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March 2007 Featured Article
The Times They are a Changin’
Nancy Scocozza, Grant Writer for the Township of West Orange
My path to becoming a municipal grant writer was a circuitous one. As a resident of West Orange and a twenty year career veteran in event planning and sales, I volunteered to coordinate a number of town-wide events for the municipality. After a few years of working hand-in-hand with the township administration coordinating these events, they asked if I would be interested in serving as West Orange’s grant writer. The township had worked with large grant writing firms in the past without much success, and thought that dealing with an individual subcontractor might serve them better. The community leaders knew my work ethic and my desire and determination to always produce top quality results. They also knew they needed to obtain additional funding sources to help lower the tax burden of the residents. It was a natural fit.
When I began six years ago, I mainly called upon my skills as an event planner; thinking and writing in a logical manner, focusing on attention to detail, taking thorough notes, asking questions to completely understand the issues, methodically working through a project, paying attention to red flags and etcetera. By diligently completing the applications, I was very successful in garnering hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funds annually through federal and state programs for over four years. We applied for grants that came across the Mayor’s and Department heads’ desks that we both met the criteria for and for which we had appropriate projects or programs in mind that needed funding in order for us to execute them. We occasionally went outside the governmental world looking for opportunities, but those instances were few and far between.
But times have now changed in the world of municipal grant writing. A large portion of state and federal funds have been redirected to help with the war effort, homeland security, national disasters and financial stabilization. A number of programs seem to have dried up or the monies have been frozen. What this means to the municipal grant writer is that we have to look at new ways of obtaining funding.
We need to form partnerships with local non-profits with similar fields of interest in order to approach public and private foundations. We also have to call upon local corporations who believe in supporting the communities in which they run their businesses. We need to be creative in our thinking and we have to start forming relationships with the people who make the funding decisions. We must call on our local and state representatives to reach out to their government constituents and build support and understanding for the funding we are requesting. Our goals need to be the same, but our methods in achieving them must change.
It seems like it is now time to brush up on my sales skills and ‘hit the pavement’ as they say in the business world. The funds are there, they are just wearing a different hat. As grant writers, if we use alternative means, stay positive, stay determined, track down a variety of leads and continue to submit proposals the grant awards will surely come our way.
For more information on how to write grants or if you have grant questions, contact Pat Bohse at pbohse@bohse.com or (732) 291-8038.
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