'll be able to

  • Identify the rebudgeting actions that require prior written approval under 2 CFR 200.308.
  • Scale a scope and budget when the award is less than requested.
  • Draft a prior-approval request that pairs a budget table with a narrative justification.
  • Read a Notice of Award to find the rebudgeting authority you actually have.

Awards almost never land exactly as proposed. Sometimes the funder cuts the budget, sometimes the project shifts mid-year, and sometimes your assumptions turn out to be wrong. In this lesson you learn the rules for budget revisions and rebudgeting under 2 CFR 200.308, what changes require prior written approval from the awarding agency, and how to make modifications without triggering a compliance violation.

You will work through the common revision scenarios. A funder offering 80 percent of the requested amount means you need to scale scope, not just shave numbers, and the revised budget plus narrative go back to the program officer before the agreement is signed. Mid-project, federal rules generally require prior approval for cumulative transfers exceeding 10 percent of the total approved budget, for any change in scope or objectives, for adding or removing key personnel, for transfers between direct and indirect, and for any change that affects the period of performance. Agency-specific rules layer on top of these baseline thresholds.

By the end you should be able to read a Notice of Award, identify the rebudgeting authority you actually have, and draft a prior-approval request that pairs the proposed change with a budget table, a narrative justification, and the regulatory citation supporting your request. That packet is what separates an approved revision from a delayed one.

Common mistakes

These are the traps learners hit most often on this topic. Knowing them in advance is half the fix.

  • Treating the 10 percent threshold as the only rule.

    Scope changes, key personnel changes, and certain category transfers require prior approval at any dollar amount. The 10 percent test is one of several triggers, not a universal pass.

  • Making the change first and asking later.

    Prior approval means prior. Incurring the cost and then notifying the agency converts a routine revision request into a finding.

Practice problems

Try each on paper first. Click Show solution only after you've made a real attempt.

  1. Problem 1
    Mid-Year 2 of a three-year award, you need to move 600,000. Draft the structure of a prior-approval request.
    Show solution

    Threshold: 600,000 is 6.67 percent, below the 10 percent cumulative transfer threshold under 2 CFR 200.308, so a pure transfer between Personnel and Contractual would not require prior approval on this factor alone. However, if the contractual line creates a new subaward or changes the scope, prior approval is required regardless. Packet: (1) revised SF-424A showing original, change, and revised columns; (2) narrative explaining what the contracted work covers, why personnel cannot deliver it, and how the change preserves program objectives; (3) citation to 2 CFR 200.308 and any agency-specific terms in the Notice of Award. Send to the program officer for written approval before incurring the cost.

Practice quiz

  1. Question 1
    Which mid-project change generally requires prior written approval from the federal awarding agency?
  2. Question 2
    When the funder offers 80 percent of the requested amount, what is the most defensible response?
  3. Reflection 3
    Why does the lesson treat the prior-approval request as a three-part packet (budget table, narrative, regulatory citation) rather than a quick email?

Lesson 98 recap

Budget revisions under 2 CFR 200.308 follow specific prior-approval rules. Cumulative transfers over 10 percent, scope changes, key personnel changes, and indirect transfers typically require written approval, and the request packet includes a budget table, a narrative, and a regulatory citation.

Coming next: Lesson 99 — AI Spotlight

Next, we close the module by looking at how AI tools can accelerate budget justification drafting without sacrificing the specificity that auditors and reviewers demand.

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