What do a new park designed to withstand a hurricane, and revitalizing downtowns have in common? These visible community improvements are all made possible by grants, a common, but often underutilized, source of funding for many of our clients’ projects. With over $329 million secured for communities across the country, our Grants team knows how to source vital funding that helps communities thrive.
Some clients may hesitate to pursue grants because they aren’t familiar with the process involved, from knowing which grants are available to them and whether or not they qualify, to the complexities of submitting applications and managing awards. This makes the process cumbersome and time-consuming for anyone without extensive experience with the process, or without the time to devote to it.
Enter our Grants team. Kelsey Howard, Principal Associate and Senior Grant Manager has become a vital part of our clients’ relationships and projects. With over 14 years of experience, she has the knowledge needed to safely navigate clients through the grant procurement process. Learn more about Howard’s experience working with over 80 municipalities, counties, utility authorities, and others, and how she has secured millions for client projects.
Kimberly Herndon is our grant manager based in North Carolina with over 30 years of experience. Having previously worked for a city in North Carolina, she has a background in local government and is fluent in every side of the grants experience. Her Masters is in City & Regional Planning, and she shared, “I found out right away from working in planning that you can design all these great projects, but you can’t build them if you can’t pay for them.”
Partnership and Collaboration
Our Grants department’s focus is on unlocking funds that enable clients to bring their goals to life. They get to know the priorities of the communities their clients serve and monitor a large database for grants coming up in the next few months related to those priorities.
“It’s a fast-paced job. We are often asked what’s next by our clients, so our team does a great job of putting together a grant forecast and a grant outlook,” explained Howard. “By starting the process early, we partner with clients to fast-track their Capital Improvement Projects. Understanding community priorities means we can spot those funding opportunities ahead of time and have clients prepared.”
“Yes,” agreed Herndon. “We’re a flexible team and we will do everything we can to meet the needs of the client, but the sooner we get started on application preparation, the better off they are.”
Although many local governments and government councils might have in-house grant staff, the Colliers Engineering & Design team can help supplement their staff and increase their capacity in very busy times or as needed. We can also provide specific expertise. For example, if their internal team doesn’t have experience with a specific grant like North Carolina’s Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, or a drinking water infrastructure program, we can come in and provide application assistance for a specific funding source.
Comprehensive Services
Whether you are in the Carolinas or anywhere else in the country, our comprehensive grants team can partner with other departments and disciplines to provide the best service and experience for you.
Newport, North Carolina, discovered that their wells were contaminated with polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are a complex group of synthetic ‘forever’ chemicals. As they’ve been widely used in products since about the 1950s, this problem is not unique to Newport. Experienced with these types of projects, our experts knew that they could secure a grant for half the money by providing proof through testing that their current water source is contaminated.
“They were also eligible for principal forgiveness on the half that was going to be a loan,” Herndon explained. “Our team prepared a successful application for over $2M, and the town will end up having the project paid for, which is a game changer for a very small community with tight budget constraints.” The Colliers Engineering & Design team will also provide the required engineering services to replace the contaminated wells.
Disaster Recovery
When disaster strikes, governments are faced with important challenges: taking care of the impacted people, repairing infrastructure, and creating a plan to prevent repeated issues going forward. Often, this involves working with FEMA and state and local Emergency Preparedness Offices. Our team is well-versed in these types of grants, especially in the southeast region. We help communities secure the funding they need to rebuild and be better prepared for whatever comes next.
Improving Communities
At the end of the day, projects using grant funding usually aim to improve communities. Economic development projects do just that since they can help to restore, revitalize, and improve quality of life in communities of all sizes. There are a lot of opportunities in North Carolina for these projects. For example, our clients can receive grants from the Department of Commerce to support certification of available industrial sites and increase the likelihood of selection and economic investment. Grants unleash money for communities to invest in projects like the extension of water and sewer lines, rail access to connect to other parts of a city, redesign city centers, streetscapes, and more. Depending on the type of project, there is often opportunity to leverage multiple types of grant funds to support different project components.
Our team also has experience throughout the Carolinas with Parks and Recreation development. By targeting recreational funding, towns across the region can improve existing recreational sites, which become important parts of town culture and spirit when they are updated and revived. In the town of Beulaville, North Carolina, park improvements are currently under construction thanks to a collaboration between our Grants and Planning teams.
“Grants are often the bridge between a community’s vision and its reality. A town may have a beautifully designed park, a critical infrastructure upgrade, or an economic development plan ready to go, but without the right funding, those projects can sit on the shelf. Our role is to make sure that doesn’t happen,” explained Matthew Cyr, Geographic Discipline Leader of Colliers Project Leaders.
The Sky’s The Limit
The Grants team can’t reside in every state, but their projects can. The Grants team is experienced in providing funding assistance to clients all across the US. Whether it’s partnering with the Bridges and Structures group in Lansing, MI to help MDOT submit a $25 million grant application, or successfully securing funding in Arizona through BEAD for broadband infrastructure, they’ve proven that the sky’s the limit. Whether you are a state agency, a town, county, or any other entity, we look forward to working with you, regardless of where you are.
Ready to find out what funding your next project could employ?
- Contact Kimberly Herndon
- Contact Kelsey Howard
- Contact Municipal Discipline Leader Andrew Hipolit