by Kelly Wilkens
The new year often brings fresh to-do lists and dreams about what’s to come. Don’t forget to include grants while looking ahead. Here are a few tips to help make your community’s dreams financially viable:
- Plan out your grants now. The budget for the year is set and you’ve identified the big projects you’d like to tackle. Identify what grants you want to apply for now. Many grants are cyclical so you can plan for them in advance.
- Get ready. When you’ve identified the grants you want to pursue, you can see what attachments, documentation, resolutions, etc will likely be required as part of your application. Knowing this ahead of time will help you prepare for the grant window instead of being caught off guard.
- Stick to the plan. Grants will come up that you weren’t expecting. If a grant comes along that fits a project you’re already working on, great! You will have the information and documents required. But don’t create a project to fit grant criteria. Generally this happens when the grant is already open, giving you limited time for project development AND gathering all required information. Grants are increasingly competitive, with funders routinely expressing their received requests far outnumber the available funds. While grants can mean an injection of dollars into your community or project, scrambling during the limited application window can cost you time and money.
CEDA’s Grants Department is available to assist with grant applications. Contact Kelly Wilkens for a free consultation and we can put together some ideas for your community!
Needing help on an upcoming application? The League of Minnesota Cities Grant Navigator offers up to $5,000 per city to cover grant research and writing expenses using consultants necessary to prepare the grant application. More information, including eligibility requirements, can be found at the link.