In the world of grants, the most strategic proposal often gets the pot of gold. Winning school districts do their homework for grant writing: researching, recruiting a team and building a persuasive case to “bring home the bacon.”

There are numerous ways to achieve this. Some grant proposals are presented by a large constituent group. School districts hire consultants to do the work for them. Other school districts try their luck alone.

In any case, the key to success is showing grant-providing organizations that you will spend their money wisely to reach a common goal.

Grassroots Grant Quest
Community Education Director John Zappala really needed money for his Okemos, Mich., Public School district programs, ranging from kids summer camps to environmental initiatives. Neither his administrators nor his city could provide the necessary cash, so he got creative.

By luck, Zappala neighbored knowledgeable environmental executives who live within this suburban school district of Lansing, the state’s capital. With guidance and determination, Zappala proposed a multi-organization effort to attract scarce grant money for 110 state school districts, including his own. Through persuasion, his team won a number of grants and matching funds totaling nearly $400,000 to install emission reducing devices on 450 buses.

“We had more power in numbers. Many of the districts would have struggled on their own,” said Zappala.

He recruited support from lawmakers, state agencies, technology vendors and statewide school representatives. Today, he has a strong network that systematically seeks grant money, distributes resources, trains people through statewide workshops and installs school bus emission reduction devices.

The effort was so effective that Clean School Bus USA now showcases this Michigan effort as a best-practice case study for attracting grant money.

Professionals on Your Side
For a price, consultants and technology companies offer grant-funding assistance to school districts. Many school groups find success in this model, but companies ultimately want schools to use grant money to purchase their own emission reduction devices. For example, Instrument Sales and Service (ISS) informs school districts about diesel retrofit technology and funding from local, regional or metropolitan organizations. The company also steps in to assist in the grant process and provide letters of commitment to secure grant funding.

“It (grant process) can be overwhelming, and many don’t know what’s out there,” said Kurt Van Portfliet, ISS regional sales manager. “We help them understand how to maximize their efforts in getting that money.”

As one of its biggest successes, ISS helped 16 school districts in Colorado achieve money, products and resources to retrofit nearly 900 school buses. The company now seeks to win grant money for other schools in Idaho, Colorado, Ohio, Washington and Oregon.

Some non-profit organizations offer assistance to school districts, but often for a price. For instance, Safe Havens International Inc., helps districts target homeland security technology and crisis planning grants.

“It takes a lot of knowledge and months of work to get grants, and we help them through the process,” said Safe Havens Consultant Sonayia (Sony) Sheperd, who helps nationwide clients.

In addition to finding and writing grants, the non-profit group offers paid seminars, books, visual presentations, as well as free web information on security topics.

Going at it Alone
School districts should consider a few things before either hiring a grant writer or attempting to secure grant money by themselves.

They should invest time into their own research and preparation. Before hiring a grant writer, make sure to define the problem and reason for grant money, develop a project mission statement, and research organizations that offer grant money matching your project.

Special interest groups, such as the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF), offer free advice on finding air quality grants. The group was scheduled this spring to launch a do-it-yourself Web guide on applying for grant money.

“There are several things to know. If you’re a private group, you have to build a partnership with a public group. If you know details like this, you can find a way to get money,” said Dawn Fenton, DTF technical and policy program manager.

When writing a grant proposal, Fenton also recommends making a compelling case with mandatory or additional matching funds. The bigger the match, the better the chances, she explained.

Before hiring grant writers, know what they do. Typically, a good grant writer will dig deep to learn more about a project before matching it with grant sources. The grant writer builds a strategy, and then compiles, writes and edits all applications. Grant writers also review project budgets and make recommendations for presentations to grant-making organizations.

Some grant writers provide the value-added task of following up with grant-making organizations to offer additional supportive material, as decisions are being made. The best writers provide the client with progress reports throughout the entire grant review process.

The best grant writing services and consultants are in high demand, and their fees can run thousands of dollars. Most are paid hourly (ranging from a high of $200 an hour all the way down to $25 per hour), whether or not the grant money is awarded. If you go this route, be prepared to pay the grant writer from operating expenses, because grant money shouldn’t be used to pay consultants.

Where’s the Money?
School transportation grant money typically comes from non-profit, state and federal organizations. Big seed money comes from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program and Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality improvement program (CMAQ). In addition, there are a growing number of state emission reduction programs, especially in California, Texas and North Carolina.

At $1.7 billion, the CMAQ money pot is substantial, but the program goes far beyond diesel retrofits. The program is aimed at cities with poor air quality, and the money is typically granted to metropolitan organizations for public transit systems, traffic lights timing and car pool lanes. However, local groups with a strategic approach toward grant writing could convince metropolitan groups to provide some of these funds for school transportation. And they need to closely follow a variety of requirements that differ across the nation.

“Folks looking for CMAQ funds must realize that each state department of transportation (DOT) decides how funds will be allocated within that state,” said Sarah Siwek, a transportation and environmental consultant. “Then, within each State, each MPO (municipal purchasing organization) may have a different process for soliciting applications, criteria for choosing projects, different local matching requirements, and so on. So, it can get pretty complicated and labor intensive to track down CMAQ opportunities.”

For 2007, Congress appropriated $7 million for diesel retrofits through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program. The demand far outweighs the supply, so grant writers need to know their audience and their goals.

“An attractive proposal for funding assistance follows the guidance outlined in the Request for Proposals (RFP),” said Jim Blubaugh, manager of the EPA National Clean Diesel Campaign. “Since the competition is fierce for this limited funding, addressing each of the RFP evaluation criteria is critical.”

The Transportation Security Administration offers grant money for transportation security initiatives, including facility security enhancements, vehicle security, EMS coordination and training. While not exclusively for school transportation, grant writers could propose a portion of funding be used in a matrix including schools. Security grants range from $100,000 for a small community to $500,000 for large ones.
Overall, less funding is expected for the future, as lawmakers grapple on the next federal budget. Lobbyists are now approaching the President and Congress to restock the grant banks, but they say restoring half of the funding would be a success.

In the near future, there will be a gap between new emission-efficient bus fleets and older ones, so funding is still required, according to a Washington lobbyist who specializes in air quality funding.