ADO Grant Writer Program
The Associate Development Organization (ADO) Grant Writer Program is designed to provide eligible ADOs with grants to recruit, hire, and retain professional grant writers in order to identify, apply for, and secure grant funds for economic development purposes.
A total of $500,000 in funding will be awarded in Fiscal Year 2025 and priority is given to ADOs in distressed areas and to ADOs applying for federal funds.
Solicitation of grant applications will commence August 16, 2024. Applications must be submitted no later than 9:00 pm, September 30, 2024. The activities and deliverables outlined in a successful grant application must be completed by June 30, 2025.
- Associate Development Organization Grant Program for Grant Writers is codified in RCW 43.330.088
- County-designated ADOs are defined in RCW 43.330.080
- Distressed areas are defined in RCW 43.168.020
*Commerce has the discretion to negotiate dollar amounts of approved awards.
Eligible Applicants
Only county-designated Associate Development Organizations may apply for these grants. Multiple ADOs may jointly apply if a shared grant writer would be preferred or grants are sought for projects crossing multiple ADO boundaries. If multiple ADOs plan to apply jointly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by all parties must be attached to the grant application. The MOU must outline which ADO will be the primary contractor with WA Commerce; responsible for submitting deliverables and invoicing Commerce.
Got a Question?
Terri Drexler
Program Manager
Phone: (564) 201-0242
Eligible Uses
Grant funds are to be used for costs associated with recruiting, hiring and retaining grant writers, payment of contracted grant writers and no more than 10% of total budget in administrative costs associated with these activities:
- Wages for grant writers hired on staff. Wage costs are limited to the period of performance outlined in the Commerce grant award contract.
- Free-lance grant writer costs. Awardees are authorized to contract grant writer services without utilizing a competitive process if the total contract for services does not exceed $30,000 or $40,000 if the contract is with a small business as defined in RCW 39.26.010 (22) or a certified Veteran-owned business. ADOs contracting for grant writer services over this amount must use a competitive process.
- Grant research and application may be performed on behalf of partner organizations served by the ADO including but not limited to local governments, workforce development councils, port districts, community and technical colleges and higher education institutions, export assistance providers, innovation partnership zones and other programs and partners that benefit community and economic interests.
- Grant management and reporting per the ADO Grant Writer Program requirements and/or other grant requirements for funds received by and for ADO use. This does not include management and reporting for grants written and received on behalf of partner organizations.
Reporting Requirements
To receive funds, each successful grantee must submit quarterly progress report to Commerce. A Final Report is due no later than July 7, 2025. Reports must be submitted on Commerce issued templates.
The report will contain activities, deliverables, and success in applying for and receiving grants. Narratives should include, where appropriate:
- The organization applying for grants
- Partnering entities in the application
- Type of grants applied for and funding agent
- Amount of funding applied for and proposed use of funds
- Grants awarded, including the amount
- Jobs to be created or retained
- Regions served. Grantees will provide an analysis of the potential benefits securing the grants will have on regions they serve
Review and Scoring Process
Applications will be reviewed and ranked based on the budget and quality of answers to the written questionnaire portion of the application.
The Review Committee will assign scores related to the proposed use of funds, how funds address needs, project readiness/management, and the overall budget. Scores will range from low (1-2) and medium (3-4) to high (5-6). Applications from Distressed Counties and applicants seeking federal funds will be given preference in the scoring rubric.
Key Dates
08/16/24 – Application Portal Open
08/15/24 – Pre-Submission Conference via Zoom
09/30/24 – Application Period Closed
10/28/24 Applications reviewed, applicants notified, work begins once contracts are signed and approved.
June 30, 2025 – Program complete. Final Report must be submitted
Application
Fill out the application as completely as possible. The ability to complete the stated scope of work by June 30, 2025 is important, since funds for Year 2 expire at this time.
To complete your application, you will need:
- A breakout of the proposed budget to give us a better of idea of how the funds will be spent. Budget must have separate line items for grant research, grant application preparation and stakeholder meetings (if applicable).
- Projects or services for which grant funds are sought and how those projects or services will impact your region.
- A list of key partners and their role in the listed projects or services.
office hours
M-F: 8am – 5pm
Address
2001 Sixth Ave., Suite 2600, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone
(206) 256-6100