Morovision Night Vision: 5 Easy Steps for Getting Grant Money

In today’s tough economic time, it’s hard getting the right tools and materials for your Law Enforcement agency. And with budgets being continuously cut, a hard job is progressively getting tougher. Financial issues leave many departments under-equipped, under-staffed, and over-exerted.

Grants can help provide mission-critical tools and resources for your agency. The money received from grants can be used to hire new officers, pay overtime, or even purchase new equipment like night vision devices.

Here are 5 steps to help you not only finding grant money, but get it.

1. Plan and Decide

When it comes to grants, the first step for you to make is to identify your needs and/or wants. What will benefit your agency? What will benefit your city? What will keep your officers safe? Thinking through questions like these will allow you to pinpoint what your agency is lacking and begin formulating your “case” for the grant proposal.

2. Find a Grant

There are billions of dollars of grant money up for grabs every year – all you have to do is find it. Remember that grants come in all shapes and sizes and can be offered not only by the government, but by private companies too. At the bottom of this post, check out the list of resources that provide grants to Law Enforcement agencies for various items.

3. Write the Grant

Writing the grant is one of the hardest parts of the process. Be sure that you are effectively expressing a NEED based on a PROBLEM that can be FIXED or SOLVED with the grant. It is also important to keep in mind that you are being clear and concise. A decoratively embellished, ‘pretty’ sounding grant proposal may seem more professional and formal, but statistics, evidence, and showing a need carry more merit than an ornamental vocabulary. Regardless if you are awarded the grant or not, save the proposal for reference in the future; you may be able to tweak it and resubmit next year.

4. Spend the Money

Spending grant money can feel like a shopping spree, but it’s important to follow the regulations and restrictions of the grant – don’t spend training funds on a new patrol car. Also, make sure you spend ALL of the money to ensure you will get more in the future. This doesn’t mean waste the grant money; it means that your agency should be resourceful with what you’ve been given by putting it to good use. While you spend the money, document everything.

5. Grant Report

Depending on which grant you have been awarded, you may need to report your expenditures. This will provide the funder with information on how and when you allocated the resources. Be detailed and include how the funding has helped your agency.