ID State EditionThe FundBook

April 2011

Helping communities find the federal funding they need.

www.fundbook.orgp.� ~ The Fundbook - ID | April �011

The impact of education reform will be felt by every school district in the state because it changes the law on collective

bargaining for teachers. Potentially it could result in significant job loss during a time of economic downturn, resulting in an impact both on income tax collection and the housing market. In addi-tion, budget writers are targeting a $6 million re-duction in general fund dollars from last year’s di-minished education budget. The reduced amount would have to fund an additional 176 classrooms statewide because of growth. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will consider a plan to give the State Tax Commission nearly $4.5 million for additional staff, which is expected to generate $19 million in revenue next year. Some lawmak-ers may try to use that for public education. Local school boards need to keep in close contact with their congressional delegation and the State Board of Education as the rules are written that regulate the new reforms.

Cuts in the Medicaid budget are projected to impact health care providers as well as access to care by those in low income brackets. Non-profit health service providers are bracing for large increases in their client demand. In order to meet this need, health care providers, non-profits and religious groups are developing collaborations in order to apply for foundation grants. Legislative budget writers approved cutting some $34 million from Idaho’s share of the 2012 Medicaid budget, with reductions in payments to health care providers, suspension or termination of some services and the addition of co-pays. Those measures are part of the $436 million Medicaid budget backed 15-4 by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday, with Democrats opposed. That’s an increase of some $137 million from fiscal year 2011, largely because Idaho must make up reductions in federal matching funds following the expiration of the 2009 stimulus act. Read more: http://goo.gl/sg52g §

The View from Idaho State

This article was contributed by Janet Bourque of Bright Star Grant Consultants. Bright Star is very knowledgable of the grants and funding territory in ID and works with local governments and non-profits on grants-related services and capacity building there.

Notes From the Field

Idaho legislative websites

The USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Ser-vice houses the Resource Conservation & Develop-ment (RC&D) Program, providing federally-funded program coordinators that guide grassroots, 501c3 nonprofit RC&D councils throughout the U.S. These councils work toward four main goals for their re-gions: Land conservation, water conservation, and water quality and community development. Under these goals, RC&D councils provide assistance to communities by supporting projects that educate, create jobs and businesses, find and administer grant funds, and facilitate partnerships for the conservation of natural resources.

Councils in Idaho just hosted the 2011 Western RC&D Association Conference in Lewiston, Idaho on March 12th through 16th. Bringing councils together from ten (10) states, the major topic of discussion was the program budget cuts. There are 374 federally-funded coordinators throughout the country and the President’s 2011 and 2012 budget does not extend funding for these positions.

Nina Eckberg, Treasurer, Panhandle Lakes RC&D Council, Coeur d’Alene ID reports that if funding is eliminated, councils will have to decide how to make the transition. Some councils rely heavily on their coordinator for support, so they may have a tougher time trying to continue if the coordinator is not there. Those councils with strong leadership will thrive by not having what they see as the ‘constraints’ of the federal government program. No matter what hap-pens, this is a wake-up call for RC&D nonprofit coun-cils across the country to review their missions and evaluate their resources. §

Bright StarGrant Consultants, Inc.810 Victorian Dr, Coeur d’ Alene, ID, 83814(208) 964-0402janet@brightstarconsultants.comwww.brightstarconsultants.com

Bright Star Grant Consultants is a full service capacity building firm.Supporting government agencies, non-profits, and universities with:• Fund, resource, and program development • Strategy and expansion • Assessment and evaluation • Training and Coaching

Sample ConsultationFeasibility Study: Preliminary Non-Traditional Grant Funding Strategy: City of Pinehurst, IdahoRole: Research and development of deliverable documentation that included non-traditional grant seeking strategies, organizational readiness evaluation, readiness task list, strategic alliances profiles, and recommendations.

Bright Star Grant Consultants worked carefully to understand the needs of our projects and community and provided creative funding opportunities that will expand the reach of our projects and increase our sustainability.

- Principal, Terra Graphics Engineering (www.tgenviro.com) http://www.facebook.com/brightstargrants

Grants are the cornerstone of building a diversified funding portfolio

http://goo.gl/jv0vchttp://goo.gl/jv0vchttp://goo.gl/jv0vchttp://goo.gl/jv0vchttp://goo.gl/jv0vchttp://goo.gl/jv0vc

www.fundbook.orgp.� ~ The Fundbook - ID | April �011

With heavy cuts in both state and federal funding, the competition for funding opportunities will be rigorous. Watch

for Grant Writing on the Edge in The FundBook’s Idaho edition. Each month we’ll give tips, tools and resources to put help put your proposals over the top into the winner’s award.

Free Webinar:

Grant Funding Forecast 2011 & Beyond May 4 Presented by Renee Bourque, President, MEd. GPE, Bright Star Grant Consultants, Inc. Sponsored by Non-Profit Webinars, a resource for nonprofit trustees and staff, http://goo.gl/K830a

HUD awards grants to organizations and groups through a competitive process. These Notices of Fund-ing Availability (NOFAs) will tell you what funds are available and how to apply. Most opportunities are found within HUD’s annual SuperNOFA. Funding for HUD programs will be affected by the cuts in the fed-eral budget. Watch this website for announcements for when funding is available and information on how to apply: http://goo.gl/3lP5B

Evidence Matters: A resource for Grantwriters responding to HUD Notices of Funding

The first issue of “Evidence Matters: Transforming Knowledge into Housing and Community Develop-

ment Policy” (Winter 2011), organized around the theme of neighborhood revitalization, is now available. Introduced by Secretary Donovan, the goals of Evidence Matters “intersect directly with HUD’s mission — to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities, and quality homes for all.” Assis-tant Secretary Bostic provides context for the neigh-borhood revitalization discussion in this inaugural is-sue, which features articles that draw on research to discuss the effects of HOPE VI and how it informs the Choice Neighborhoods program, concentrated pov-erty, and community capacity building efforts. Each issue spotlights research in the field, practice in the field, and additional resources useful to housing policy stakeholders. Link: http://goo.gl/Pps4v

Indicators Northwest: States, Tribes, Reservations http://www.indicatorsnorthwest.orgCompetitive proposals will have solid data support. Learn what’s happening in your county, region and state in trends over time and compare your area to your neighbors. A one-stop shop for information about: population characteristics, income & poverty, employment, education, health, and crime & safety. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of In-dian Affairs and other federal and state agencies. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bu-reau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and other federal and state agencies. §

This article was contributed by Janet Bourque of Bright Star Grant Consultants. Bright Star is very knowledgable of the grants and funding territory in ID and works with local governments and non-profits on grants-related services and capacity building there.

Grant Writing on the EdgeAdvanced grant writing tools and tips for government entities, schools and non-profits.

http://goo.gl/7faMnhttp://goo.gl/7faMn http://goo.gl/7faMnhttp://goo.gl/7faMnhttp://goo.gl/7faMn

www.fundbook.org October 2010 | The Fundbook ~ p.23

December 1

January 1

MMS Grant: Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) - p.36

Dec 31

USDA Grant: Rural Community Development Initiative - p.33Dec 22

IMLS Grant: Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program - p.29Dec 15

NOAA Grant: Regional Ocean Partnership Funding Program - p.37Dec 10

HUD Grant: Continuum of Care Home-less Assistance Program - p.35

HUD Grants: Hazards in Housing (1) - p.39

HRSA Grant: Health Center New Access Points Program - p.25

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program - p.31

Dec 3FEMA Grants

Severe Repetitive Loss Program - p.30

Repetitive Flood Claims Program - p.32

Flood Mitigation Assistance Program - p.32

HUD Grant: HOPE VI Revitalization Grants Program - p.34

USDA Grant: Solid Waste Managment Grant - p.40

Two Months From Now Three Months From Now

Icon Legend

p.22 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

Upcoming Grants TimelineGrant descriptions follow

October 1

November 1

HUD Grant: Choice Neighborhoods Initiative - p.34Oct 26

Oct 15

FY 2011 MCSAP New Entrant Funding - p.28

FY 2011 High Priority Grant Opportunity - p.28DOT Grants:

Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants - p.27

Brownfields Assessment Grants - p.27

EPA Grants: Brownfields Cleanup Grants - p.26

EPA Grant: Market Based Approaches to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions - p.38

Oct 27

FWS Grant: North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grants - p.33

Oct 28

IMLS Grant: Museums for America - p.29

NOAA Grant: Community-based Marine Debris Removal Project Grants - p.37

Nov 1Nov 18

DOC Grant: MBDA Busi-ness Center (MBC) - p.24

Nov 10

HUD Grants: Hazards in Housing (3) - p.38, 39

Nov 16

Nov 8

Nov 17

Nov 22

Now One Month From Now

Commerce/Business -Health/Medical -Ocean/Coastal -

Rural -Transportation -

Housing -Museums/Art -

Green/Environment -Disaster{

www.fundbook.orgp.30 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010 www.fundbook.orgp.30 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

Number of AwardsMany: 50

Amount AvailableLarge: $100,000,000

FOA #DHS-11-MT-110-000-99

AgencyDepartment of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

DeadlineNot soon: Dec 3, 2010

Severe Repetitive Loss Program

Number of AwardsMany: 100

Amount AvailableLarge: $100,000,000

FOA #DHS-11-MT-047-000-99

AgencyDepartment of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

DeadlineNot soon: Dec 3, 2010

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program

www.fundbook.org October 2010 | The Fundbook ~ p.31

Hazard Mitiga-

tion Grant Program Flood

Mitigation Assistance

Repetitive Flood Claims

Severe Repetitive Loss

Pre-Disaster

Mitigation

Federal Emergency Agency Hazard Mitigation Programs

PDM Planning Selectivity (%) PDM Project Grant Selectivity (%)

PD

M Funding (m

illions)

Number of AwardsMedium: 11

Amount AvailableMedium: $11,000,000

AgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency

FOA #EPA-OSWER-OBLR-10-11

DeadlineSoon: Oct 15, 2010

Brownfields Cleanup Grants

Job Train-

ing Grants, Number of AwardsMany: 185

Amount AvailableLarge: $52,400,000

DeadlineSoon: Oct 15, 2010

FOA #EPA-OSWER-OBLR-10-09

AgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency

Cleanup Revolving

Loan Fund Programs

Assess-

ment Cleanup Programs

Number of AwardsMany: 147

Amount AvailableMedium: $29,500,000

FOA #EPA-OSWER-OBLR-10-10

AgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency

DeadlineSoon: Oct 15, 2010

Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants

Brownfields Assessment Grants

www.fundbook.org October 2010 | The Fundbook ~ p.27

EPA Brownfields Grants

Targeted Brownfields Assess-

ment (TBA)

$52,400,000

$11,000,000$29,500,000

www.fundbook.orgp.26 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

www.fundbook.orgp.18 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

C o n g r e s s i o n a l l y -directed funding

Congressional funding for increasing the energy efficiency of government buildings is difficult to come by, but not impos-sible. The two sources it is most likely to be fund-ed though are the Depart-ment of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renew-able Energy (EERE) ac-count in the Energy and Water appropriations bill, or through the Hous-ing and Urban Develop-ment’s Economic Devel-opment Administration (EDA) account in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.

In FY10, there were four instances of con-

gress ional ly-di rec ted funds for energy effi-ciency in local govern-ment buildings projects. The City of Oakdale, MN, the City of Red-lands, CA, the Township of Branchburg, NJ, and the Noble County Health Department of Caldwell, OH were the recipients of between $400 thousand and $1 million in funds each. Three of these were through EERE and the latter was through EDA. There were no compa-rable instances in FY09 or FY08 which may in-dicate that this is a trend that may develop further this coming year, or that this FY10 congressional-ly-directed funding was a fluke.

Regardless, if you in-tend to pursue this type of funding through ap-propriations, your chanc-es will be best if your congressional delegation is associated with either the House or Sen-ate com-

mittees on appropria-tions, or

the relevant subcommit-tees – Energy and Water when pursuing EERE funds, or Transportation, Housing and Urban de-velopment when pursu-

Funds for a local government building energy efficiency projects

ing EDA funds. When naming your project, keep in mind that “energy efficiency” projects are how they are described for local governments, while non-profits and universities tend to use the terminology “green building.”

Competitive Grant Programs

Outside of EECBG, should it be funded again, there are limited grant programs for this project type at the fed-eral level. Two of the most natural candidates to provide these grants -- the Environmental Pro-tection Agency and the Department of Energy -- do not currently provide funding for green build-ing projects. However, the Department of Agri-culture (USDA) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) do both offer annually re-curring grant programs.

The USDA’s High Energy Cost

Program provides finan-cial assistance for the improvement of energy generation, transmis-sion, and distribution fa-cilities serving eligible rural communities with home energy costs that are over 275 percent of the national average. In

FY10 this program con-sisted of $15.5 million split among 20 awards and will almost certainly be available again in the coming year. The ap-plication period closed September 8 this year, so there is some time to plan a competitive grant before the new applica-tion cycle begins.

The EDA’s Global Climate Change Mitiga-tion Fund (GCCMF) was established to strengthen the linkages between eco-nomic development and environmental quality. One of the project types supported through this program is new construc-tion or renovation that leads to a “green build-ing” with an LEED™ or comparable certification. Projects that are chosen must lead to a net posi-tive outcome in terms of energy, materials, and/or water use efficiency. In FY10 this program con-sisted of $25 million and will almost certainly be

available again in the coming year. The ap-plication period is roll-ing, so there is as much time as necessary to plan a competitive grant be-fore applying. (See p.11 Demystifying the EDA Grant Process

Additionally, one of the most promising re-sources for local govern-ments looking for this kind of federal funding is through their state’s State Energy Program (SEP). However, SEPs vary as the Department of Energy emphasizes the state’s role as decision maker and administrator for SEP activities within each state. Priorities, and the amount available for this project type, are set by the state. To find out if funding is available in

your state, contact your area State Energy Of-fice.

Other funding mecha-nisms

There are also other funding types available for local government en-ergy efficiency in build-ings projects, though most are available at the state, not federal, level. An ex-cellent resource that lists state programs relevant to this project type is the Database of State Incen-tives for Renewables & Efficiency, which can be accessed at goo.gl/h4b6

One federally available option is Qualified En-ergy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) which can assist

financing quali-fied energy con-servation proj-ects – a term that includes energy efficiency capital expenditures for public buildings. QECB funding is available on a state-by-state basis, based on whether the fed-erally issued funds have al-ready been com-mitted. Interested officials should contact their State Energy Office for additional in-formation about availability.

www.fundbook.orgOctober 2010 | The Fundbook ~ p.11

Demystifying the Eco-nomic Development

Project Grant Process

Pu

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Econ

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ssis-

tance

Finding funding to enhance your

local government’s vehicle fleet

www.fundbook.org

p.14 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

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The FundBook

• Actionable quantitative analyses of current grant opportunities available to local governments.

• In-depth articles with analyses and recommendations of how to pursue federal funding for different capital improvement projects.

• Timeline of current grant opportunities to ensure that you and your staff stay organized and don’t miss important application deadlines.

Actionable funding information, visible results.

• Dual focus on both grants and appropriations for expanded options and security.

• According to the Office of Management and Budget, the costs of subscriptions to business professional and technical periodicals are allowable expenses, meaning you can use your federal grants funds for this subscription.

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The purpose of The FundBook is to empower America’s local governments by increasing their

awareness of, and ability to pursue, federal financial assistance for local projects. This is via a monthly

publication which describes federal programs that are currently available, how to best pursue available

funds, and trends in federal funding for projects relevant to local governments. Our product is designed

to be the most user-friendly federal funding awareness resource for all sizes of local government.