As important as ever: grant strategy and management

Trillions in new federal and state grant funding streams created since the pandemic have put a spotlight on an ever-important, but often-siloed, topic in local government: grant strategy and management.

Governments that create a strategic vision and implementation plan prioritizing grant funding can be better prepared to leverage opportunities when they arise. A thoughtful grants strategy also builds local capacity and an internal infrastructure that lasts beyond one particular application.

Thinking through a grant strategy begins with assessing your community needs and development plans – a process done best with residents and other stakeholders. Then a local government can look inward at its financial grant management practices and capabilities to prepare for compliant and effective grant performance before applying for awards. This kind of preparation before launching into grant writing and researching grant cycles helps avoid wasting resources on irrelevant or unlikely opportunities.

Once you are ready to search for relevant grant opportunities, you will find a wealth of resources (in the trillions) from federal and state sources. While local governments continue to navigate ARPA and the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, more recent legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have provided more than $2 trillion in funding to existing programs and to entirely new grants programs.

Having a grants strategy prevents hurtling from one grant application deadline to another without a sense of the programs for which your community is most competitive.

Consider reaching out to the PTRC to help being your planning or to augment a specific element of an on-going strategy you have developed. We are experienced in grant training, strategic planning, convening community groups and stakeholders, as well as providing technical assistance for financial grants administration. Part of our mission is to support member governments in bringing federal and other external resources to our 12-county region. There has not been a better time to be as competitive and strategic as possible in accessing grant funding opportunities.   

For more information, contact Adam Shull, Regional Planning Assistant Director, at 336-904-0300 or at ashull@ptrc.org.