Have you ever heard: We awarded a grant. Oh boy! Free money!

Is it really free? Most of the grants I have been a part of always take a great deal of preparation and time, usually have matching funding requirements and direct you in ways which do not fulfill all of your needs. The result is spending more than you first anticipate.

Do not misunderstand. Grants are very favorable if you understand the system is far from perfect.

The good provides monies to help generate accomplishments for organizations and communities. This provides the impetus for projects, research and initiatives which would otherwise be prohibitive due to lack of funding. Often these grants can be the catalyst for additional job creation and beneficial development and can often create a synergistic long-term effect with significant savings to taxpayers.

Bad is once the grant is obtained, significant effort goes into reporting how the funds are being used and if the funds are being used precisely the way they were intended on a regimented schedule. If the grant, for example, is for a science project, then very little leeway might be insinuated for a tangent art project.

In addition, the grants available may push a community or entity in a particular direction which may not be the intended goal of the target. The matching funds may restrict the budgets needed for operation of the grantees’ on-going programs if funds are tight. Usually, they are, otherwise why apply for a grant?

Also, many of the grant programs are very competitive, resulting in a lot of effort with nothing to show for all of the work. Just because you received a grant this cycle, does not guarantee you will get another next time. In fact, my experience foretells most grantors wish to select new applicants, to spread the wealth around to others.

And the ugly: Grants run out. When this happens, have you finished your project or are you forced to use your own funds to complete?

Have you conformed to the intentions of the initial grant request or must you give all of the grant money back due to becoming too busy or distracted to fulfill the grant requirements?

Has planning allowed for monies to fund salaries to continue the maintenance of the project for the future years beyond the grant period?

Grants are great for lubricating the production of goals and projects and the good far outweighs the bad and the ugly as long as proper thought and planning is considered ahead of time. Woe to the organizations that apply for grants just because they are being offered.

Standard contributor Don Alexander can be contacted at dalexander@southernstandard.com