Can Grant Applications be sent by fax? Yes, if you would like to fax the application, send it to the attention of Molly Donelan at 202/962-3603.

Where will the grantee meetings (Leadership and Professional Development Series) be held? The first grantee meeting will likely be held in either Washington, D.C. or Chicago. The second grantee meeting will be in a centrally located city with convenient access by airport. The third meeting will be in Washington, D.C.

Do travel expenses to the grantee meetings need to be included in the grant application budget? No. ICMA will cover all costs related to traveling to these meetings for two participants from each grantee team.

Does my community or do I need to be an ICMA member to apply for the grant? No. ICMA membership is not a requirement for the grant.

Who should participate in the grantee meetings? The highest appointed official/manager and the library director should participate in the grantee meetings.

What if my community does not have a chief administrative officer or city/county manager? Communities without a chief administrative officer or city/county manager are still eligible to apply for the grant. In this case, the highest appointed local government official or elected official must be involved in the development and implementation of the grant program and attend all three grantee meetings. This official should have broad oversight of the local government.

Who should write and submit the grant application? Grants must be submitted by the local government manager’s office, or the highest appointed local government official with broad oversight of the local government. However, either the office of the chief administrative officer or the public library can write the grant application forms, but the leadership of both organizations must be involved in the development of the proposed project. 

Do you have information, reports, or sample applications from previous grant programs? No. This is ICMA’s first public library grant program so we do not have information from previous grants.

Are grantees required to match the grant funds? No. Grantees are not required to match funding, but money or in-kind contributions that ensure the long term sustainability will be considered favorably in the grant review process.

Will there be future rounds of this grant program? ICMA only has funding for this current round of grants. We hope to continue and expand the program beyond this initial round, but cannot say at this time if funds will be available for additional rounds. 

We need a new library or renovations/additions to our library, will the grant fund these design and construction costs? No. The grant cannot be used for construction or renovations of the physical infrastructure of the library. 

Will there be a technical assistance call? No. We hope that your questions on the application can be answered in the guidelines and here.

If you have additional questions, contact Molly Donelan at ICMA, 202/962-3645 or mdonelan@icma.org.