Clearly, financing these initiatives will be the largest challenge to the success of this plan. The intent of this planning exercise was to think ambitiously about what is needed to shape a brighter future for the county, but at the same time to be realistic. As such, some of the activities in the plan – such as forming Action Teams, enhancing communications and developing new leaders can be done relatively inexpensively – whereas other activities in the plan will require significant fundraising. Financially supporting the most ambitious projects and initiatives that emerged through the community engagement process will require a thoughtful and well-executed strategy.
Not all funds to support initiatives under Crawford: 20/20 Vision need or ought to be controlled by the initiative itself. Funding can be conceptualized in two ways: (1) pooled funds, or funds that Crawford: 20/20 Vision has discretionary control over, and (2) leveraged funds, or funds that remain under the control of other organizations but which are used to support some or all parts of the Crawford: 20/20 Vision initiatives.
The primary strategy will be to pursue funds from a variety of sources including private donors, foundations, state and federal grant programs, and local public funds. The pursuit of leveraged support is also highly important and necessary. Many of the projects in the plan will need their own individualized funding strategies. While funding may seem like a daunting challenge, there are many communities that have been successful in garnering funds to promote community and economic development. The difference between those communities that have received funding and those communities that have not, in many cases, was the willingness to identify funding opportunities and try!
Assembling funds will need to be pursued in a step-wise fashion – first, developing the internal capacity to pursue grant opportunities, followed by the actual pursuit of grants and then more sophisticated methods of assembling resources.