Grants - The true cost of 'free money' With hundreds of grants available from dozens of sources, it's difficult to keep up to date on what's available and what makes sense for your organization. Grant funding can be an effective, and in many cases your only means, to implement your goals of increasing the level of service to the community.

While the promise of the monies from grant funding is appealing, you owe it to yourself to understand the true cost of receiving grant funds. The first step is to have a basic understanding of the overall grant process. The following provides a high level overview of a typical grant cycle. Assign a grant coordinator. This will require a significant amount of time from those involved. Coordinate with county or state-level agencies. Identify possible grant sources. This can be done with the help of the state-level coordinators, in-house or with contracted outside assistance. Define the need and develop the solution of what you want to do with the grant funds. This may require assistance from. Allocate the budget for the matching portion. Most grants require you to match a percentage of the grant funds awarded. Write the grant application. This can be done in-house or with contracted outside assistance. If you succeed in receiving a grant, the work has only started. Receive the grant Implement the solution Manage the grant. All grants require varying degrees of periodic reporting and accounting of your project and disbursement of funds. After the implementation you must meet the ongoing operational and maintenance costs of your project. Positron certainly recommends that customers explore grant funding if it makes sense for them. Positron is available to assist its customers in designing and applying for most grants. Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information. The following is a list of many grant sources available. This list is by no means complete and changes frequently. Agile-Interoperability Strategies for Public Safety    www.nlectc.org/agile/ Alternative Funding Guide    www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/publications/ APCO's Public Safety Foundation of America    www.psfa.us Bureau of Justice Assistance    www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/ Bureau of Justice Statistics    http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/funding.htm Department of Homeland Security    www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0355.xml Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog    www.cfda.gov Federal Government Grants    www.firstgov.gov Federal Register    fr.cos.com/Docs/aboutfr.shtml Foundation Center    fdncenter.org/funders/ Housing and Urban Development [HUD] Clearinghouse    www.hud.gov/grants/index.cfm Local Law Enforcement Block Grants    www.opm.state.ct.us/pdpd1/grants/llebg.htm National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information    www.acf.dhhs.gov/grants.html National Criminal Justice Reference Service    www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.html National Institute of Justice    www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm National Telecommunications and Information Administration    www.ntia.doc.gov Office of Justice Programs-Information Technology Initiatives    it.ojp.gov Office of Management and Budget-Grants Management    www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/ Office for Victims of Crime    www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/fund/welcome.html OJP Funidng Opportunities    www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm PSWN Program search for "funding"    www.pswn.gov/libmain.cfm Rural Access to Emergency Devices (RAED) Grant Program    www.apcointl.org/frequency/DEPARTMENTOFHEALTHANDHUMANSERVICES.htm U.S. DOJ Response Center    www.cops.usdoj.gov U.S. Fire Administration    www.usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/grants/ U.S. Government Printing Office    www.access.gpo.gov