No promotional items or memorabilia are allowable costs and cannot be used as match under federal grants. Use of NHTSA grant funds to purchase promotional items or memorabilia is illegal and could result in a Management Review finding and the requirement to repay the misused funds.

An unallowable promotional item is an item whose purpose is to be used as an incentive to increase goodwill, or is a giveaway. Distribution of items where the recipient keeps the item after the event (whether to members of the public at a state fair, to groups at a training event, or to police officers to maintain partnerships) is never a necessary expense for performance of projects under the grant.

Subgrantees may use state funds or privately collected funds/private sponsorships to purchase promotional items subject to applicable state laws and policies. Items donated by private entities are considered program income.