Truth as a Value in the Grants Process

Abstract

For librarians and information scientists-whether they are conducting grants research for faculty, writing proposals to support their institution's projects, or serving as a grant's project director-there are ethical issues to be dealt with throughout the grants process. One ethical challenge is to always tell the truth. Truth must be a value throughout, from the start of the grant seeking process, in the writing of the proposal, during the grant's administration and evaluation, and in the filing of a final report to the funding entity.What Is Truth?According to Wikipedia, dictionary definitions of truth mention some form of accord with fact or reality. There is, however, no single definition of truth about which scholars agree, and numerous theories of truth continue to be widely debated. Differing opinions exist on such questions as what constitutes truth, how to define and identify truth, and whether truth is subjective, relative, objective, or absolute. The purpose of this article is to discuss truth as a value in the grants process, rather than to debate the philosophical issues involving the concept. For the purposes of this discussion, truth shall be defined as the quality of being accurate and in accord with reality.Why Is Truth Important throughout the Grants Process?A grant award is a legal contract, not a gift. It is used to fund the activities described in the winning proposal that start after the contract is signed. Grants are not free money. Foundations and other grant makers are organizations with missions and goals similar to those of the grant seeker. Foundations and other grant makers award grants because the seeker is proposing a plan for the requested money that closely matches the foundation's own goals, initiatives, and dreams. Grant makers, such as government agencies, foundations, and corporations, award grants to fund solutions to problems. The foundation has money it wishes to use for a particular purpose. The seeking organization is capable of doing the work that is of interest to the foundation. That organization and its proposed grant project have a value that is equal to the grant money. Once awarded, the grant contract will specify the rules that must be followed in order to remain in compliance with the terms of the contract. These rules cover reporting instructions, spending policies, and records retention requirements.The First Truth: The Test of EligibilityAn organization or institution must be legally eligible to receive a grant from the grant maker. Grant makers must award their funds to the appropriate organization with the appropriate legal status or suffer penalties. The most common way to determine an organization's legal status is to refer to the formal determination made by the Internal Revenue Service. A nonprofit that has been legally established in one of the fifty states must obtain recognition as a charitable organization from the IRS in order for contributions to it to be tax deductible. Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) covers those tax-exempt organizations that are organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes... and are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. An organization that meets the definition of Section 501(c)(3) is then measured against Section 509(a) of the IRC, which declares that a 501(c)(3) organization is presumed to be a private foundation unless it can demonstrate that it falls into one of four categories of organizations:* Organizations described in Section 170(b)(1)(A), which covers churches; schools, colleges, etc.; hospitals, medical research institutes, etc.; support organizations to educational institutions; governmental units; and publicly supported organizations (including community foundations);* Organizations that normally receive more than one-third of their support from gifts, grants, fees, and gross receipts from admissions, sales, etc. …