Apply for LCA Grants

How do I register?

If you have never had an account in WebGrants before, register here. You don’t need to create a new account if you have had one in the past, even if you have changed roles or are working with a different organization. Just let the program officer know that you need your account updated and they will help you. Program officers can help check your registration information but cannot create a new account for users. 

• For applicant staff – send the program officer a list of everyone who is going to be working on the application before the project team registers. This will help the program officer quickly assign any new team members to the right WebGrants account.

How do I start an application?
Once you login you can search for different Funding Opportunities. Find the grant you want to apply for (example: LCDA Development 2021). You will then be able to start a new application.

Who is the applicant? Who is the grantee?
The applicant is the City, county, HRA/EDA, or Port Authority submitting the application. If you are awarded a grant, the grantee will be the same organization that submits the application.

I am working with a team. Who should be listed as the primary grantee?
The primary grantee should be the project manager from the government organization that is applying for the grant. The primary contact will be able to add others from the project team to the application as collaborators in the General Information section of the application.

How do I add collaborators to the application?
Anyone working on the grant will need to have an account in WebGrants and be connected to the same organization. The primary contact, who should be from the government organization applying, can add collaborators as additional contacts in the General Information section by selecting members of the project team in the drop-down menu under Additional Contacts. If you don’t see the person you are looking for, make sure they have registered. Check with the program officer to make sure they have been linked to the right account.

How do I edit the number of jobs or housing units?
You can change the number of jobs or housing units by clicking on the entry you want to change. After clicking on the number you want to change you will be taken back to the editing screen for that entry.

Can I save a section and come back?
No, WebGrants doesn’t save sections until they are complete. You don’t need to complete the entire application at once, but you do need to complete the section you are working on before saving and exiting.

The Project Data Profile mapping tool is available to help applicants gather information about the census tract their project is located in. Applicants can use this information to address scoring criteria that asks about community specific details.

LCA Project Data Profile Mapping Tool

(Shapefiles and tabular data for the tract information can be found here)

Reach out early. Talk with program officers early Program officers are available to talk with your project team at any point in the process before we start reviewing applications. We recommend you set a time to talk with the program officer about your proposed project and the application process.

Coordinate completing application sections. Decide early who will complete specific sections of the application and which team members have the information needed to answer the application questions. The program officer can send you a Word document with the narrative questions to help your team collaborate on the application

Complete sections. Be prepared to complete an entire section when you start it. You cannot save your application in the middle of completing a section, so information you enter into a section will be lost if you don’t complete the section. This is another good reason to work on questions in Word and only submit them into Webgrants when they are completed.

Send collaborators list to the program officer. Send a list of all application collaborators to the program officer early. When you know who will be working on the application, have the applicant contact (staff member from the city, county, or EDA/HRA) send the names and email addresses of everyone who will work on the application. We recommend two-three collaborators. Everyone will still need to register in WebGrants, but having a list early will make it easier for the program officer to approve registrations quickly.

Have a work plan. Talk about how the project team will work together if the grant is awarded. Make sure roles and responsibilities are clear (grant administration, award draws, project activities). Have shared understanding of the project timeline and how it aligns with the term of the grant. Most importantly, ensure a shared understanding of what expenses are eligible for reimbursement and who is responsible for providing draw request documentation.

Have a subrecipient agreement We recommend that the applicant has a subrecipient agreement in place with the developer. This will help the team agree on expectations and deliverables from the beginning. 

Find a variety of resources to help you best complete your application below.