The person who has the authority to sign contracts on behalf of your organization, sometimes called a fiscal agent. In some libraries, it might be the director. For municipal libraries, it could be the city manager, mayor, or financial officer. In university libraries, it's often the head of the grants office. For school districts, the director of the business office.
The safest option is to ask your financial office for your SWV, especially if you are part of a larger organization where your payment could get lost. The Office of Financial Management has a lookup tool but be aware that many vendor profiles include abbreviations or variations that may not come up in a search. It is very important for you to provide the correct SWV because that is where the payment will be sent and we want you to get the money!
The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a 12-character alphanumeric string issued by the federal General Services Administration. This grant program is funded with federal money administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). It is a federal requirement that all recipients of federal money have a valid UEI. The federal system formerly used DUNS, but transitioned to their own system of UEIs in April 2022. You can find more information about UEIs at sam.gov. Please note that the UEI is different from the federal tax ID number/EIN issued by the IRS.
Yes, if you have not exceeded the yearly maximums for PD grants ($1,000 for individuals, $6,000 for systems), you can apply for the remainder for the in-person conference. You should clear the application with your library director, since others at your library may be planning to use the $6,000 yearly maximum for systems.
The federal grant year is October 1-September 30, and the awards are counted during the year that the payment takes place. This example would be in federal fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022-September 30, 2023). This is especially relevant for conferences like ARSL that take place in late September, making it impossible to receive, process, and pay the reimbursement before the end of the federal fiscal year.
Unfortunately, we cannot reimburse stays at short-term rentals.
We set a target date of one month after the PD event, which encourages recipients to reflect on the PD events while still fresh in their minds, and keeps WSL on track to make timely payments. However, the claim packet requires proofs of payment for all reimbursable expenses, which may not be available until more than a month after the event. In that case, submit the claims and documentation as soon as they become available.