Money is always hard to find. For non profit organizations (healthcare, education, and state/local governments) there are many grant funding sources that can be accessed for procuring Information and Communications technologies.The economy, good or bad, affects investment, including investment in projects that can benefit a public sector or non profit organization. When revenues are high, projects are funded. Funded projects produce jobs, increase the value of the organization, improve public sector outcomes, make the organization safer and more secure and can improve productivity. When times are lean even the good ideas are postponed or canceled.
Grants are another part of the funding landscape that organizations need to leverage. Grants are not benefits or entitlements. For example, a Federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient/organization to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals.
Most public and non profit organizations have some experience with grants. Grants typically come from one of these sources:
Federal Grants--There are many Federal grant programs that are valuable to pursue. 26 federal agencies offer over 1,000 grant programs annually into 21 various categories. In addition to these grants, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (www.recovery.gov ) provides for $787B of economic stimulus with a significant amount of stimulus being made available in the form of grants. The ARRA opens up greater funding opportunities and is designed to stimulate economic growth and to compensate for the present economic downturn. The funds are directed toward projects that will have a long lasting/strategic value for citizens and their communities and bring with it significant impact for K-12 schools, Higher Education institutions, Health care organizations and State/Local governments.
Due to the urgency to counter the economic downturn, those applying for ARRA funds need to submit projects that are "Ready-to-Go" or "Shovel Ready."
State Grants--Many states have grants for specific projects such as safety, security, education, healthcare, training etc...These grant programs tend to align to the priorities of the State government. Access the specific state agency site for more information about your particular state location. Go to your state's Recovery website for up-to-date ARRA opportunities being rolled out in your state. This should link you to announcements, applications assistance and press releases. Private Grants--Foundations and corporations offer private sources of grants to support specific goals. For a comprehensive listing of all the private foundations in the country, go to the Foundation Center, http://foundationcenter.org/. A fee based subscription is required. There are over 98,000 U.S. foundations and corporate donors that have provided about 1.7 million recent grants.
The grant type and the amount of effort to acquire that grant will vary greatly. When the ARRA grants are competitive, they require the most research and effort in preparing the grant application.
Formula Grants--A formula grant is a Federal grant that specifies a formula in the legislation that created the program. Formula grants include measurable elements, such as population size, amount of tax effort, proportion of population unemployed or below poverty level, housing density, or infant mortality rate. The formula is a rule that informs potential recipient governments precisely how to calculate the quantity of aid to which they are entitled under the provisions of law, as long as the recipient qualifies for such assistance under the stipulations of the program. These programs are sometimes referred to as state-administered programs.
Competitive Grants--Competitive grants are also known as discretionary grants. They are financial awards for which a federal agency has the discretionary power to:
* Select the recipient organization from among all eligible recipients.
* Determine who or who not to award the grant based on the programmatic, technical, or scientific content of an application.
* Determine the amount of funding to be awarded to the winning organization.
Earmarks--The Federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines earmarks as:
funds provided by the Congress for projects, programs, or grants where the purported congressional direction (whether in statutory text, report language, or other communication) circumvents otherwise applicable merit-based or competitive allocation processes, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the executive branch to manage its statutory and constitutional responsibilities pertaining to the funds allocation process.
When the grant funds are received from the Federal government, then this is call a Direct grant.
When local, usually state agencies process the grant application and award, then this is called a Pass Through grant. In some cases, a regional authority, such as a transportation agency, may be the pass through entity. States and regional authorities may still have to apply to the Federal government for the grant funds. The state or authority will probably retain some of the grant funds to cover administrative costs.
The application and award process will be affected by the state government or authority since each jurisdiction will set their own application procedures, schedule and award priorities. The grant applier must use those processes for their local area. Do not assume that one state's methods are duplicated by other states.
I have just posted an extensive white paper, "Funding Essentials" at https://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/hottopics/registration_form.htm&Filter=URII:/master-usa/en-us/Repository/_2009101594222148140. It covers the entire grant access and submission process for non-profit organizations.
