LACO offers assistance with seeking, pursuing and managing grants and low interest loans. With the State of California and Federal Government continually setting aside funding for rural and disadvantaged communities and considering environmental justice when making funding decisions, it is more important than ever to understand how to identify the appropriate grant resources, craft a compelling responsive grant application, and navigate the post- award compliance process to amplify a project’s impact and bolster an organization’s resources.
In recent years, LACO has won tens of millions of dollars for our tribal, municipal, and special district clients through grant programs including the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF and DWSRF), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, including the CDBG-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire) Fire Prevention Grant Program (FPGP), Department of Water Resources (DWR) Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program, DWR Small Community Drought Relief Program, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Facilities Grant Program, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Project Homekey Program, HCD Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Program, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CALOES) Prepare California Jumpstart Program, California Electric Commission (CEC) Rural Electric Vehicle (REV) Charging Program, US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CalICH) Tribal Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program, California Transportation Commission (CTC) Local Partnership Program (LPP), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Watershed and Delta Ecosystem Restoration program. LACO’s grant writing team is experienced in obtaining grants and loans for various project types including drinking water, wastewater, water quality, water supply, water conservation, energy efficiency, flood management, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, wildfire mitigation, and transportation and community facilities.
As a multi-disciplinary firm, LACO’s grant writers have access to technical experts ranging from licensed civil engineers to AICP-certified planners to licensed hydrogeologists, allowing us to effectively assist with design, cost estimating, technical reports, drawings, and permitting. In consultation with our talented and diverse team of technical experts, we are well-equipped to support our clients in developing project budgets and schedules, determining the necessary permitting and environmental compliance pathway for a project, and ensuring that they have the funding resources they need to successfully implement even the most ambitious projects. This depth of knowledge and multi-faceted team allows us to create compelling grant applications that tell a story and clearly outline how the requested funds will be used to achieve both the applicant’s and the funding organization’s goals and objectives.
Recent federal investments including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act have made federal grant resources available on a historic scale. Unfortunately, at LACO we know firsthand that many of the rural, underserved communities where we live and work have limited resources to provide community services, maintain vital infrastructure, and grow our economies and tackling complex federal grant programs can stretch staff capacity beyond its limits. LACO is here to help you understand where to focus your funding pursuit, help you develop competitive application materials, and establish best practices for effective grant management and implementation post-award.
