Innovative Grant Writer Shares Tips
This $1 million historic Galveston building was preserved in the summer of 2002 when firefighters quickly found a fast-moving fire on the third floor with a Bullard TI
Galveston, Texas (pop. 250,000) – Asst. Chief Jeff Smith of the Galveston (Texas) Fire Department is one of those fire officials who knows how to find a way to get what the department needs. After becoming convinced that his department needed thermal imagers, he took a grant writing class to learn all he could about writing successful grant applications.
“The class challenged me to think bigger than the fire service and to be creative,” Asst. Chief Smith said. “I started by looking at arts and culture in our community, knowing that historic preservation is a major issue in Galveston. We have over 15,000 historical registered buildings, more than any other city in Texas. I read up on 1800s building construction and began to understand the value and importance of historical preservation for Galveston.”
“The Arts and Culture community had already invested over $50 million in renovations of these old vacant buildings,” Asst. Chief Smith continued. “I reinforced the thermal imager purchase by stating the obvious: that they are now thriving businesses back on the tax rolls. It was fairly easy to justify the need for these cameras as an insurance policy.”
Asst. Chief Smith wrote a grant on behalf of The City of Galveston Fire Department, focusing on preserving and protecting historic Galveston property with thermal imagers. Department leaders gained the endorsement of the Galveston Historical Foundation by explaining the fact that hidden fires can quickly destroy historic buildings. With Asst. Chief Smith’s leadership, the department successfully applied to a local Arts and Culture granting foundation and received $20,000 in funding. Combined with funds donated by local businesses, the department was able to purchase two Bullard Thermal Imagers. The granting foundation was so impressed with the grant and the impact of the technology that its leaders invited the department to resubmit for additional cameras.
Asst. Chief Jeff Smith, Galveston Fire Department
Jeff’s Tips on Seeking Grants
- Learn everything you can about the targeted granting foundation. You MUST know their mission statement and how thermal imaging fits into it. If you can’t relate your project to the goals of the granting organization, it will not be funded.
- Be creative about how thermal imaging could have an impact in your community. Start by learning about the funding priorities of local foundations, and do your homework before you start writing. Here are some ideas:
1) Appeal to the historic society by emphasizing building preservation
2) Appeal to a health foundation by explaining the life-saving benefits of thermal imaging
3) Appeal to environmental groups by explaining the benefits of thermal imaging in hazardous materials incidents. (TIs can help identify the location of spilled material, allowing for more effective control and abatement of spills. Also, faster and more accurate fire attack can lead to less air pollution and less contaminated water run-off.)
- After you decide on the approach you’ll take, be sure to learn as much as possible about how thermal imaging might fit into the grant organization’s funding priorities. Base your justification on this, and back up your argument by using meaningful local statistics.
- Get formal endorsements from outside groups that can vouch for the value of thermal imaging. For example, Galveston Fire Department gained an endorsement from the Galveston Historical Preservation Fund, which was a key element to the success of this grant.
- Has there been a local incident that illustrates the need you are claiming? If so, tell the story in your grant application.
- Follow grant application requirements strictly. Meet with the foundation director in person to establish a relationship and request assistance. Granting staff members are willing to provide direction when asked because a properly completed grant application makes their jobs easier. You must also remember that all applications are not alike, so read them carefully.
- Be sure to include materials that provide a simple explanation of how thermal imagers work and how they fit into the work of firefighting. Do not assume that decision-makers understand your job or your language. Have someone who is not familiar with your terminology proofread your narrative. If he or she can’t understand it, neither will the granting foundation. A simple and straightforward narrative works best.
- Give your completed narrative to a competent proofreader who can identify grammar and style deficiencies. (Smith gave his narrative to a local English professor for final review.) Remember that the readers are business professionals who will recognize grammatical mistakes.
- Include an explanation of why the department’s normal funding channels are not available to purchase thermal imagers.
- Show decision-makers how thermal imagers work by inviting them to a technology demonstration. (Materials are available through the Bullard inSIGHT program provide guidance on managing demonstrations.)
- Show decision-makers how you intend to implement the technology in a responsible way with thorough training and the development of SOPs or SOGs.
- When you receive your grant, remember to show proper recognition to your sources and the people who helped you along the way. (Capt. Smith sent flowers to the foundation director.) Give credit to the foundation after any fire where the imagers are used.
Knowing that historic preservation is a major issue in Galveston, Asst. Chief Smith found a creative way to tap into a local granting organization. Consider the funding priorities of charitable groups in your community, and look for a creative way to reach them with your request.