2011-04 April Issue_OR

OR State EditionThe FundBook

April 2011

Helping communities find the federal funding they need.

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

In getting ready to launch the Oregon section for Fundbook, I looked on my computer. Virtually all information is available online today, so I

started thinking about primary sources of informa-tion for writing about grants for local governments and nonprofits in Oregon. I’ll be reading these and picking out items of interest, doing some analysis and talking to people behind the scenes to gather information for this column. Then I thought, why not provide the information to you, the reader di-rectly? You may have particular interests and needs that you want to move on quickly or read about in more depth.

Some of these will seem obvious, others may be new. I’ve included sources of current information as well as a few basic grants sites. These are mostly sites that I had bookmarked on my web browser. If you know of other good Oregon grant informa-tion sources, please e-mail them to me at: [email protected].

Lobbying and membership organizations:

Oregon League of Cities: Membership organization of city governments.http://www.orcities.org/

Association of Oregon Counties: Membership organi-zation of county governments. http://www.aocweb.org/aoc/default.aspx

Oregon School Boards Association: Membership or-ganization of local school boards.http://www.osba.org/

Associated Oregon Industries: One of the two big statewide business lobbies.http://www.aoi.org/

Oregon Business Association: The other big statewide business lobby. http://www.oba-online.org/

Oregon AFL-CIO: Oregon’s largest labor organiza-tion.http://www.oraflcio.org/

Oregon Environmental Council: Oregon’s oldest and

maybe biggest local environmental organization.http://www.oeconline.org/

Oregon League of Conservation Voters and OLCV Education Fund: Environmental lobbyists and elec-toral activists. http://www.olcv.org/ http://www.olcveducationfund.org/

Oregon Government:

Oregon Legislature Bills & Laws: What’s happening in the Legislature. You can search by topic or bill number, see today’s legislative calendar, check legis-lative history or see staff writeups. It’s organized by bill number, so it takes a little work. http://www.leg.state.or.us/bills_laws/

Oregon.gov: The central website for state govern-ment.http://www.oregon.gov/

Oregon Blue Book: The official state directory and fact book. http://bluebook.state.or.us/

Oregon Administrative Rules: The OAR’s are state directives and regulations that sets policy for all state agencies. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/rules.htm

Oregon Revised Statutes: The laws of the State of Or-egon, online. http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/

Local Government Audits: The Secretary of State’s online archives of audits of local governments, going back to 2004.http://egov.sos.state.or.us/muni/public.do

Federal Grant Information:

Grants.gov: Grants.gov is becoming the central infor-mation and application gateway for federal grants. It is replacing the Federal Register as a source of current RFP application. Virtually all federal grant applica-tions have to be submitted electronically today. The online application process has been upgraded from horrid to OK, and is steadily improving. If you’re not registered and think you might want to get federal grants, register NOW. It can take days and doeswn’t cost or commit you to anything.

The View from Oregon State

www.fundbook.org April �011 | The Fundbook - OR ~ p.�

http://www.grants.gov/

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: The CFDA is the listing of all federal grant programs, whether currently funded or not. This is where you get back-ground info, names of contacts, name & number of underlying legislation.https://www.cfda.gov/

Census Bureau: The definitive source state and local data. You can get quick information from American FactFinder or dig deep into the datasets (you may need a good geek to help interpret.) Or you can contact the Population Research Center at Portland State for help (it may cost). http://www.census.gov/ http://www.pdx.edu/prc/

Research and Publications:

Oregon Program Evaluators Network: If you’re writ-ing a federal grant that requires evaluation (for ex-ample “at least 15% of the budget must be spent on evaluation”), you want to involve your evaluator as early as possible. OPEN is a membership organization of professional evaluators. Look at their Member Di-rectory and search by city or areas of interest. If you don’t find one nearby (they tend to be in larger cities), try the closest University.http://www.oregoneval.org/

The Lund Report: This private online publication covers healthcare issues in Oregon. http://www.thelundreport.org/

BlueOregon: Information about state politics & bud-get with a liberal slant.http://www.blueoregon.com/

Oregon Center for Public Policy: Based in Silverton, OCPP has a liberal bias but does solid research you can use in grant needs statements. http://www.ocpp.org/ §

This article was contributed by Michael Wells of Grants Northwest. Grants Northwest is very knowledgable of the grants and funding territory in OR and works with local governments and non-profits on grants-related services there.

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

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



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

AgencyDepartment of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

DeadlineNot soon: Dec 3, 2010

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program


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





Cleanup Revolving

Loan Fund Programs

Assess-

ment Cleanup Programs


Amount AvailableMedium: $29,500,000




Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants

Brownfields Assessment Grants


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

blic Work

s

Econ

omic A

djustm

ent A

ssis-

tance

Finding funding to enhance your

local government’s vehicle fleet

www.fundbook.org

p.14 ~ The Fundbook | October 2010

Get more in format ion or subscr ibe today by v i s i t ing www.fundbook.org or contacting our office at 202-681-FUND (3863)

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.

• A single local government’s subscription can be sent monthly to as many full-time staff as requested.

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.

2011-04 April Issue_OR

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