If you believe it would be unwise to hold the conference, you should confer with your program officer and the sponsoring agency grants management specialist to decide whether to cancel the meeting, postpone the meeting, or convert the meeting to an on-line format.
You should make this request in writing via email to your program officer with a CC to SPA at dlittle@niu.edu so that SPA is aware of the request and can make sure the grants specialist is aware of it. At most agencies, the grants specialist must also approve changes such as this. In the request, discuss the basis for the proposed cancellation (prudent circumstances, CDC level 3 location, or institutional determination that travel will not allow the organizer to attend.)
We recommend you make a firm decision about keeping or canceling your meeting early enough to enable your participants to take advantage of discounts offered by airlines or hotels related to COVID-19 changes or early cancellation deadlines (particularly for hotels). In addition, your decision to cancel the conference may assist some participants in obtaining institutional support for their cancellation costs.
If the funding agency approves the cancellation, the non-refundable costs for the venue may be an allowable charge to the project if the project was originally scheduled to incur these costs.
In general, the costs for participants should follow the funding stream originally intended to pay for their attendance.
If your grant was reimbursing all or part of the participation costs for all attendees, it may be appropriate to also charge some or all of their cancellation fees to the grant.
If participants were covering their own attendance costs, then they would be responsible for covering any cancellation costs based on their institution or employer's policy.
Contact your Grants and Contracts Associate to discuss your specific situation.