Cost-Sharing Calculator
Federal NOFOs often require a match (cost-sharing). Plug in your federal request and the required match percentage; get the exact match amount you need to come up with, plus the total project budget the funder expects to see in your application.
Match percentages on federal NOFOs are typically expressed as "X% of total project cost" OR "X% of federal share." Read the NOFO carefully — these are different. Toggle below.
What counts as cost-sharing
✓ Allowable
- Cash from your org's unrestricted reserves
- Cash from non-federal third parties (foundations, corp donors)
- State / local government cash contributions
- Donated personal services from board / volunteers (at fair market value)
- Donated equipment, supplies, facility use
- Real-property contributions (land, buildings) at FMV
- Indirect costs above your negotiated rate (sometimes)
✗ Not allowable
- Other federal funds (no double-counting)
- Costs already counted as match for a different federal grant
- Donated services without documented FMV
- Projected revenue ("we'll raise it later")
- Indirect costs at more than your negotiated rate
- Land you don't own / control
Always verify in the NOFO. Some programs explicitly disallow in-kind, some require cash-only, some let you exceed the minimum to score competitively. The general rules above are the federal default per 2 CFR 200.306.