CPRK.GROUP
⭐ Case
July 17, 2026
· 9 minutes reading · guide
Grant jargon dictionary:
50 terms you need to know
Every donor speaks its own language of abbreviations — and a person writing an application to the EU or the UN for the first time often understands less than half of the terms of reference. We have collected 50 terms that are actually found in grant documentation, by topic, so that you can find the right one quickly.
Project cycle and documents
10 terms
Terms of Reference — a document that describes the scope of work, expected results, and requirements for the contractor or consultant.
ToR (Terms of Reference)
A short concept note is a 2-5 page preliminary version of the application that the donor considers before requesting a full project proposal.
Concept Note
Announcement of the call for proposals with a description of the topic, budget, selection criteria, and submission deadline.
Call for Proposals
A grant agreement is a legally binding document between a donor and an organization that sets out the terms of funding.
Grant Agreement
Extension of the project term without additional funding - used when activities are delayed, but the budget has not been exhausted.
No-cost Extension
Continuing the project with additional funding requires more substantial justification and donor approval.
Cost Extension
A kick-off report at the beginning of the project, specifying the action plan, role allocation, and baseline data before the active phase.
Inception Report
A formal change to an already signed grant agreement — to the budget, terms, or content of activities.
Amendment
Donor verification of the financial, managerial, and legal capacity of the organization before signing the agreement.
Due Diligence
Official grant letter - confirms the donor's decision to fund the project before the full agreement is signed.
Award Letter
Logical framework and results
10 terms
Logframe (Logical Framework)
A logical framework is a table that links the project's objectives, outcomes, indicators, sources of verification, and assumptions into a single structure.
Theory of change is an explanation of why these activities should lead to the desired long-term change, including assumptions at each step.
Theory of Change
The direct result of the activity is what the organization directly produces or conducts (number of trainings, consultations, published materials).
Output
The change that occurred in the behavior, knowledge, or state of the target group as a result of the output is what the donor is most interested in.
Outcome
The long-term, often systemic impact of a project goes beyond a single funding cycle and is more difficult to measure directly.
Impact
An indicator is a specific, measurable characteristic that confirms the achievement of a result at a certain level of the logframe.
Indicator
Baseline data collected before the start of activities is the starting point for measuring change.
Baseline
The final data collected after the project is completed is compared to the baseline to prove the change.
Endline
An assumption is an external factor on which the success of a project depends, but which the organization does not directly control.
Assumption
Means of Verification (MoV)
Sources of indicator confirmation — a specific document or method that proves that the indicator has been achieved (reports, surveys, registers).
Finance and budget
10 terms
Direct Costs
Direct costs are resources spent directly on the implementation of project activities (project team salaries, materials, travel).
The organization's indirect administrative costs—office rent, accounting—are usually recognized by the donor as a fixed percentage of direct costs.
Indirect Costs / Overhead
Co-financing is the portion of a project's budget that an organization or other donor covers independently, without the main grant funding.
Co-financing
A contribution in the form of goods, services, or volunteer time instead of a cash equivalent, which is also taken into account in the project budget.
In-kind Contribution
A separate budget item is a specific category of expenses (personnel, equipment, travel) for which accounting and reporting are maintained.
Budget Line
Eligible costs are those that meet the donor's rules and can be covered by a grant.
Eligible Costs
Unrecognized costs are those that the donor refuses to cover, often due to lack of documentation or non-compliance with procurement rules.
Ineligible Costs
An independent review of the financial statements of a project or organization as a whole by a professional auditor.
Financial Audit
Certificate on Financial Statements (CFS)
An audit certificate according to agreed procedures, which is required by the EU for large grants above a certain threshold.
Unit Cost
A simplified unit of cost (e.g., a flat rate per person-day) instead of a detailed breakdown of each individual cost.
Partnerships and consortiums
5 terms
Lead Applicant / Coordinator
The lead applicant, who officially signs the grant agreement with the donor and is responsible for the consortium as a whole.
An internal agreement between consortium partners — the division of budget, roles, and responsibilities, separate from the agreement with the donor.
Consortium Agreement
Transferring a portion of grant funding from the main recipient to smaller, lower-level implementing organizations.
Sub-granting
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
A memorandum of understanding is a non-legally binding document of intentions for cooperation, often preceding a formal agreement.
Associated partner — participates in a project without direct grant funding, usually for expertise or outreach.
Associated Partner
Monitoring, evaluation and compliance
10 terms
MEAL
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning — an expanded monitoring framework that includes feedback from beneficiaries and formalized team training.
An interim review of the project in the middle of the implementation cycle to adjust the approach to completion.
Mid-term Review
Final assessment of the project's results and impact after completion of all activities.
Final Evaluation
A random verification of actual expenditures or activities by independent donor staff during the project.
Spot Check
A risk signal in reporting or management that requires additional donor or internal audit attention.
Red Flag
Compliance with the donor's requirements - financial, legal, ethical rules established in the grant agreement.
Compliance
Policies and procedures to protect the people the organization works with (especially children) from harm, violence, or exploitation.
Safeguarding
The "do no harm" principle is an analysis of how a project may unintentionally worsen the situation of a target group or community.
Do No Harm
Beneficiary
A person or community that directly benefits from project activities.
Rightsholder
The term of the rights-based approach is that a person is viewed not as a passive recipient of assistance, but as a bearer of rights that the organization helps to realize.
Donor abbreviations
5 terms
HACT
Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer is a harmonized methodology of UN agencies for assessing and monitoring implementing partners.
Funding Authorization and Certification of Expenditures is a standard form for reporting expenses in the UN HACT system.
FACE Form
The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate is one of the EU's largest humanitarian donors.
DG ECHO
CERV
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values is an EU program that funds projects on human rights, equality and civic participation.
Participant Identification Code is a unique organization code in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal system, required for any application in the EU.
PIC
Pairs of terms that are most often confused
Output VS Outcome
Output is what you did (conducted 20 trainings). Outcome is what changed as a result (participants apply new knowledge in practice). The donor funds output, but evaluates outcome.
MoU VS Consortium Agreement
An MoU is an intention to cooperate, often without legal force. A Consortium Agreement is a binding document with a specific division of budget and responsibilities between partners.
Beneficiary VS Rightsholder
Terminological but substantive difference: the first approach describes a person as a recipient of assistance, the second as a bearer of rights that the organization helps to realize. The choice of term in the application signals to the donor the organization's approach.
No-cost Extension VS Cost Extension
The first is an extension of the terms without new money, which is mostly agreed upon formally. The second is an extension with an additional budget, which requires much more detailed justification.