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(9) <br />Disadvantaged Communities <br />Proposal to Provide Water, Sewer, and Public Works Grant Writing Services <br />Many funding opportunities allocate a certain percentage of <br />the funding to projects benefiting DACs and therefore, it is <br />imperative that the need and applicability is effectively <br />demonstrated. For example, grants funded by the <br />Department of Water Resources have historically allocated a <br />percentage of the funding to benefit the DACs. Claiming <br />benefits to DACs requires documentation and substantiation <br />of meaningful benefits, as well as explanation of the <br />methodology used for assuring accomplishment of those <br />benefits. This identification must be based on geographic, <br />socioeconomic, public health, and environmental hazard <br />criteria (Health and Safety Code Section 37911). <br />Demonstration of low-eaming jobs in <br />cities of San Bernardino and <br />Red/ands fora successfu/award of <br />more than $9.2 million <br />ESS is acutely familiar with researching geographic equity and the degree to which the City's <br />DACs would benefit from a project. ESS will work with the City staff to identify projects in these <br />communities and highlight the benefits in order to win the grant funding. <br />✓ A successful application for San Bernardino County Transportation Authority <br />demonstrated 41 DACs in the area. <br />Support Letters <br />Often, this aspect of a grant application is given only cursory attention and proves to be <br />invaluable. At ESS, these potentially undervalued areas are key endorsements that ESS crafts <br />in close cooperation with clients. ESS will recommend stakeholders to contact and will draft <br />focus points that align with key ideas in the narrative and grant criteria so that support letters <br />send strong, targeted messages. <br />Grant Application Review and Approval Process <br />For every project, ESS will assign a QA/QC manager, which is an important factor of a <br />successful grant application. We will use our internal grant checklist to ensure the application <br />package is ready for submittal. This process will follow the WPS and an internal guide for <br />editorial quality. <br />To ensure grant applications are completed efficiently, ESS will arrange a meeting with the City <br />Project Manager to answer questions, finalize budget, and schedule concerns and to further <br />align the project with the grant goals and objectives. All final grant application packages will be <br />submitted to the City for review and approval prior to submittal to the granting agency. <br />Deliverable(s): <br />• Final grant application package for submittal <br />• Status report on grant applications submitted <br />Technology <br />Many funding agencies have online grant submittal and management tools, including the DWR <br />Bond Management System (BMS), California DWR's Grants Review and Tracking System <br />(GranTS), the State Water Resources Control Board's Financial Assistance Application <br />Submittal Tool (FAAST), and the federal government's www.grants.gov website and the online <br />submittal platforms for IRWM, BOR and some parks grants. <br />OVA <br />