Blanket Justification for Arts Endowment Funding Application Guidelines and Requirements for Nonprofit Organizations

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING PAYMENT
For Organizations

Rev. 8/11/25

To request your award funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), you must submit a Payment
Request through REACH at https://reach.arts.gov/Login.
Follow these instructions carefully. Additional guidance is available at https://www.arts.gov/grants/manageyour-award. If you have questions, send a message through the award record in REACH. If you have problems
accessing REACH, email the Office of Grants Management at grants@arts.gov.
The submission of a payment request constitutes your agreement to comply
with all the terms and conditions of the award.
Federal payments rely on up-to-date information in the System for Award Management (SAM). Before you
submit a payment request, check your organization’s entity’s registration at www.SAM.gov.
1. Confirm that your SAM registration is current as the NEA cannot issue a payment to an organization whose
entity registration status is expired.
2. Ensure you have no “Debt Subject to Offset” (delinquent federal debt). The NEA cannot issue payments to
an organization that owes the federal government money. You must resolve all federal debt before
submitting a payment request.
3. Verify that the bank account information in your organization’s SAM record is correct as it is the account
where the NEA payment will be paid
4. If your bank account information changes, before submitting a payment request, you must:
(a) Update the bank account information in SAM and
(b) Add a note in the Payment Request form’s progress report field that you updated the banking
information in your SAM registration.
If you are drawing down award funds in installments, remember that each subsequent request must reflect
cumulative expenditures and all NEA funds previously drawn down on the award.
Consolidate payment requests so that the amount of federal funds requested at any one time is greater than
$1.00. The NEA is unable to pay out amounts less than $1.00.
NOTE: If you hold the role of an “Additional Participant,” you do not have permission to submit payments.
Check REACH to ensure you have correct permissions before submitting a payment request.

National Endowment for the Arts Payment Request Instructions for Awardees

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HOW TO SUBMIT A PAYMENT REQUEST
Access the Payment Request form by logging into your REACH account and selecting the correct award
number. Go to the Payments tab. Click the ADD PAYMENT REQUEST button to open the form.

NOTE:
 In the form, hover the cursor over the fillable fields for helpful tips on completing each field.
 Do not hit ENTER while filling out the form; use the TAB key to move through the form fields instead.
 If there are errors in the form, when you click the SUBMIT PAYMENT REQUEST button, a list of errors will
appear with explanations and how to correct the error(s). One of the most common errors is forgetting to
click the box in 7: Assurances.
EXAMPLE:
6a. The actual amount you have spent to date.
6b. If requesting an advance, this is the amount needed for the
next 30 days; this is an estimate.
6c. This field will automatically add a + b = c
6d. Your organization’s share of the project costs to date.
6e. The NEA award amount, or a portion of it.
6f. If this is your 1st request the amount is zero.
- If it is the 2nd, this is the amount of NEA’s
funds from the 1st request. Requests are cumulative.
- For subsequent requests, it is the sum of all NEA fund
- previously requested under this award.
6g. Automatically subtracts e – f = NEA funds now requested.

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LINE BY LINE INSTRUCTIONS
The payment header includes a summary of basic data about the award.
Line 1. Recipient Account or ID Number (Optional)
This field is NOT REQUIRED. Only use this field if your organization assigns its own ID number to track
NEA awards in your own award management or financial systems
Line 2. Type of Payment Requested
If this is the last or only payment request, select FINAL, otherwise select PARTIAL.
Line 3. Basis of Request
This is the method your organization uses to record costs in your own accounting ledgers.
 If you recognize expenses only as you pay them, select CASH.
 If you recognize expenses before paying them, select ACCRUED EXPENDITURES.
Line 4. Period Covered by this Request Starting Date
This date should reflect the earliest date for which the costs reported were incurred. This date cannot
be prior to the start date of the award. All costs must be incurred within the approved period of
performance.
Line 5. Period Covered by this Request Ending Date
This date can be no more than 30 days from the date you submit this form. This date should only be in
the future if requesting an advance. It can be no later than the end date of the award.
Line 6. Computation of Amount Requested
a. Total program outlays:
Enter all allocable and allowable project costs incurred and/or paid by the date provided in the “as
of” field. The “as of” date should be no later than the date of your payment request submission.
All funds must be incurred during the approved period of performance to be allowable.
IMPORTANT: Report actual expenditures; do not simply reiterate amounts from your project
budget. All costs claimed must be allowable, and appropriate expense documentation (e.g.,
contracts, receipts, invoices, payroll records, cancelled checks, etc.) must be maintained and
available to the NEA upon request. Refer to the applicable version of the General Terms and
Conditions for Federal Assistance Awards for more information.
b. Estimated net cash outlays needed for advance period:
Include funds here only if you are requesting an advance of NEA funds to cover expenses expected
to be incurred within 30 days or less from the date you submit this form. This is an estimate. If you
are only requesting reimbursement, enter a zero.
c. Total (a plus b):
The sum of line a plus line b will calculate automatically.
d. Non-federal share of amount on line c:
Enter the amount of your organization’s cost share included in the outlays shown on line c.

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e. Federal share of amount on line c (c minus d):
The form will calculate the difference between line c and d. The federal (NEA) share of outlays
cannot exceed the amount of your award.
f. Payment previously requested:
Enter the total NEA funds previously requested for this award; if none, enter zero.
g. Federal share now requested (e minus f):
Line 6g will automatically calculate based upon the previous fields. This is the amount you are now
requesting. These funds must be disbursed immediately upon receipt.
PROGRESS REPORT
A progress report is required the first time the cumulative amount requested exceeds two thirds (2/3) of the
NEA award amount. Generally, the payment progress report only needs to be submitted once during the
period of performance. The progress report does not need to be long but must include a description of
award-supported activities that:
(1) Have been undertaken since the award period start date, and
(2) Are scheduled for the remainder of the period of performance.
If you submit a payment request along with your final reports, the Final Descriptive Report may serve as your
progress report. In the progress report field enter “See Final Descriptive Report.”
Line 7. ASSURANCES
Checking the Assurances box indicates agreement to all the terms and conditions of the award,
including authorizing official certification and labor assurances. Click on the link to read them.
SAVE AND SUBMIT THE FORM
When your payment request is complete, click the SUBMIT PAYMENT REQUEST button.
If there are errors, a box appears below the buttons listing the errors. Make all necessary corrections and click
the SUBMIT PAYMENT REQUEST again.
If submitted correctly, a table similar to this one will appear on the Payments Tab.

NOTE: If your bank account information changes, you MUST update the bank account information in SAM.gov
before requesting payment.
You can track the status of your payment request through the Payments tab in REACH. You can generally
expect payment within two weeks after the payment status changes to “approved.”

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PAYMENT STATUSES
STATUS
Submitted

MEANING
Payment request form received in REACH. It is in the queue for review.

Under Review

Office of Grants Management staff are reviewing the request.

No

Needs Revisions

Problems were identified by NEA staff and payment status changed to
“needs revisions” for you to make necessary corrections. See the Decision
Comment fields for notes from reviewer.
Payment was rejected and the NEA is unable to process it See the Decision
Comment fields for notes from NEA staff for the reason(s) for the rejection.
Payment request approved and sent to ESC for processing and release of
funds.

Yes

Rejected
Approved

EDITABLE?
Yes

APPENDIX A – ONLINE PAYMENT REQUEST FORM

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No
No

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PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of one hour per response. This includes the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. We welcome any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and making them as easy to use as possible. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:
webmgr@arts.gov, Attention: Reporting Burden. Note: Awardees are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

National Endowment for the Arts Payment Request Instructions for Awardees

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