Non-Federal Share

Since Head Start's beginning, the federal government has committed to cover 80% of the actual costs of program services. The remaining 20% needed to operate the program must be garnered from other sources. This portion is called non-federal share. Non-federal share may be cash or “in-kind”.  Cash match may include state funds, local funds, private or corporate donations, etc.  In-kind is a contribution of goods or services (i.e. time, materials).

Regulations & Policy

HS Performance Standard 1303.4

Federal financial assistance to a Head Start program will not exceed 80% of the approved total program costs. Head Start contractors must contribute 20% as non-federal match each budget period. To learn about the regulations review the following:

Tools:

• ECLKC Transcript of Valuing, Documenting & Tracking NFS Match

• Training PowerPoint

Tools

Here are a few tools to assist staff with understanding & computing non-federal share. The training manual covers all areas of non-federal share, along with including examples. The cheat sheet serves as a reference tool for what is & what is not considered in-kind. The Computation Worksheet calculates the details by month for program donations, classroom volunteers & family activity calendars. 

NOTE: Computation worksheet must be printed out monthly & maintained in your sites NFS binder

Tools:

• Non-Federal Share Manual

• Computation Worksheet

• In-Kind Cheat Sheet

Forms

Records must be maintained for donated goods, services & volunteers that provide any services which support the program & for which the program would normally have to pay for.  These are the forms used to record & document these items:

Tools:

• Volunteer Services Form

• Donated Goods & Services Form

• Family Activity Calendars (Included on the Parent Monthly Information page)

Non-Federal Share Binder

To ensure consistency, each site’s Non-Federal Share binder will be organized as follows:

• Training Manual

• Cheat Sheet

• Rate Sheet

•  Monthly Activity

  • Monthly Summary Worksheet

  • Family Activity Calendars

  • Classroom Volunteers

  • Donation Forms

Tools:

• Cover & Table of Contents

• Big 5 Tab Template

Monitoring 

Non-Federal Share will be monitored twice per year in addition to the annual Grantee monitoring review.

Tools:

• Monitoring Tools