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On behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is accepting Part I Applications for new projects under the State of Michigan’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Downtown Infrastructure Grant (DIG) program. The CDBG DIG program is designed to assist communities seeking to improve their downtown district infrastructure quality. Entitlement Communities are not eligible for DIG funding. This program is restricted to providing public infrastructure improvement funding for Low and Moderate Income Communities and Project Areas with projects that are located in a traditional downtown. Grant requests must be at least $30,000 and cannot exceed $750,000. The total amount of grant funds available for the DIG program is $4,000,000. Due to funding limitations, only one submission per community is allowed.

The project will be required to be completed by December 31, 2014. If a project’s timing cannot accommodate this requirement, an application should not be submitted. This will be strictly enforced and extensions will not be allowed. Administration costs will not be eligible as CDBG funding, but will be allowed as match funded activities. The capacity of the Unit of General Local Government (UGLG) to administer the project will also be taken into consideration. Here are some project examples.

Key elements:

10% local match
Minimum request amount: $30,000; Maximum request amount: $750,000
On low-mod list with a traditional downtown
Property owned by local unit of government
Includes maintenance plan

Evaluation criteria:

Local match
Leverage funding from other sources
No other open grants
Square footage of public space being improved
Existing downtown development plan?
DDA area?
Redevelopment Ready Community?
Meets existing capital improvements plan?

WAM/Glassen Educational Grant Criteria

Each applicant may request up to $500 in support. The application deadline is December 5, 2009. All applicants will be notified if they are or are not recipients of an award no later than January 30, 2010. Awardees will receive their funds at the Awards Luncheon on Sunday during the Michigan Wildflower Conference at the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State University campus.

A submitted proposal must contain a completed application form, a statement of goals, summary of the project, a detailed description of the project (pictures of the proposed site and a site plan are required if applicable), a budget which includes amount requested and in kind donations if applicable, a description or actual copy of publicity, and letters of support from the target community (i.e. school principal, school superintendent, town or city manager, parks commission chair person etc.).

If the project involves a school, the project description should clearly state how it would be utilized to satisfy State mandated curriculums at their appropriate age/class level.
The proposal should state how the project would be maintained or sustained beyond the initial development period.

The total proposal should be limited to no more than 8 pages, not including plan, pictures and letters of support.

Proposals will principally be assessed as to their impact on educating Michiganders (particularly youth), adherence to the Mission of the Wildflower Association, and the overall feasibility of the project.

Applicants may request no more than $500 for project support. Monies received may be used for site preparation, seeding or planting the site with species of native origin, and for continuing site maintenance and care; or for the enhancement of an existing site with species of native origin. No travel or salaries may be charged to the grant. No overhead monies may be charged to the grant. An accounting of all monies must accompany the final report of the project.
A written progress report of the work done in the spring and fall of the year in which the grant was awarded that includes pictures of that progress is required of all grant recipients. This should be submitted no later than December 1st of that same year to the WAM Grants Coordinator.

A second and final report of the project, with a plant inventory, observations of educational successes, copies of publicity, pictures and a detailed accounting summary of all monies expended, should be submitted to the WAM Grants Coordinator by June 1st of the following year.

All publicity generated for and received by the project must acknowledge the Harold and Jean Glassen Memorial Foundation and the Wildflower Association of Michigan; and if applicable how the project helped to fulfill State mandated curriculums.

Please include a self-addressed stamped postal card with the title of the proposal and the name of the applicant. This will be used to acknowledge receipt of the application form.

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