State Budget Department launches program to increase access to federal grants

The Wyoming State Budget Department released Wyoming Grant Assistance Program on July 9. It is designed to help state agencies, local and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations and small businesses access federal grants.

Christine Emminger, senior budget analyst and WYGJOBsNews administrator, said she became aware of the difficulties local governments were facing after a efficiency study made in 2018.

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“What they identified is that we need to make sure that we’re focused on helping our local governments,” Emminger said. “Our local governments have a significant shortfall when it comes to capacity and capability to manage some of these federal grants, whether they’re coming directly from the federal government or from our state department programs.”

These struggles increased and intensified during the pandemic, when Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARE) Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (HARP) funds were made available.

“What we saw across both programs is that there was a very, very high need for grant writing and management services,” Emminger said.

Gov. Mark Gordon said he worked for two years with Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to respond to community requests for help accessing grant funds.

“Interest in these opportunities has been overwhelming and can be used to reduce the tax burden on the local community while improving services,” Gordon said in a written statement. “The Grants Management Initiative will help our local governments and small businesses succeed.”

Interested parties are invited to learn more during a Grants Management Office webinar on Friday, July 12 at 10 a.m. Register for the webinar here.

This report was made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports coverage of state government in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio have partnered to cover state issues both on-air and online.