Government grants need good community support to ensure success. Your federal grants agency wants to know the community is behind this project and their support is essential. If you want to receive free grants you must network in your community!

Once your proposal has a good outline, look for individuals or groups which your can raise support from in writing.

The type and quality of your community support is critical in the initial and secondary reviews. Never underestimate how much community support can influence your agency giving government grants. Many letters of support can be persuasive to getting your federal grants.

Do not overlook support form your local government agencies and public officials when trying to get free grants. Letters of endorsement detailing exact areas of your project. And their commitment are often requested as part of a proposal to your federal grants agency.

Several months may be required to develop letters of endorsement since something of value (e.g., buildings, staff, services) is sometimes negotiated between the parties involved.

Many agencies require, in writing, affiliation agreements (a mutual agreement to share services between agencies) and building space commitments prior to either federal grants approval or award.

A useful method of generating community support may be to hold meetings with city council members and the top decision makers in the community who would be concerned with the subject matter of the proposal.

The topic for discussion may include a questions into the merits of the government grants you are trying to get,

How to develop a contract of support for the proposal,

To produce data in support of the proposal,

Or come up with a strategy to create proposal support from a large number of community groups.

When it comes to getting federal grants, networking in your community is always a good idea. People in your community may have some great ideas for getting free grants. Getting government grants without them is going to be almost impossible!