What strategies exist for partnering on a funding opportunity when my municipality is not eligible to apply?

Understanding community needs and building and cultivating a network with mutual goals is an important aspect of fund seeking. Even when a municipality is not eligible for a funding opportunity, it can help advance community goals by sharing funding opportunities, collaborating with other fund seekers, and offering technical assistance and other needed support.

First, a municipality should confirm eligibility status with the funder. Sometimes, the funder may be aware of alternative funding avenues available to those who are otherwise ineligible and may be able to offer guidance regarding access to such opportunities. The funder may also be able to direct the city to eligible entities that have successfully received and administered funding in the past and that could serve as potential partners.

Successful partnerships rely on a municipality establishing strong rapport with eligible entities. This can be done by collaborating with potential partners such as regional planning councils, transportation planning organizations, economic development councils, chambers of commerce, community-based organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Often, boards and committees of these organizations will seek local government participation through one or more designated board positions. Because of this, municipalities should inquire about open roles and how to pursue an appointment.  Municipalities can consider which individuals in their respective organizations will be the best individual to serve. Some boards expect elected officials and/or executive level participation, while others may look for more technical expertise such as professionals specializing in engineering, utility, or finance.

As part of a comprehensive grant management strategy, a municipality must develop an inventory of critical community needs and match these needs to potential funding sources. Part of this exercise can include identifying potential partners whose goals align on a given topic.  Developing this understanding may require attendance at public meetings, informational Q&A sessions, council meetings and special sessions, or coordination with local planning forums. Participating in and planning events or meetings will further foster partnerships and communication, generally, and will help to establish a true understanding of community need. As a result, this will enhance cohesiveness in partnerships and help progress the network channels of communication. Investing the time and effort required to understand the community’s needs and engaging in regional planning efforts will ultimately help to facilitate multijurisdictional projects and partnerships.

Once relationships are established, municipalities should try to secure networking and maintain the lines of communication within regional partnerships and within known funded and prospective-funded initiatives. This is often accomplished through relationship building and establishing social capital by sharing opportunities with eligible entities. A municipality and its partners would benefit from conducting activities in collaboration with funded entities to support cohesiveness across programs, services, and infrastructure. This might include holding monthly meetings or assigning a designated contact through whom funded entities may communicate regularly with the municipality.

While a specific funding opportunity may provide a motivation of the initial development of this sort of relationship between a city and a potential partner, working to keep the relationship active beyond a single grant application could serve to advance the strategic goals of both the city and the partner. In particular, an ongoing relationship could serve as the basis for future efforts to braid funds from multiple sources in order to meet identified needs. 

Last Updated: July 8, 2022