Services
Building and capital grants
Capital grants pay to build, expand, renovate and equip the buildings your programs run in. They ask for more than most grants: plans, cost estimates, proof of the money you bring and control of the site. We help you put those in place and write the application.
What capital grants usually ask for.
- Site control: a deed in your organization's name, or a long-term lease.
- Plans and drawings from an architect, at the design stage the program asks for.
- Professional cost estimates for every part of the project.
- Your share of the cost (a match), committed and documented.
- State registrations, finished before you apply. In New York, nonprofits prequalify in the Statewide Financial System.
How we help.
- Check whether your project and your building fit the program, before you spend on it.
- Work through the program's checklist with you: site control, drawings, estimates and the money in place.
- Write the application and assemble every attachment.
- After an award: the reimbursement requests, the records and the reports.
Paid back after you spend. Many capital grants reimburse costs you have already paid. We help you plan the cash flow before you apply.
Common questions.
Can a grant pay to buy a building?
It depends on the program. Some capital programs, NY BRICKS among them, do not pay to buy land or a building. We check each program's rules before you apply.
Do we need drawings before we apply?
For many capital programs, yes: they ask for plans at a set design stage, and some score them. Starting with an architect early often decides whether you can apply this round.
We rent our building. Can we still apply?
Often, if the lease is long enough. Programs set a minimum lease term (NY BRICKS asks for at least 10 years from the day you apply) and usually want the landlord's written permission.
Planning to build, expand or renovate?
Tell us about the project, the building and the money in place. We'll tell you which programs fit and what to put in place first.
Also: Grant writing · Security grants · Managing an award · SFS prequalification (NY)