New grant administrator reports $115,000 in applications submitted, outlines pipeline and compliance priorities

Joy Hine, Scotland County’s grant and compliance administrator, briefed the Board of Commissioners on July 7 about work completed in her first eight weeks. Hine said she has submitted nearly $115,000 in grant applications that, if funded, would support the sheriff’s office, Parks & Recreation and the library.

Hine described ongoing work to inventory existing county grants, understand reporting timelines and ensure compliance. She said the county is entering a seasonal lull for grant openings after the fiscal year rollover (county FY started July 1 and federal FY begins Oct. 1), but she expects a new wave of opportunities as state and federal agencies finalize budgets. Hine said she is building partnerships with statewide organizations that help rural counties secure funding and is creating a grant-calendar pipeline and listserv alerts to capture timely opportunities.

Commissioners asked about prioritization and long-term versus short-term grants; Hine said she coordinates with department heads to identify needs and that some grants require a local match or seed money. She cited an immediate application she planned to start that could fund a Lucas device for EMS and said the earliest award notifications on recent submissions are expected in early fall.

The board encouraged commissioners and department heads to forward potential grant leads to Hine to help the county prioritize and pursue opportunities.