U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund for Libraries - FAQ

Funding Opportunity

When is the application deadline?
Applications must be submitted by Tuesday, March 12, 11:59pm (midnight). As a competitive grant, this deadline will not be extended. Please note that Department of Libraries staff will not be available to assist after working hours on March 12; we encourage you to complete your application with enough time to successfully submit it before the deadline.

How do I apply?
Remember that you must create an account to save the application and return to it at any time. When you enter the application portal, U.S. Treasury Capital Project Funds Application, use the “log in to store your form” link at the top of the application to create your account.

The Capital Project Grants webpage contains the link to the online application. It also provides application worksheets in M.S. Word and in PDF if you would like to use those to help prepare your answers. You are not required to use the worksheets.

What if I have questions about this funding?
Please check this FAQ to see if it answers your questions. Also review the overview U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Funds for Public Libraries (PDF). If you still have questions after reviewing this FAQ, email LIB.VTLIBCapitalGrants@vermont.gov. To ensure you get a prompt response, please don't email individual staff members directly.

How much funding will be available?
The Department anticipates issuing grant awards between $300,000 to $1.5 million per approved project.

Is this the only capital grant for libraries available in the funding stream?
No, there is another approximately $10 million in Public Facilities Preservation Initiative Grants funding from HUD that the department will be launching an application for later in the year. These funds will “address repair and mitigation needs in small, rural public libraries.”

Should my library wait to apply for the 2^nd grant, or can we apply for both?
A library can apply for both grants and is encouraged to do so. However, successful applicants will likely only receive one grant.

Will every Vermont public library automatically receive funds?
No. This is a competitive grant. A rubric will be used to evaluate applications according to a transparent process. Funds will be awarded to selected public libraries based on the strength and score of their applications.

Business Requirements

What rules do I need to follow for procurement of goods and services?
You must follow Federal rule, 2 CFR §200.320, as well as any local procurement regulations.

Is there a match requirement?
No, there is no match requirement.

Is there a requirement for the Treasury funds to be 100% of the funding for the project versus partial funding for the project?
No, your project may be 100% funded by this award or it may be partially funded by this award. Your application should include information on any additional funding that supports your project.

If we get the Treasury Capital Funds project award, can we combine it with other federal funding sources?
The Treasury funds do not have a restriction on your project using other federal funds. However, other federal funds may have their own restrictions. If you expect to use additional federal funding sources for your project, ensure that those other federal funds will allow you to use the Treasury funds as part of their funding requirements. We cannot advise on federal funds outside of the Treasury grants.

What if we are not sure if a line item is allowable?
If any line items costs are not eligible, that will not necessarily disqualify your application. You may include any costs that are part of your project even if you are not sure if an item is allowable. We may follow up to clarify details of your application.

Operating costs are not allowable. Increased staffing, utilities, and other items that are not part of the building envelope are considered operating costs.

Can we include administrative fees in our project budget?
All project costs should be included and detailed in your application. This may include fees for permits and other fees that are part of a contractor’s proposal or other estimates for your capital project. The grant cannot be used to pay for staff time.

What happens if our project goes over budget?
Your application should include the most accurate budget you have available to ensure adequate funding throughout the life of your project. The grantee is responsible for any cost overruns.

When do we get the funds if we are awarded a Treasury Capital Funds grant?
This is a reimbursement grant with funds distributed in response to invoices for completed, paid work. The grantee must submit invoices that summarize completed work, with backup documentation that shows invoices the grantee has paid to contractors, designers, and others. Funds are not distributed on a schedule or in advance of the work being completed. Reimbursement from grant funds is made directly to, and only to, the grantee.

Invoices can be submitted for reimbursement on a monthly basis. More frequent invoicing may be requested for extenuating circumstances. Once an invoice is approved, it is typically submitted for payment Net00 to facilitate timely payment.

What are the reporting requirements?
In most cases, there will be a quarterly reporting requirement. Specific requirements will be included in individual grant agreements.

Who should sign the grant agreement if we are awarded this funding?
The grant agreement is a legally binding document. It must be signed by the party who is authorized to accept responsibility for the agreement’s faithful execution, including holding required insurance, following procurement requirements, accurate invoicing, and following all other standard contract terms.

Do federal requirements (like the Build America Buy America Act or Davis-Bacon Act) apply?
Guidelines for grant subrecipients are on the federal grant guidelines website. Grantees will need to follow federal guidelines as stipulated and remain compliant through the entire grant period.

Building Considerations

What if our library is in a building shared with other organizations like a town hall or historic society?
For libraries that share a building with other offices and organizations, the application should focus on only the library portion of the building. However, if your library accessibility requires building repairs on the whole building to secure access to the library, you should include those details in your application.

If my library is putting an addition on to house an elevator, would this count as a renovation or an expansion?
This would be an expansion since it increases the perimeter of the building.

Will my project need to meet Historic Preservation standards to qualify for funding?
If there are local requirements in your community relevant to your library, you must follow those requirements, including historic preservation, zoning, and other local regulations. The Department of Libraries is not able to advise you on historic preservation requirements for your project.

Where do I find more information on ADA accessibility rules?
The Department recommends using the Vermont Access Rules as the primary guidance. Since these exceed federal ADA in some areas and do not fall short of ADA in others. The Department of Libraries is not able to advise you on ADA accessibility rules for your project.

What kind of projects can we propose?
The focus of the grant is to: Enable public libraries to address critical building repairs and improvements so that Vermont communities will have continued access to high-speed internet to directly enable work, education, and health monitoring at their local public libraries through at least December 31, 2031.

Ensuring this access can take many different forms with a variety of potential projects.

In the Public Access Questions section of the application, it asks about open library hours, and also about how this project addresses a critical building need that currently limits your library’s schedule of open hours. How should we count library hours that provide internet access but in an area not staffed, potentially with 24/7 open access?
Include only the hours that your library building is fully open to the public during staffed hours. If you currently offer, or propose to also offer, unstaffed hours in a section of the library that will be open to the public without staffing, e.g., 24/7 access, describe that in section 5.b. of Public Access Questions, as well as other sections of the grant application where you believe it applies.

Application Process

When is the application deadline?
Applications must be submitted by Tuesday, March 12, 11:59pm (midnight). As a competitive grant, this deadline will not be extended. Please note that Department of Libraries staff are only available to assist during regular office hours; and we encourage libraries to complete applications with enough time to successfully submit before the deadline.

What methods will the Department use to evaluate grant applications?
Applications will be evaluated on a variety of factors. Review teams are assigned different anonymized sections to score independently prior to assembling into overall rankings. Sections included project alignment to funding goal, viability of building project and budget, and several sections independently scored with the rubric previously made available to applicants, the Capital Project Fund Treasury Application Worksheet and Rubric (PDF). Geographic distribution, Vermont Community Index (VCI) score, population size, and relative need for high-speed internet access are also taken into consideration.

What information will I need to complete the grant application and budget?
We have created a worksheet that provides you with a preview of the information you need and to help you gather it ahead of time:

How does the project timeline work if I am not certain about the dates?
The project timeline should include milestones that have already passed—like design and pre-construction planning—as well as best estimates of the dates of additional phases. The overall completion date must be by December 31, 2026.

What should we upload for our UEI if our active registration cannot be viewed publicly?
In your SAMS.gov registration, there is an option to download your UEI certificate (see upper right corner of your registration page, “Actions” with 3 dots>download). This will provide you with a single PDF of your active registration that you can attach to your application.

Also note that the section of your active registration titled “SAM Search Authorization” is where your organization indicated whether or not your entity’s non-sensitive information can be displayed in SAM public search results, a yes/no option that the organization makes.

What if I don’t have a UEI?
To be considered for this competitive grant opportunity, incorporated public libraries or municipalities must have an Active Registration status for their Unique Entity ID (UEI) in SAM.gov by the application deadline on Tuesday, March 12, at 11:59pm (midnight). As this is a competitive grant, this deadline will not be extended. The Active Registration must be maintained throughout the grant period. If your institution is a municipal library, you will use your town’s UEI. A UEI that is “ID Assigned” is not an Active Registration. Information on how to view your UEI: https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0041254

Whom should the Certificate of Insurance be made out to?
It should be issued to the State of Vermont, 109 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05609-0201

If I recently submitted a W9 and Certificate of Insurance for another grant, do I need to resubmit?
Yes. You will also need to submit these annually for the duration of the grant.

Is there a limit on the size of PDFs that we attach?
Yes, the limit is 10MB per file uploaded. If your PDF file exceeds that size, you may use the PDF function to reduce file size, and/or break the PDF into smaller files and attach all of those.

Who should submit the application? If we are a municipal library, should the library submit it or the town?
For the application, this can focus on the library staff we will be primarily communicating with, whether that is library staff, trustees, or others. There are three sections in the Organization Information section to enter 1) Primary Contact, 2) Library Director, and Library Board Chair. Enter Primary Contact information for whoever we should contact about application questions. In some cases that will be the same person as the Library Director. That’s fine.

Before we execute a final grant agreement, we will confirm who will sign the document and that they are authorized to do so. As noted elsewhere in these FAQs, the grant agreement is a legally binding document. It must be signed by the party who is authorized to accept responsibility for the agreement’s faithful execution, including holding required insurance, following procurement requirements, accurate invoicing, and following all other standard contract terms. Other stakeholders may act in project oversite or support roles, but only one party signs the grant agreement.

How much funding will be available?
The Department anticipates issuing grant awards between $300,000 to $1.5 million per approved project.

What are the timeline limits for the Treasury grant funds?
A recipient may use Capital Project Funds (CPF) grant funds to cover costs incurred beginning March 15, 2021, and ending December 31, 2026. For pre-award costs incurred after March 15, 2021, but prior to execution of the Grant Agreement, CPF recipients are required to provide reasonable assurance that the costs were incurred pursuant to the negotiation of and in anticipation of the CPF grant award and are necessary for the efficient and timely performance of the program. In your grant application, include information about any project costs that have already occurred, explaining how they are directly related to your proposal.

Award Decisions

How will applications be processed?
The application opened on January 30th. The department will hold all applications until after the March 12 deadline to review them all equitably and plans to announce results in the spring or early summer.

What methods will the Department use to evaluate grant applications?
Applications will be evaluated based on the rubric available on this grant worksheet Capital Project Fund Treasury Application Worksheet and Rubric (PDF).

How does my library’s Community Index Score impact our application? Should we still apply if we are not a “high need” community?
The Vermont Community Index—a measure of the relative capacity and need of communities across Vermont—will be one factor in scoring applications, but all libraries interested in funding should still apply regardless of their score. The VCI will be determined by the physical address of the library requesting funds.

Is it possible that an award will only partially fund my request?
In most cases, an award will fully fund the requested amount. For instance (completely hypothetical), we would not want to award $100,000 for a roof project that has been accurately bid to cost $200,000; that makes it non-viable for the library.

However, there may be applications with multiple pieces of work that do not depend upon one another. For example, (again, completely hypothetical), a single proposal that includes a new elevator, a community room, and three soundproof booths. While the review team balances a large number of applications against working to allocate critical funds to as many libraries as possible, we may initiate a discussion if there are aspects of your project that could be cut back, while retaining full funding for other aspects. The grant team would have that discussion with the applicant before cutting back on the overall amount requested.

- updated 3/20/2024