Appropriated funds are those government contracting dollars that are allocated through legislation by Congress, then signed by the President. When contracting officers award most contracts, they are using appropriated funds. Appropriated funds come with lots of rules. If the contracting officer misuses appropriated funds, bad things happen (penalties, legal charges, risk of losing warrant, etc.) see episode 056 (Unauthorized Commitments) and 262 (Stages of Money).
But what about “non-appropriated funds”? Where do these funds come from and how do they, and when can they, be used? Non-appropriated funds (NAFs) refer to revenue earned by government departments, organizations, or agencies through means “other than taxation”. In this episode, Shelley Hall joins Kevin to outline how “NAF” contracts work.
One of our subscribers, Raschelle Swindle, a USAF Contracting officer, asked for this episode. Thank you Raschelle for requesting a topic for us to cover.