Download - Partnering with Municipalities to Get Grants
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Partnering with Municipalities to Get
Grants: Things to Know
John Izzo & Cheryn Wojcik
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Sponsored by:A Service
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Affordable collaborative data
management in the cloud.
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Today’s Speakers
John IzzoCo-Founder,
Community Grants Associates, Inc.
Hosting:
Sam Frank, Synthesis PartnershipAssisting with chat questions:
April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars
Cheryn WojcikGrants Director,
City of Springfield, MA
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Partnering with Municipalities to Get Grants:
Things to Know
Offered by
Community Grants Associates,
& The City of Springfield, Massachusetts
Office of Grants Management
August 17, 2011
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Topics Today
Why partner
Background: Determining the Desirability of a Grant
Why would a city and non-profit want to partner together
What do Cities look for in a Grant Partner
What your Mother told you is True: It is Important to Play Nice with
Others
What to Expect in Working with a Municipality
Common Misconceptions on Both Sides
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Why Partner?
• Cities have large administrative capacity
• Non-profits can do things cheaper & faster
(often) without the need for lawyers
• Non-profits can do things that cities find
hard to do well
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Determining the Desirability of a Grant:
Eligibility
• Defined
• Eligible does
NOT always
means
desirable
• Mission
Consistent
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Determining the Desirability of a Grant:
Funding & Matching
Funding
• Number of Awards
• Time and Effort vs. Award (i.e. time can actually
equal money)
• Match with City & Non-Profit Priorities
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Matching
Matching Requirements
• Cash Matches (who provides it)
• In-Kind Matches– Cities are usually good with providing things &
administrative services
– Non-profits usually good with volunteer hours
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Determining the Desirability of a Grant:
Partnering
• Collaboration/Partnering requirements
• How many partners– Previous relationships count
– Non-profit as honest broker
• Time Frame Considerations– Sign off procedures for cities can sometimes
require council approval
– If city is the lead applicant, then council usually must approve the award
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Determining the Desirability of a Grant:
Lead Time
Lead time
• Six weeks is good, three weeks is almost essential. Two
weeks or less will likely not work.
• The development of grant applications can take
anywhere from 20 – 80 hours. If there is a partnership,
this timeframe almost always should be 3 weeks or 80
hours depending on the complexity of the application the
familiarity of the relationships;
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Examples
• Negative News Travels Faster than
Positive News– E.g. it is all on the Internet or in the rumor mill.
– Social media is a positive and negative tool
• Can you keep a secret and work to solve
problems professionally– A former municipal client worked with a non-profit (once) that
consistently went to media and city council behind the back of
the city agency
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Determining the Desirability of a Grant:
Experience
Track Record
With the Funder AND the Municipality
Past Practice Matters!
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Clarity of Expectations
• Do all parties understand what is expected
– Be clear who is doing what up-front
– Understand the process
– Understand the obligations
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Administrative Burden: Pre-Award
Administrative Burden
• Drafting the application
• Winning - reporting requirements
Make sure that you and/or your partner(s) have
the resources to effectively manage the grant if
you are the lead applicant(s).
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Administrative Burdens: Post Award
The Paperwork Monster
• #1 complaint of city agencies is that non-profits
have tremendous disdain for paperwork.
• #1 complaint of non-profits is that cities require
too much paperwork and time to move on an
issue
E.g. City may know an of issue but regulatory
process may prevent immediate action
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Paperwork Problems
• Why an issue for
cities
– Jeopardize
relationships with
agencies
– Could lose out on
millions of dollars if
reputation tarnished
– New Federal Rules
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Scenario
• Non-profit does not file paperwork as required
• Grant is audited
• Audit Results Negative – Published in Paper
– Headline: Auditors find problem with <City name>
grant.
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What do Cities look for in a Grant Partner
• Mission Alignment
• Geographic or Population Focus
• Reputation and Results
• Ability to Perform All Tasks in a Timely Manner
• Ability to Break Down Silos & Be an Honest Broker– E.g. ability to talk to different groups (e.g. often school districts
and cities have difficult relationships)
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Geographic Location
If the grant requires a partnership with a public
housing authority, school, community-based
agency, etc. does the entity fulfill one of those
requirements?
Areas of Need
-An increasing strategy for cities is to target
neighborhoods or defined areas
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History with the Municipality & Funder
– Does the entity have experience working with the
municipality?
• If not, does some relationship exist?
– If not – why?
– Does the entity have measurable experience and
outcomes associated with other businesses and
organizations that have impacted their targeted
neighborhoods
– Does the entity have relationships with all partners?
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Capacity
To deliver programming - evidence-based practices are
becoming more sought after
• start tracking your data credibly!
• Once tracked – use it!
Exceptional leadership at an executive and board level
– But not totally driven by one person
To follow-through with reporting back to the funder
To accept and perform role assigned in collaborative
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Sustainability
• What happens after the $$ is spent
• It is OK to talk about fundraising
– Nobody likes to pay for everything
• City should not be automatically expected
to pick up future cost at the end!
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Evaluation
A well- written proposal should generate data
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Measurement
Hiring and Outside Evaluator
Credentials = Data/Statistical Expertise
The evaluator should be involved in writing the proposal
You cannot your be own evaluator
Costs
Evaluator can cost up to 10-15% of project budget
Negotiate up front
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Evidence-Based Models
• Almost all larger grants now require
evidence-based models – Approach is sometimes directly identified in application
• E.g. Ceasefire model
• Also a good litmus test for an organization– Both in terms of professionalism and capacity
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Best Practices
• Best practices- either defined by
government agency or show your own
data – Some agencies: E.g. HHS SAMHSA have identified
best practices
– There is a growing rating and measurement of
practices in academia and by funders
– Using your own data supported model is hard but
often more interesting to funder, especially if it builds
off an existing model
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Is the Project a Good Fit for all Parties?
• Project Staff
• Appropriate people doing appropriate things
• Percentage of time dedicated to the project
• Cultural Competency (includes geographic
competency)
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What your Mother told you is True: It is
Important to Play Nice with Others
• This is a business relationship – treat
it as such.
• Mutual Benefit is Necessary
• It is about the people served!
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What to Expect in Working with a
Municipality
• Slower Timetable
– Process Driven
– Contracts & Liability Issues
– Often Involves Legal Review
• Procurement Process: Some states & municipalities
have rigid procurement rules
• Political Dimensions to Decisions
– That is not necessarily a bad thing
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Culture Clash
“The reasonable man adapts himself to
the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.”
-George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903) "Maxims for
Revolutionists“ Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)
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Culture Clash- Part II
Cities
• Slow moving
• Formal & Legalistic
• Bureaucratic (for a
reason)
Non Profits
• Quick on their feet
• In-formal
• An aversion to
bureaucracy and very
little regulation
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Common Misconceptions
City
• Non-profits are
dangerous
• Non-profits understand
the bureaucracy
• Non-profits are not
sophisticated
Non-Profit
• Doing good means never
to having to say you are
sorry
• Cities are looking to
dominate relationships
with non-profits
• City agencies have tons
of $$ available
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Solving the Clash
City
• Highlight effective ways to
work with the city (workshops
etc.)
• Have a means in place to
move beyond the usual
suspects (do not work with
same non-profits all the time)
• Help non-profits navigate the
bureaucracy
Non-Profit
• Positive Dialogue (do not just
show up when you need
something)
• Provide information to city
agencies on what you do and
the results
• Share the success
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Solving the Clash
• Cities are now standardizing the
collaborative process– Many have meetings (often poorly attended) on how
to work with the city
– There are forms (cities love forms)
http://www.springfieldcityhall.com/finance/grants.0.html
– There are community meetings
– Creating of an ombudsman type position both
officially and unofficially
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Best Ways to Partner
• City Agencies– Always looking for partners
– Recognize non-profits partners are
vital; especially in current economy
– Wary of always being asked to pay
for things
– But have lots of non-cash resources
to offer
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Best Ways to Partner
• Non Profits• Match mission with city priorities and
agencies
• Meet with appropriate department
early and often
• Share information with the city
regularly
• Be available at city sponsored events
• Respond to requests for help/aid
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Takeaways
• Cities and non-profits need one another
• Non-profits must do better highlighting
themselves as a better partner
• Cities must do a better job cutting red tape
• Credibility Cycle
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Contact Info
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