When there are unspent funds remaining at the end of a sponsored award budget period, principal investigators (PIs) can request a carry forward (carryover) action, which allows the unspent funds to remain available for use in the current or upcoming budget period.
The award document includes terms and conditions that indicate whether the grantee
can carry forward funds into the next budget period or not. If there is no information
in the award document concerning the carry forward of unencumbered funds, a SAM representative
will contact the sponsor. Federal agencies typically allow grantees to carry forward
balances to subsequent budget years without prior approval and no specific action
is required of the PI.
Carry Forward (Carryover) Request Procedure
In cases where funds are not carried over automatically, it is necessary to request approval to carry forward funds. The request should be submitted to SAM with the following elements.
- PI name
- Award number
- End date of project
- Anticipated amount of carry forward
- Explanation of why these funds weren't encumbered and how these funds will be used to achieve the objectives in the scope of work for the reference sponsored project