Final reporting
In addition to annual reporting, grantees of RWJF and grantees of RWJF national programs are responsible for reporting to the Foundation at the end of their project through a financial report, a narrative report and a bibliography:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is required for final reporting?
A. Here are the required documents:
- A narrative report: Grantee Reporting Instructions: Final Narrative Reporting
- Financial report: Financial Guidelines and Reporting Instructions
- A bibliography, if required: Grantee Reporting Instructions: Sending Grant Products to RWJF and Submitting a Bibliography
- Additional instructions if you manage a national program: National Program Office Reporting Instructions
Grantees of a national program: These RWJF instructions are in addition to and do not replace the reporting requirements of your national program office. For national program office reporting requirements, please contact your national program office. Grantees outside of national programs also file.
If you have questions about the reporting requirements, please contact us.
Q. What is a Final Narrative Report?
A. Your Final Narrative Report covering the entire grant period is filed at the end of your grant. For multiyear grants, it takes the place of the annual narrative report in the last year of the grant. If your grant is one year or less, you will file only a Final Narrative Report. It is a substantive record both of the activities conducted during the entire grant period and how they met the goals set forth in your proposal, and of the accomplishments of the project.
Information from your Final Narrative Report and any Annual Narrative Report you file may be used to summarize the results or findings of the project, both in the RWJF Grant Results reports (see Grant Results section in "Publications & Research" section published on this site and other Foundation-related publications.
Q. What is the difference between the Annual Narrative and Final Narrative reports?
A. For projects lasting more than one year, Annual Narrative Reporting helps us to stay informed about your project. During the course of your grant, the Annual Grant reports you submit are treated as confidential documents.
Final Narrative Reporting takes the place of Annual Narrative Reporting at the end of the final year of your grant. It is a substantive record of the activities conducted and the products produced in all the years of your grant and how they met the goals set forth in your proposal.
If you have received a multiyear grant, we suggest that you review the Final Narrative Report questions at the start of your grant so you will be prepared to answer them when the grant ends.
Q. What financial reports do I need to file?
A. All grantees are required to submit annual and final financial narrative reports. Grantees with awards over $200,000 are asked to submit expenditure reports every six months. RWJF creates a financial reporting form from your budget that you are to use when reporting expenditures to us. You may use the form provided or recreate the format using your own spreadsheet program. Financial reports are due 30 days after the end of each interim and annual budget period and at the end of the grant. Financial Guidelines and Reporting Requirements.
Q. What are bibliographies?
A. Bibliographies are a comprehensive catalog of the following materials from your project:
- publications, such as books, journal articles, reports, brochures or Web sites
- national/regional events, such as conferences and workshops
- published presentations and testimony.
If you produced any of these materials, a bibliography must be provided with your Annual Narrative Report or Final Narrative Report.
The Annual Bibliography or Final Bibliography is a separate document from your Narrative Report. Please submit it to your grants administrator when you file your Annual or Final Narrative Reports:
- The Annual Bibliography covers grant products produced in the reporting period.
- The Final Bibliography is a record of all the products produced during the life of your project, if applicable.
Neither bibliography covers all categories of grant products requested by RWJF. Please see this form: Grantee Reporting Instructions: Bibliography Formatting and Submission which includes categories of entries and entry formats.
Q. Are bibliographies necessary when presenting a final report?
A. If you have produced materials covered under our bibliographic request, then yes:
- publications, such as books, journal articles, reports, brochures or Web sites
- national/regional events, such as conferences and workshops
- published presentations and testimony.
Please refer to Grantee Reporting Instructions for additional information.
Q. Can I request an extension to the end date?
Please refer to Extension of Award Guidelines for guidelines on how to prepare a request to extend the ending date of a grant. Please note that extensions to awards are reviewed for both financial and programmatic appropriateness and are not automatically granted.
Q. What do I do if I need more time to complete a report or to provide information to RWJF?
A. To request a change in the due date for submission of reports and/or project deliverables please refer to the RWJF Guidelines for Extension of Due Dates
Q. What is a Grant Results report?
A. The Foundation's Grant Results Reporting Unit engages writers to produce short reports on the majority of the Foundation's recently closed grants and longer reports on national programs. Please refer to Grant Results for further information.
Q. To whom do I direct a request for a renewal grant?
A. Requests for renewals should be directed to your program officer.
Q. What if the project changes scope or objective?
A. If you are contemplating any changes in program scope or objectives, you should contact your RWJF program officer or (if applicable) national program office. Such changes must be approved in advance and in writing. Any changes that impact the budget may require a budget revision. Please refer to Budget Revision Guidelines for more information.