Kansas launches Grant Assistance Program to reimburse small towns for professional grant writing

The Build Kansas Fund’s Grant Assistance Program went live Feb. 19 and will reimburse small cities and counties for the cost of hiring professional grant writers and for grant administration, a staff presenter told the advisory committee.

Kevin Veil, Build Kansas Fund staff, said the program targets Kansas jurisdictions that face three common hurdles: limited technical knowledge of federal grant programs, inability to meet large local match requirements, and lack of capacity to write competitive grant applications. Veil said the fund will address the match hurdle by making Build Kansas Fund dollars available to supply required local matches where appropriate.

The program will initially be limited to cities with populations under 10,000 and counties under 50,000, Veil said. The program is budgeted at $500,000 in the Build Kansas Fund’s operational budget through the end of the current fiscal year. Veil said because the program only just started, there were no reimbursements to report yet but staff had received positive feedback online.

Veil also highlighted a statewide outreach schedule tied to the program: a monthly webinar series on the first Wednesday of the month (January’s webinar had 72 attendees; February had 85), an infrastructure summit scheduled for April 23 in Lindsborg, and planned peer exchanges. The state hopes for at least 200 attendees at the April summit, Veil said. Staff said the webinars and summit will include presentations by state agencies about available grant programs and grant-writing strategies.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about eligibility and match expectations during the presentation. Staff said they will continue to refine guidance and that program materials will be posted on the Build Kansas Fund web portal.