Federal dollars are critical for many small- and medium-sized towns throughout Texas. These cities often lean heavily on grant money as a source of funding. Securing those grants, however, is not always easy. Fortunately, there is a new initiative that provides an opportunity for smaller cities to get a boost when it comes to grant money.
Connecting towns with federal funding
The past few years have seen several difficult financial quarters for mid-sized municipalities. Federal funding is available to help cities recover financially and serve their local residents, but standing out amid a flood of other grant applications is very difficult.
To help prospective applicants, the National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have sponsored more than 30 new boot camps from the Local Infrastructure Hub, a nonprofit that assists municipalities and their leaders take advantage of funding opportunities. The Grant Infrastructure Boot Camp is available to cities with populations of 150,000 people or less. These boot camps offer tips and training in grant applications for a variety of funding. Examples of boot camps include:
- Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
- Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants
- Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grant Program
Participants can expect one-on-one coaching from a network of resources including policy experts, academics, municipal staff members and others. The boot camps are designed to provide accessible information that can directly help municipalities write successful federal grant applications.
A valuable tool for towns and cities
With the recently passed legislation to combat inflation, municipalities might soon feel less of a crunch in their budgets. Until then, though, it is good for Texas cities to have as many tools as possible to augment their budgets with federal grants. And even in times of financial prosperity, having the knowledge to create strong grant proposals can go a long way toward benefiting small- and mid-sized cities.
