Government Grants - anyone applied for one? (applying, tips, application)

[mrs1885]

I'm trying to get my county to accept a proposal for an animal shelter. To help eliviate some of the initial cost, I'd also like to suggest doing a government grant request, but have never done one.

Has anyone put one together that can give me tips? Where do I sent it, the format it needs to be in, etc?

[annerk]

There are a ton of web sites out there that can help with the format. Except for using unused space, it's doubtful any government will give you funding with budgets stretched as tightly as they are. You might be better off looking at private grant opportunities--and there are a ton of them out there for animal shelters/rescues. YOu need to do some more research--in all honesty if you don't even know where to send grant requests, you are way far off from even asking the questions you are. Many granting organizations (in particularly the government) ahve very specific formats, with each being specific to that organization or agency. In other words you need to find the grant money first, then apply for it. You are putting the cart before the horse.

You will need to be incorporated as 501(3)c before applying for any of them.

[mrs1885]

I found the grant - $250k. Deadline October 19th. They don't have the application for it on line yet. According to the federal grant website if it's for a county agency you don't need to be a 501c3.

I'm also looking through the HSUS and such as well.

YOu need to do some more research--in all honesty if you don't even know where to send grant requests, you are way far off from even asking the questions you are.

LOL. You've never met me. I'm very smart and incredibly determined. I've pulled off some amazing things with sheer will and determination. Thank you though. I'll keep looking around; I'll find what I need! Just hoped someone could lead me in the right direction first and save me some time!

[annerk]

Then maybe you need to do a better job explaining the situation to begin with. The way it reads it's as if you are trying to start a private shelter, not work with your county to implement a public animal shelter.

You are right, if the shelter will be run under the auspices of the county government, you don't need a 501(c)3. Have you spoken to the officials to see if they would entertain this, if there is a place to open it, etc.?

However that will greatly limit grants you can get from most private organizations. You also need to determine if you will be "no kill" or not. If you aren't "no kill" again you'll lose a lot of potential donation, if you aren't "no kill" you can easily become quickly overwhelmed with animals you ahve no place to house and no way to afford to care for.

Have you spent any time talking to people who currently run shelters?

If the grant forms will be on the web site for download, then you don't need to know about formatting, they will be "fill in the blanks."

[HIF]

Originally Posted by mrs1885

I found the grant - $250k. Deadline October 19th. They don't have the application for it on line yet. According to the federal grant website if it's for a county agency you don't need to be a 501c3.

I'm also looking through the HSUS and such as well.



LOL. You've never met me. I'm very smart and incredibly determined. I've pulled off some amazing things with sheer will and determination. Thank you though. I'll keep looking around; I'll find what I need! Just hoped someone could lead me in the right direction first and save me some time!

Each grant will come with instructions for what to submit, what format, application deadlines and where to send it. Some are just forms that are completed and others can be quite involved.

Are you trying to obtain funding for a program that you will run or wanting your county to apply for the funding? Many, if not most counties have development offices with grantwriters.

Is the grant that you found for capital expenses? If so, the county would have to fund the ongoing operating expenses. 250k may sound like a lot of money, but for a start up venture, it is not.

Exisiting programs are getting cut right and left and donor money is slowing down. To start a brand new program just sounds like an uphill battle. Not saying this to discourage you, but to let you know that finding the grant is the easiest part of the process.

[InformationPlease]

• The basics are as follows... for this type of project, you will not receive funding unless you can prove sustainability... meaning continued funding beyond the grant period.
• All grants will require this part of the proposal to be outlined but some are flexible with dates.
• However, due to the large, permanent and fixed nature of a county animal shelter, they'd likely require some sort of plan for your county to pick up the tab on continuing costs beyond the first year.
• To do this, you'd need your county commissioners to create their own proposals, get that to pass, and have that ALL in place before you apply for the grant.
• Since it's so convoluted, your best bet will be to gather your info, write up your grant outline with a separate piece detailing the minimum commitment you'd need from your county to continue, and allow them to review it on their schedule.

These things can be very slow so don't get discouraged. Just keep moving forward.

In the meantime, I'd look to your community.

• Hold awareness meetings
• fundraisers
• print brochures
• gather local rescue groups together to join up in support of the idea
• visit other local shelters and meet with their administrators to see their process and perhaps, learn their story of origin, etc, etc.

It's going to take some politic'ing... perhaps you've already passed this stage, if so, I'd suggest just stick to what I wrote above and getting all of those materials to your county commissioners asap. It will do you no good to submit a grant proposal without the expressed written consent and approval for the county to allow the shelter to be built... and that's a process that will involve multiple committees, permits, budget restructuring, zoning issues, construction bids, hiring processes, etc, etc, etc. That comes first!!

It's admirable that you've taken on this task. Good luck!!