Instructions
Eligible Expenses
Electricity, gas, heating oil, water (meal sites only).
NOTE: NYS will not accept utility budget bills for reimbursement. The expenses must be incurred and paid during the grant period. Often, budget billing exceeds these time periods.
Submission Requirements
Please only enter one type of utility per submission. You may enter multiple dates, but please separate out items like electricity from water, gas, and heating oil.
Eligible Time Period
The grant period is from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. However, all awards must be documented by May 31, 2026, to meet NYS reimbursement requirements. It is likely your organization won't be able to include May and June 2026 expenses; please plan accordingly.
If your utility bill covers a portion of June 2025, please prorate the bill by dividing the total bill by the number of days. Subtract the per-day rate from the number of days in June.
Example: The $145.00 electrical bill, dated June 20 - July 19 (29 days). $145.00 divided by 29 days is $5.00 per day. There were ten days in June on this bill, so $50.00 would be subtracted from the utility bill to determine the potential amount eligible. That amount would then be subject to the calculation of space.
Required Information
A copy of the utility bill showing the site address, the dates of service, and the amount due. This information is typically found (entirely) on the cover sheet. Please exclude pages from the utility bill that do not apply.
A proof of payment is required for this grant award. The proof of payment is a copy of the canceled check or bank statement showing payment to the utility company.
The awarded organization must have issued the cancelled check. Likewise, a bank statement showing an ACH payment must also be from the accounts of the awarded agency.
Reimbursement
Agencies can expect reimbursement to be made within ten (10) business days of submitting a completed grant claim form. If the grant claim form does not meet NYS's accepted accounting standards, or if the form is incomplete, it will not be reimbursed within that ten-day window, and you may have to supply additional information.
Space Usage Calculations
To determine the area eligible for OS support, please calculate the area (square footage) used to store and distribute food. This calculation was included in the application.
The area is equal to the square footage, which is calculated by multiplying the length and width of the space used. Please measure, in feet, the length and width of the building. This information is likely available from your organization's office. The total amount of space, in square feet, is then divided by the amount of space used to distribute or store food to get the eligible portion.
Please note that areas used for administrative purposes are not eligible and cannot be added to the area calculation.
Example:
The community center is 10,000 sq. ft. The food pantry utilizes a 1,000 sq. ft. area for storage and a 2,500 sq. ft. area for distribution. Using the simple calculation, 3,500 divided by 10,000, the amount of eligible space or area is .35 or 35%. This means that 35% of the utility bill will be eligible for reimbursement.
Important Definitions