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GRANT JUNKIE

Ask the Expert Department

Are You a Grant Junkie? How to Get Off the G-Train
By Todd S. Davis

Dear Todd:
My company spends an enormous amount of time, money and effort applying for subsidies to support our deals. While we have been relatively successful, it seems like we spend more time chasing grant funds than doing deals. Does this strategy make sense?
Mr. Grant E. “Desperately Seeking Funding”
Dear Grant E:
My first reaction to your question was, “What don’t you understand about free!?” However, upon deeper reflection, your inquiry is quite insightful. In fact, I have personally witnessed the tragic, downward spiral of numerous “grant junkies” whose lives become obsessed with the relentless pursuit of subsidies.
It all starts innocently enough. A friend at a political fundraiser hooks you up with an acquaintance at U.S. EPA who tells you about a $400,000 Brownfield Site Assessment grant. You submit a successful application. It’s like magic.
Next, bored with Site Assessment Grants alone, you move on to the harder stuff — $1 million in Revolving Loan Funds. After a while, you get satisfaction from nothing less than a $2 million HUD Brownfield Economic Develop- ment Initiative (BEDI) grant!
Eventually, addicted to alternative financing sources, a grant junkie’s entire existence becomes finding free money. They will submit literally hundreds of applications to their “funding sources” in search of their next “fix.” Ultimately, grant junkies will do just about anything just to get local match funding. As we all know, grant dependence is not just a problem in big cities. It is an addiction that has spread like wildfire to small cities, towns and villages in search of funding.
How can we break this vicious cycle of self-destructive behavior?

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