Cost Sharing
Cost sharing is a portion of project costs not reimbursed by the sponsor. In most cases, the cost sharing source will be university funding, but other sources can be used to meet the university’s cost share obligation.
Cost Sharing is only required when clearly defined in the funding opportunity notice.
Cash Contribution: An actual cash transaction occurs and can be documented in the accounting system. This includes allocation of compensated faculty and staff time to projects. Other examples of cash contribution include the purchasing of equipment by the institution or other eligible sponsor for the benefit of the project requiring cost sharing.
In-Kind Contribution: In-kind contributions are those for which a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified and justified but where no actual cash is transacted towards the contribution. Two examples of in-kind contributions are: (1) The donation of volunteer time valued at a rate that would be reasonable for the time devoted had the volunteer been compensated for the time. (2) The donation of non-institution space where such space would normally carry a fee for purposes other than supporting this particular project.