Federal Grant Procurement Thresholds & Requirements Guide for Nonprofits
A free, print-ready reference covering every procurement tier, required documentation, and common audit findings — for nonprofit grant managers and finance staff.
Federal grant procurement rules require nonprofits to follow specific competitive bidding procedures for every grant-funded purchase. Under 2 CFR 200.317–200.327 (Uniform Guidance), the procurement method required depends entirely on the dollar amount — and using the wrong method, or failing to document the correct one, is one of the most common federal grant audit findings.
This quick reference covers all five procurement methods: micro-purchase (up to $10K), small purchase ($10K–$250K), sealed bids, competitive proposals, and noncompetitive sole source. For each tier it details the threshold, required steps, documentation that must be on file, and the mistakes auditors look for.
- All five 2 CFR 200 procurement tiers with dollar thresholds
- Required steps and documentation for each method
- SAM.gov vendor exclusion screening requirements
- Three-way match documentation standards
- Sole source justification rules and common violations
- Most frequent procurement audit findings by tier
