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City reports $22 million in awarded grants for 2024; officials cite active pursuit of federal infrastructure and stormwater funds
Summary
City staff told commissioners Fort Lauderdale applied for 50 grants in 2024 and received 38 awards totaling about $22 million, including public safety and park/stormwater grants. Staff said they actively pursue federal infrastructure programs and hire grant writers and lobbyists to improve competitiveness.
City grant managers on Wednesday summarized the city’s 2024 grant activity and described current strategies to pursue federal infrastructure and stormwater funding.
Yvette Matthews, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, said city departments applied for 50 grants in 2024 totaling roughly $132 million in requests; 38 awards have been announced so far, totaling about $22 million. Tamika McGibbon and colleagues highlighted major awarded grants: an education enrichment award of about $704,000, roughly $3.2 million in combined grants for renovations at Cooley’s Landing from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Inland Navigation District and Broward County, a COPS grant of $750,000 to support hiring sworn officers and a SAFER grant announced in October totaling $11.4 million to support adding firefighters.
Why it matters: Grants supplement general-fund services and allow the city to pursue targeted initiatives such as stormwater improvements, public safety hires and park renovations without full general‑fund support.
Staff described a proactive strategy: a grants calendar, subscriptions to grant-search services, use of outside grant writers for large applications and coordination with the city’s legislative affairs and lobbyist teams when pursuing federal awards. Daphne (legislative affairs) said the city uses both national lobbying firms and the city’s legislative team to raise the profile of larger applications in Washington.
Commissioners asked how the city compares with peer municipalities in award volume and whether staff were effectively tapping federal infrastructure programs. Staff said Fort Lauderdale “stacks up very well” with peers on awards and that the city has active applications in bridge and stormwater programs; they noted many federal awards are announced months after applications and that debriefs are used to refine future applications.
Ending: Staff said they will continue to engage grant writers, refine application competitiveness and brief the commission on debrief results for major federal applications.
