Article
Grant strategies: Planning, execution and compliance
Nov. 15, 2025 · Authored by Brooke Opel
In today’s rapidly evolving economic landscape, communities and organizations across the United States are seeking innovative ways to fund critical public infrastructure and economic development projects. With inflationary pressures, supply chain issues, regulatory and permitting delays, inflation, and economic challenges, and high interest rates, local governments and organizations are increasingly turning to grants — federal, state and local — as vital sources of capital.
Grants have long served as a cornerstone of public sector funding, enabling organizations to undertake projects that might otherwise be out of reach financially. Whether it’s upgrading water infrastructure, modernizing the electrical grid or revitalizing downtown corridors, grants can provide the financial boost needed to achieve the goals in your capital or financial plans.
Successfully securing and managing a diverse grant portfolio; however, requires more than just filling out applications. It necessitates strategic planning, community engagement, assessing internal capacity, meeting compliance requirements, and sometimes a need for matching funds. It also requires a clear understanding of the rules and responsibilities that come with public dollars as well as an understanding of current federal and state priorities.
Local governments and public sector organizations can increase their chances of securing and successfully managing grants by
- Understanding current grant priorities
- Preparing for grants before writing applications
- Learning how to find and identify eligible grants
- Implementing strategic grant pursuits and
- Establishing compliance processes
Update on public sector grants
Federal, state and local policies impact grant funding priorities. In many cases, federal policy also influences state and local grant priorities because federal funding is often disbursed at the state and local levels. As a result, it’s important to stay apprised of any policy shifts, so you know which funding categories are receiving the most dollars and so you can develop a strategic pursuit strategy.
We are currently witnessing shifts in policy and funding priorities, which warrant a shift in pursuit strategy. During the 2026 federal fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026), new infrastructure legislation is anticipated, including four bills for water resource and development, surface transportation, FEMA/disaster assistance and affordable housing — that will likely result in an influx of new grant funding.
With this new funding, diversity and equity and climate change projects will be restricted, but not ineligible. There will be an increase in infrastructure, energy (nonrenewable) and border security grants with a focus on water, transportation and grid resilience projects. Implementation projects will be prioritized over planning projects. Education and workforce funding will shift from higher education to workforce development in manufacturing and trade industries.
Even though grant priorities are shifting, grants are not going away as viable funding mechanisms, and a flood of grant program announcements are expected once the new infrastructure legislation passes. To prepare, identify and assess your current projects and workforce development activities to determine what may fit current funding priorities and/or how you can modify your projects to better align with them.
Setting the foundation for effective grant pursuit
Before actively seeking grants, organizations must prepare themselves for successful grant pursuits by analyzing potential projects, developing a funding strategy and establishing administrative procedures. Several best practices can help communities navigate this process effectively, including:
- Engage the community first, not last. Successful grant applications begin with robust community engagement before you initiate your grant pursuit. By involving residents, businesses and local organizations in the planning process, communities can build public support, understand local needs and develop a prioritized project list. Two-way communication (e.g., town halls, virtual meetings, canvassing and social media) ensures diverse voices are heard and projects reflect genuine community priorities.
- Leverage your capital infrastructure or economic development project list. Once your community has established a list of infrastructure or economic development projects, use it as a foundation to identify community grant priorities. Remember, this list should remain flexible so it can be adjusted to meet popular funding areas and priorities once your organization begins looking for specific funding opportunities. At this point, it’s helpful to have an idea of general project scope and budget for every priority project identified because it will help you find the right funding program.
- Developing a funding strategy. Grants should be seen as a valuable funding source — but not the sole solution. Funding programs reserve the right to eliminate, pause or delay funding, which can delay projects or lead to unexpected costs. A diverse capital stack might include:
- General revenue and reserves
- Loans, tax credits and bonds
- Federal, state, county, philanthropic and corporate grants
This variety allows communities to leverage multiple funding sources, manage cost increases and keep projects moving forward even when delays in one funding area occur.
- Developing grant pursuit and compliance processes. Grant programs only accept applications for a short amount of time, usually giving organizations 30 to 90 days from the first date the program is announced to submit applications. As a result, it’s important to plan ahead and develop strong administrative grant pursuit and compliance standard operating procedures (SOPs) before writing applications. Some processes to establish include:
- Go/no-go decision-making processes to assess grant fit
- Grant pursuit and compliance roles, responsibilities and workflow
- Budget development and approval processes
- Process for monitoring grant requirements like reporting deadlines
Identifying and assessing grant opportunities
One of the most common challenges for communities is knowing where to source grants and how to determine project eligibility and competitiveness. Most federal grants can be found on grants.gov, the Federal Register, and individual agency websites or portals.
Nonfederal grants can be found on local government websites, state government grant portals to aid state-level searches, and private funding websites, all of which typically offer emailed newsletters. Some resources and technologies aim to consolidate federal, state, local and private funding announcements in one place, and some organizations provide similar tracking services.
Another strategy to identify grant opportunities includes building relationships with funding agencies. These agencies often provide webinars, FAQ and technical assistance to help communities access resources. Proactively building relationships with agency staff can provide early insights into funding cycles, eligibility requirements and strategies for submitting competitive proposals. It should also be noted that while some grants are only announced once, most grants are announced at regular intervals, often annually or bi-annually, so many programs can be anticipated based on when the last round was announced.
When a potential grant program has been identified, your organization should ask the following critical questions to help guide you through a go/no-go decision-making process:
- Is your organization eligible for funding, or will you need to partner with an eligible applicant to achieve your project?
- Do the grant objectives align with your organization’s strategic goals and objectives?
- Can you adapt your project to better align with program priorities and requirements?
- How much project planning have you completed, and is it sufficient to pursue the grant opportunity?
- Does the grant program require a cost share or match, and will operating costs need to be covered with organizational (non-grant) revenue?
- What plans are in place to sustain the project after grant funding expires?
As you work through the go/no-go decision, keep in mind that no grant program is a perfect match for any project. Projects often need to be adjusted, modified or combined with similar projects to make them eligible and competitive for grant funding. Grant programs always have their own priorities and typically want to see projects that will deliver tangible results such as planning documents, feasibility studies or construction.
Strategies for writing successful grant proposals
A grant proposal typically includes a persuasive written narrative section, project budget and supporting documents. All program and application requirements are outlined in guidance documents — often called a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), funding opportunity announcement (FOA) or request for proposal (RFP) — that must be followed to the letter. As you work though the required application documents, there are good grant-writing strategies you should implement to make your proposal stand out:
- Compile and communicate organizational accomplishments. A compelling grant application should highlight your organization or community’s track record of successful grant management, financial stability and the ability to deliver results. Funders want to invest in communities that demonstrate readiness and capacity. Strong applications typically include:
- Detailed budgets, staffing plans, timelines and performance metrics
- Clear identification of project locations, demographics and impacted communities
- Engagement with labor and community stakeholders
- A diverse capital stack and/or matching funds
- Commitments to workforce and community benefit agreements
- Job creation and quality metrics
- Alignment with federal, state and local policy goals
- Prioritization of local contractors, especially in disadvantaged areas
- Letters of support from community partners
- Include risk mitigation planning. Applications should also include strategies to address potential risks, such as delays, inflation or supply chain disruptions, to demonstrate project resilience. All projects have risks, and funding agencies expect to see detailed mitigation plans.
- Apply equity lens. Grant applications should reflect an equity lens, deliberately including all populations affected by the project. Using census data and organizational records, communities can demonstrate how projects will benefit underserved or unserved populations, if that is a program priority.
- Leverage qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data from federal and state agencies combined with qualitative insights from community outreach and surveys, strengthens the case for funding. Funders want to see evidence of need, impact and community support.
- Build an ecosystem model. Successful projects bring together a diverse coalition, including community organizations, elected officials, business leaders and other stakeholders. This ecosystem approach demonstrates broad commitment and increases the likelihood of grant success.
Establishing grant compliance best practice
Winning a grant is only the beginning. Organizations and communities must be prepared to manage funds, comply with the grant terms and conditions, meet reporting requirements and sustain projects after the grant period ends. This means:
- Assessing internal capacity to administer grants
- Hiring or partnering with experienced grant professionals
- Ensuring financial and operational internal controls are in place for tracking, reporting and auditing
- Planning for long-term sustainability beyond the grant’s expiration
Grant recipients must be intentional, proactive and ready to follow through if awarded funding. Transparency is essential for building trust with both funders and the community served by the project. Advisory councils, community agreements and open channels for feedback contribute to a culture of accountability.
Conclusion
Partnerships are increasingly vital to a successful grant funding strategy by combining the strengths and capital of multiple sectors. Public-private-philanthropic partnerships (sometimes called P3 or P4) can help close capital gaps, increase credibility and capacity, improve access to data and innovation and accelerate implementation and impact, all of which could result in stronger grant proposals.
Securing grant funding takes time and effort, but the payoff can be well worth it. Grants can provide public sector organizations with the necessary resources to achieve their goals and make a significant impact. Navigating the complex application and compliance processes can be challenging, but with the right support and guidance, you can increase your chances of success. Exploring available opportunities and seeking professional advice can make all the difference in turning your vision into reality.
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