Funding Calendar

Olsson Associates has highly-qualified staff members available to handle all of your grant-related activities.

Amber Lewis, an Olsson funding specialist, is a professional grant writer and a certified grant administrator who can provide your community with similar services. She has been involved in grant research, grant writing, grant administration, and grant performance for nearly ten years. During her career, Amber has secured competitive federal and state grant funding valued at more than $10 million and authored grant applications for more than 80 projects with a 90 percent success rate. Currently, Amber is administering Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) valued at more than $2 million.

Below is a calendar with critical due dates to help your community in their funding efforts. Please contact Amber Lewis at alewis@oaconsulting.com for additional information regarding funding services in your community.

Due 02.01.10 -- Deconstruction of Abandoned Buildings Application

Eligible applicants include Cities of The Second Class, Villages, and Counties with a population of 5,000 or less

Applications will be ranked in part on community need (NDEQ will calculate based on census data) and percentage of materials to be reused or recycled from the building. One written bid is required for the cost of normal demolition of the building. A second written bid is required for the cost to deconstruct the building by reusing or recycling as many components of the building as possible. All costs must be reasonable and directly related to deconstruction.

Funding Maximum/Match Required: A reimbursement will be made based on the percentage of materials reused or recycled through deconstruction as compared to the total material in the building. Disbursement of grant funds will be made at the completion of the project, based on the actual percentage of documented materials that are reused or recycled.

The Deconstruction of Abandoned Buildings program was created by LB 180 in 2009 as a part of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grants Program. For more information, visit http://www.deq.state.ne.us
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Due 02.03.10 -- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funding

Only cities and counties that did not receive direct Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) are eligible for this solicitation. The City/County contributes 20 percent of the cost and 80 percent is a grant, with a maximum of $250,000 per grant award. Only one application may be submitted per community.

Funding is targeted to be used for lighting, building improvements, and renewable projects. The objectives of this EECBG solicitation are to:

Increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and reduce energy costs through efficiency improvements in the building, transportation and other appropriate sectors;

Create new jobs and increase productivity to spur economic growth and community development;

Accelerate deployment of market-ready distributed renewable energy technologies, including wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, biomass and hydrogen technologies (if appropriate);

Improve air quality and related environmental and health indicators associated with the reduction of fossil fuel emissions;

Improve coordination of energy-related policies and programs across jurisdictional levels of governance and with other local and community level programs in order to maximize the impact of this program on long-term local priorities;

Increase security, resilience, and reliability of energy generation and transmission infrastructure;

Leverage the resources of federal, state and local governments, utilities and utility regulators, private sector and non-profit organizations to maximize the resulting energy, economic and environmental benefits; and

Use of innovative financial mechanisms that transform markets.

An estimated $8,634,150 is available for new grants. For more information, visit http://www.neo.ne.gov/grants/EECBG.htm
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Due 04.14.10 and 10.29.10 -- CDBG Planning Applications

Funds are awarded for certain types of planning activities:

Community strategic planning (examples: environmental scan, needs assessment, citizen participation, fiscal management)

Neighborhood, comprehensive, and strategic development plans

Analyses of impediments to fair housing choice

Functional or special studies for housing, infrastructure, economic development, land measures, central business district, energy conservation, and transportation

Environmental and historical preservation studies

Pre-engineering studies for publicly owned water/wastewater projects.

All project activities must meet one of two national objectives:
1) Document that at least 51 percent of the persons who would benefit from implementations of the plan are low and moderate-income (LMI) persons. Any such planning activity for an area or a community composed of persons of whom at least 51 percent are low and moderate-income shall be considered to meet this national objective. LMI documentation must be submitted with the application.
2) Activities that eliminate specific conditions that address slums and blight meet the national objective. Documentation is required in the application.

Maximum amount: $30,000 for a community or unincorporated county, $50,000 for multi-community, countywide, or regional projects.

Matching requirements: 25 percent match (minimum 12.5 percent non-CDBG cash contributions) of the total project activity costs (excluding general administration). General administrative activities require no matching funds. General administration shall not exceed seven percent of the CDBG funds awarded or $1,000; whichever is the greater amount. For more information, visit http://crd.neded.org/
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Due 04.14.10 -- CDBG Public Works Application

Community Development Block Grant - Public Works Category

In the Public Works priority, funds are awarded for community centers; senior centers exclusively for persons aged 62 and over; nonprofit centers for day care, primary health and mental health clinics; remodel shelter facilities for the homeless (excludes costs for operation); accredited public libraries; fire and/or rescue buildings, including fire trucks; removal of architectural barriers from city/village halls or county courthouses for accessibility; parks (a new facility/improvement or a quantifiable increase of an existing facility/improvement); water distribution and/or sewer collection; street, curb, gutter, sidewalk, or storm sewer; flood control and drainage; and tornado-safe shelters in manufactured home parks.

Maximum Grant: $350,000 for a community or county. The CDBG cost per beneficiary cannot exceed $2,000, except for day care where it cannot exceed $5,000.

All project activities must meet one of two national objectives:
1) Benefit low- and moderate-income persons; or
2) Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight.

All community development activities require a minimum of 25 percent match of the total activity costs (maximum 75 percent CDBG funds/minimum 25 percent non-CDBG funds or in-kind contributions).
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