Using Grants to Fund Projects
11/23/2009
Using Grants to Fund Projects
Money is Available. Although state, county, and city budgets keep getting tighter and tighter, there is another way to find money to obtain needed First Responder operating money. The Federal government has billions of dollars in grant money available for Law Enforcement (125 Million in 2009), State and Local FEMA (860M), Firefighters (560M), Port Security (150M), and Public Transportation security (150M). There are also 16 different grant categories under Homeland Security for Police, Fire, Ambulance, Schools, Transportation, Ports, and Boarder security. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act millions have become available in grants for public safety to be spent in the next year.
Applying for grant money is not rocket science. Time and focus is required, but applying for a grant is not difficult. Given the need to continuously upgrade equipment and the lack of budget money, it is well worth dedicating time and effort for your share of the money.
Case Study: City of Denver (2003-2007). The City of Denver needed to upgrade its 1990 vintage radio system. They had no previous grant writing experience. The Denver people learned about grant applications and started the process. It took 2 years to get into the grant application cycle when it started paying off. They received over $19 million dollars in grant money over 4 years.
Start Planning Now. When you consider the common government budget cycle, agencies are predicting budget needs a year in advance if not longer. Many grants require some percentage of matching funds from the applicant. For this reason, the steps for applying for a grant should start about 2 years in advance. No time like the present.
Find a Champion. There are a few keys to getting grants. The first step is to find a champion in your organization that will faithfully focus on the goal to obtain grant money. It will take your time, attention, the need and of course, politicking to make sure that your grant is considered a top contender. Someone in the organization needs to commit to the effort. It can’t be one of those things on the back burner that rarely gets attention and then dies a quiet death.
Free Information. The champion then needs to immerse him/herself in grant information. All you need to know is what grants are available and how to apply for them. Most of this information can be found on several Government web sites. Here are a few excellent web sites about government grants:
http://www.Grants.gov
http://www.dhs.gov/xgovt/grants/index.shtm
http://www.grantsoffice.com
As you read about grants, you will become more and more comfortable with the whole process.
What do you need? The second step is to select a grant that meets an operational need for your agency. Do you need new firefighter garments? The Assistance to Firefighter Program would be the grant to go for. Do you need to make your radio equipment interoperable? Many of the Homeland Security grants cover this expense. If you need Next Generation 9-1-1 equipment, take a look at the Emergency Operations Center grant. What is it that you need, specifically? What grant matches your need? Every year, the various grants will change their focus and priority on one thing or another. Look at what the grants are emphasizing for that grant calendar.
Part of obtaining grant approval is to know your grant calendar and sync up your application process. This is a list of a few grants and typical grant submission periods: (The submission dates are about the same every year.)
Public Safety related Grants Calendar Opened Closed 09 Funding
Assistance to Firefighter Program (AFGP) 4/15/2009 5/20/2009 $565M
COPS-Secure our School (SOS) 4/14/2009 5/15/2009 $16M
Homeland Security Program (HSGP) 11/5/2008 3/20/2009 $1.7B
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Program 11/5/2008 12/19/2008 $306M
Writing the Grant. The next step may well be the choice to get help writing your first your first grant. If you do this, use a recommended grant specialist company or consultant. For example, Chief Supply at http://www.chiefsupply.com/grants/ is a recommended source. Since 2004, CHIEF Grants has helped America's Public Safety Agencies win over $112 million in federal, state and private monies and equipment. They will also review your first grant for free.
Getting the Award. It is important to know who is in the grant chain for approvals and reviews for getting the grant award. To illustrate, Homeland Security money is given to the state governments. The states award money to those in need. Each state is a little different in their approach, for example Florida is divided into seven regions. Each region has a Regional Domestic Security Task Force these are the people that will select who gets the grant money in that region. Understand the process and network with approvers from the local level all the way up to the agency that the grant originates. Communicate your needs; involve local politicians and community activist. Remember, when it comes to grants approval the squeaky wheel gets the grant.
Questions? You might ask, can vendors write the grant for me? No, vendors are not allowed to write grants for agencies. However, venders can help you understand the process. If you have any questions about obtaining public safety grants please contact Kelly Thomas at 772-539-2672 (Communications International, Inc.). But again, you can do this! The grant’s “guidance and application” gives you step by step instructions. You can use the grant application guidelines as your template.
The Grants Office provides a variety of services including proposal development and submittal, comprehensive research reports, and completion of a year-long grant seeking plan (http://www.grantsoffice.com). There is more to grant writing that what is covered here, but hopefully you can see that it is something you can accomplish as thousands of other agencies have done.
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