Under what circumstances can an expenditure be classified as a "cost share"?

To classify an expenditure as a "cost share," it must come from non-federal sources. This means that the funds or resources contributed must be provided by entities that are not part of the federal government, such as state and local governments, private sector organizations, or other non-profit organizations. Cost sharing is an essential aspect of project funding, especially for grants and cooperative agreements, as it demonstrates a commitment to the project by the contributing parties and helps leverage federal funds.

The other options do not align with the definition of cost sharing. A federal contribution does not qualify as cost sharing since it comes from the federal government itself. A contribution that solely supports the financial interests of the agency fails to meet the requirement of being a contribution for the project as a whole. Lastly, while documentation of the cost share in the project proposal is important for record-keeping and audit purposes, the critical aspect is that the contribution itself must originate from non-federal sources to be classified as cost sharing. Therefore, the correct understanding of cost sharing revolves around contributions that come from these external non-federal entities.