It takes a lot of money to clean up the environment. Where does the money that we use to make all of the improvements that are needed in the watershed come from? It comes from many sources such as; dues, personal and business contributions, and grants. What are grants?
Grants are monies that are available from corporate foundations, organizations, and government agencies. Most grants have eligibility rules so an organization knows whether it can apply for a particular grant.
A grant application can take a lot of time to fill out. Many grant applications require some background information about the project that you are seeking funding for and all applications require a cost estimate.
SCWA has applied for and received many grants over the years and the monies received have gone toward the improvements accomplished to date. Currently, one of the most important grants the Association is applying for is the Rivers Conservation Grant. This program is funded by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) under their Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund Act 50 of 1993. This funding is allocated through the Keystone Grant Pro- gram for community parks, rails-to-trails, and rivers conservation projects. It is this last part, the Rivers Conservation Project, for which SCWA is applying. The official name of the grant is the Keystone Planning, Implementation & Technical Assistance (PITA) Grant Program - Rivers Conservation.
Why are we applying for this grant? The Pennsylvania Commonwealth believes that rivers and streams are a significant resource and many municipalities, organizations, and individuals are interested in conserving these resources and values. The Commonwealth hopes to foster the development of locally initiated river conservation plans which restore, maintain, or enhance the river resources; provide financial and technical assistance for local river conservation planning activities; establish a PA Rivers Conservation Registry to recognize rivers or river segments which have an approved Rivers Conservation Plan; and encourage state and local actions that are consistent with local river conservation plans. In a nutshell, there is money available from the DCNR and we meet the eligibility requirements. However,the grant application asks for a lot of information and the final product will be a document that is around 50 pages thick!
It is a good thing that there are grants available so that we can get the money to get the job done. But this one grant application alone requires the services of the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and an intern spending hours answering all of the questions in the application. Some of the components are:
After fulfilling the requirements of the application, we will submit it. When we get approved, the next stage is to hire a consultant who will research the watershed and identify,v areas with mine and sewage discharge points, agricultural land, new and old developments, storm water management items, natural areas, and historical sites. The consultant will hold several public meetings throughout the watershed in order for the citizens to understand the process and also to gain public input. Once the final draft of the plan is submitted to the DCNR, SCWA can petition them to put the Sewickley Creek watershed on a Rivers Conservation Registry which will then open up more available grant money.
Grant writing is a very long process that takes a lot of commitment from your board and members of SCWA, but the rewards (in dollar sense) can be great.
As such the Association shall use its resources to educate the citizens of the watershed as to sound environmental practices. In addition, the Association will seek out and cooperate with government agencies, interested organizations, businesses and individuals to implement programs to improve water quality and encourage proper land use.