Does the match have to be in-hand at the time of application?
Although it is alway a plus for an organization to have the matching share in-hand at the time of application, this rarely, if ever, happens. Far more frequently, an organization has a portion of the match in cash on hand and a commitment from partners to provide the rest of the match, either in cash or in kind, once the project receives TOP support. Similarly, an applicant may have one or more proposals pending with private foundations; and the foundations are waiting to see what TOP’s recommendation will be. In this case, the applicant expects TOP funding to leverage the private funds. Whatever the actual status of the non-federal share, a grantee is generally given two months from the starting date of the project to certify that the matching share has been committed — i.e., either that the matching funds are now in-hand, or that a partner has promised to provide the projected in-kind support. In most cases, the best that an applicant can do with respect to the proposed budget i
