Local government managers can consider three critical indicators when factoring competitive grants into local budgets:

• Professional development line items have been either decreased or deleted for one or more fiscal years
• Rising cost of equipment repair and replacement is eating at available budget dollars
• Residents are disgruntled over the state of public recreation facilities.

I know this seems like I’m preaching to the choir, but sometimes to save time and effort, an easier route is taken by just filling out the forms for formula grants—guaranteed funding based on a head count allocation—while the pursuit of additional private-sector funding falls by the wayside. Simply accepting that a fiscal-year budget will always be in a deficit is also a fatal mistake.

Here are some ideas on how you can be creative and free up general funds for more critical needs by pursuing competitive private sector grants. Always keep in mind that once such grants start rolling in, they may not be comingled with your general fund account, and clear audit trails are necessary for all types of incoming funds.

1. Your unit of government can no longer afford to approve staff requests for professional development training, and spending caps are hurting staff morale.

Did you know that there are corporate and foundation grantmakers that will fund professional development grant requests? Remember, the requests must be reasonable, justified, have limited high-end travel expenses (no flying to France for an international meeting or staying at five-star resorts for a conference), and be submitted at least six to nine months in advance of the training date.

You can also use a grant research database like Foundation Center, GrantStation, or eCivis Grants Network:Research to identify private-sector funders. Subscription-based databases like these can assist you in targeting grants relevant to project needs by using keywords, other filters, and e-mail alerts to automate your search and save time.

Private sector funding sources to target include community foundations and insurance foundations. You can also look up community foundations in your state and region at the community foundation locator website at http://www.cof.org/community-foundation-locator. This way, you already know the name of the potential funder to search in one of the subscription databases.

Why use a database when you know the name of the funder? Because each of these subscription services has detailed profiles of funders that reduce your general Internet search time and frustration when you can’t locate the right information.

2. Your equipment is outdated, and maintenance costs are soaring. It would actually be more cost-effective to purchase replacement items; however, there are simply no available dollars.

Vital law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services, as well as other equipment, are often big-ticket items. As with professional development needs, you can tap into private-sector grants from corporate and foundation grantmakers to fund such necessary equipment as fire vehicles, ambulances, protective gear, vehicle-based telecommunication devices, and more.

Two examples of private sector funders supporting fire departments are the Firefighters Support Foundation and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. These kinds of sources can help you find grants that provide for new equipment.

Whether or not you’re using a grant research database to conduct a search, you can set up automated e-mail notifications for specific search terms through your subscription service or through Google Alerts. These alerts will notify you when there’s a match with your term in the database or in Google, so you can save time running manual searches.

3. Your community’s parks and recreation department has been at the bottom of budgeting priorities for so long that you can’t remember the last time any improvements were made. Community gardening, sports, and conservation groups have stepped up to pick up trash, pull weeds, and repaint waste receptacles.

Some common budget line items for parks and recreation that can be isolated and included in private-sector funding requests are waste receptacles, interpretive signage, resurfacing of park areas, and interpretive guides who lead park visitors through historical areas and explain their relevance to history, culture, and the community. Consider contracting with senior residents to work as guides and paying them a small stipend.

Such special events as celebrations for volunteers are also eligible for funding. The best way to get started is to review your community’s wish lists for parks and recreation needs and then look at line-item expenses for the current year and following year.

What are some smaller (under $25,000) expenses that could be directed at private sector grantmakers like community foundations, boating and fishing foundations, and recreation equipment corporate grantmakers?

In these tight times, it only makes sense to explore all possibilities.