Getting Started with Grants

Project funding is a major concern for many communities and institutions around the country. Counties, towns, cities, colleges and universities are all regularly tasked with securing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in grants each year to carry out important planning, design and construction projects.

With a limited amount of funding to go around, the competition for obtaining this additional capital is steep. Furthermore, the grant application process can be arduous and grant writing can be challenging work even in the best of times.

Fortunately, this cumbersome task does not have to be a “go it alone” process.

As part of our core in-house, multi-disciplinary services, the team members at CPL routinely help navigate the grant application process, putting clients in touch with the right funding resources, and successfully obtaining grants from a variety of State and Federal sources.

Over the years, we have helped clients acquire additional capital through grants to match up to 75 percent of their total project costs. In 2019 alone, we were successful in getting millions in grant dollars for several different municipalities throughout New York State (and beyond) to put towards a variety of critical projects.

More specifically, we recently helped obtain grants for the following projects:

• National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY
• Town of North Harmony, NY Water Study
• Town of Ripley, NY Sewer Replacement
• Town of Evans, NY Sturgeon Point Marina Repair and Shoreline Stabilization project
• Niagara Falls, NY Water Board Water Main Replacement and Sewer Overflow Abatement program
• Village of Elba, NY Wastewater Plant Disinfection Study
• Village of Corfu, NY Wastewater project
• Livingston County, NY Public Market

During these unprecedented times, many municipalities have had to alter budgets to compensate for a significant decrease in sales tax and other revenue sources. This reality clearly illustrates a strong need for outside funding to fill the gap. Having good foresight, proper planning and the right team in place is more important now than ever before.

CPL is current with the latest grant programs and continually seeks out creative solutions to bridge the funding gap. We are strategically positioned to help our clients identify potential “shovel-ready” projects, prepare competitive grant applications, and assist in the administration of funded projects.

With funding amounts and directives changing from year to year, landing grants can feel like an overwhelming, ‘pie-in-the-sky’ dream. The best first step is to start a conversation to identify funding options for a potential project(s). CPL plays the matchmaker and prepares the application so that each community has the best possible chance to benefit from outside funding.

Feel free to reach out to the CPL team today to have a preliminary discussion on how we can help you navigate through this critical process.