Congratulations! Typically the news that you have received a grant is conveyed to you first informally over the telephone with an official notification letter following by mail. Keep the original of this letter in a safe place but make enough copies so that you can notify the budget officer, your administrator, other key people. You Were Awarded the Grant!
The notification letter will indicate the amount you've been granted (You may have had to negotiate the actual amount through prior phone calls and even submission of a revised budget and workplan). It will also usually show the schedule of payment if it isn't all remitted at the same time. It will give you the official start and end dates of the project. Usually it will identify the project or program officer at the funding source with whom you will be working. You may have several conversations with this individual throughout the duration of the project so keep this contact information handy.
If your grant came from a foundation or from a corporate source, send them a thank-you letter. Remember, you're interested in a long-term relationship with the funder and potentially referrals to other funding sources. If your grant came as a result of a competitive process (either through a government agency or through an internal grant program from your organization), a thank you letter isn't necessary as it's a more formal process.
Restrictions or Requirements. Before spending the grant money, determine whether there are any special restrictions in the way monies can be spent or the categories of expenditures allowed. Determine whether there are any requirements for how money can be spent or when it can be spent. If you're not sure, ask your program officer for clarification. Make sure you understand the financial recordkeeping requirements and have an internal setup to comply with it. Determine if there are regular progress reports required and if so, when and how often they must occur. Make sure you agree on how the project will be evaluated. Are there requirements beyond what you included in the grant? Determine if there are any restrictions on making public announcements and progress reports.
Using the First Grant to Raise More Funds. One benefit of even the smallest grant is that it can help raise more funds. If it's ok with the funder, make public announcements in the professional literature as well as in the local media. If you have other grants outstanding, you may want to send a brief letter of announcement to these funders as well. Add the grant to your resume, of course.
The funder may want to coordinate the public announcement with you. If you intend to use the funder's name in your PR, get approval first.
Financial Management. Even though you may have a central accounting office managing your grant funds for you, you will certainly want to maintain your own records. If you don't have a central office, you will need to document all expenditures and keep records good enough to stand an audit at any moment. Typically, the categories you identified on the budget you submitted will work as expenditure categories and enable you to keep a running account of the amount budgeted, the amount encumbered, the amount actually spent, and the balance available to you. You will need to clarify what is involved in moving money from one category to another and whether you can add new categories that were not in the original grant.
Progress and End of Project Reports. Although you have addressed this topic in your proposal, you may have additional formal reporting requirements. For example, you may be asked to submit formal progress reports at regular intervals. The grant guidelines will usually spell out these reporting requirements or your program officer will be able to explain them. Make the progress reports readable, interesting and informative. You can usually recycle this material for other PR activities. Make sure you submit progress reports on time. Even if formal reports aren't required, it's a good idea to keep program officer informed in an informal way.
Problems. One problem that frequently occurs is delay in getting the project started for a variety of reasons. You may not be ready for reports or evaluations at the due dates. If this happens, the sooner you notify your program officer and request an extension and a revised reporting schedule, the better off you will be. Give the reason for the delay, explain where you are, and a new estimated time for completion.