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Case Study: City of Cheyenne, Wyoming
The grants and loans listed have all been awarded since 2011 and used
for the City of Cheyenne’s West Edge brownfield revitalization project.
AGENCY
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NAME OF GRANT
TOTAL
AWARDED:
$11,563,283
AMOUNT
Brownfield Assessment Coalition Grant $1,000,000
Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (grant) $400,000
Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (loan) $600,000
Brownfield Planning Grant $200,000
Federal Emergency Management Agency Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program Grant $3,000,000
U.S. Department of Commerce Economic
Development Administration Public Works and Economic Development Program $1,689,600
Wyoming Community Housing Development Community Development Block Grant for Economic Development $132,000
Green Project Reserve Program (grant) $250,000
Green Project Reserve Program (loan) $750,000
Wyoming State Revolving Funds
State of Wyoming
State Consensus Funding $1,385,217
Mineral Royalty Grant Funding $1,236,866
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality 319 Non-Point Source Pollution Grant $419,600
Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investment Wyoming Business Council Downtown Development $500,000
3. EFFECTIVE GRANT
PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
AND REVIEW
Before starting to write a grant, it’s important to collect
guidance materials, lists of past awards, technical assistance
materials, relevant press releases, and published articles. If
published grant opportunities do not contain all the essential
information – for example, lack of deadline or eligibility
criteria – it’s necessary to contact the agency or organization
directly to verify and clarify whenever necessary.
Grant writers come from all different kinds of educational
experiences and backgrounds. The closer the fit between the
grant writer’s background and the grant requirements, the
higher the likelihood of success. If you need a grant written
for a downtown urban renewal program, for example, a
writer who has worked as a municipal planner or economic
development director will have insights that will make the
grant stand out.
In reality, it is unlikely that a single grant writer comes from a
professional background in all potential overlapping areas of
a community’s desired grant pursuits and goals. A community
typically is not going to find a grant writer who has worked as
a teacher AND who has experience in developing a detailed
program design and budget for a sustainable community
housing program.
When crafting your grant proposal, be sure to:
1 Let your passion show. Demonstrate how
your project will bridge the gap between
problem and ideal. Show that the funds
will make a difference in your community.
2 Be specific. Show that your project has
SMART objectives (specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic, timebound).
3 Show that you have the ability to
implement and sustain the work this
funding will begin. Demonstrate that you
have community support.
4 And remember the basics: Read and
follow the directions. Answer all the
questions. Review and proofread and
proofread again. Meet the deadline.
That being said, the larger the pool of expert grant writers
a community can tap into, the higher volume of grants the
community will be able to write AND the more diverse types
of proposals the community will be able to submit.
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