The Wyoming Grants Management Initiative is one of many priorities that Governor Gordon has dedicated time and interest to and has tasked the State Budget Department to champion this effort by establishing the very first, centralized, Grants Management Office within the State of Wyoming.  The office will be housed within the State Budget Department and will support the analysis, planning, implementation, evaluation, writing of grant applications to meet federal deadlines, and assist in the facilitation of grants management (pre- and post-award) associated reporting.  Additionally, this office has been established to help state departments and local governments secure funding under the Infrastructure Investment Job Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the CHIPS and Science Act.

The intent of the Grants Management Office is to fully support the Governor's Initiative and our state in developing the necessary federal grant writing and management abilities over the next several years to structure and enhance our overall knowledge within the boundaries of Wyoming. 

To succeed, we must first expand our capabilities in searching for, identifying, and prioritizing Wyoming specific grant opportunities. The creation and continual evolution of the Wyoming Grants Connect Hub (featured below) is a time saver as some federal grant opportunities only have an open window of 30 days to apply. 

Furthermore, and looking forward to our future, we know this tool may not always be available which brings us to the next Grants Management Office goal: building a knowledge base and developing tools to help state and local personnel search, evaluate, identify, and pursue grant opportunities in the future. Some local governments and departments lack capacity due to staffing issues while others simply do not have experience with federal awards or how they need to be operated. 

The creation of a foundational framework that can easily be applied or tailored to another grant program is a deliverable that we are seeking to establish for local governments. This will help our state and local communities identify gaps in their current operations and help them build the strength, resources, and connections to our state enterprise that they may need to utilize over the next several years to be successful. Training and meetings will be held, as needed, with any local community or state department to help them accomplish their goals. 

Lastly, for everyone to have ultimate success and for the Grants Management Office to fully uphold our fiduciary responsibility to the public, local governments, and state departments we will be implementing performance metrics that showcase our states progress through the number of grants applied for, grants received, total dollar amount awarded, and the dispersion of grants services to and among agencies and entities.

The Grants Management Office serves the constituents of Wyoming as part of our public duty. Our goal is to identify the needs of our communities (or assist them in that process) and match those needs with available and appropriate sources of federal funding. This office was established to assist those who are involved in grant management efforts complete the necessary requirements from start to finish, cradle to grave, in an attempt to reduce audit findings and risk while increasing their skills and abilities to successfully manage these funds. 

Our stakeholders are the community leaders at the local, county, and state level. We are here to listen and respect the voices of our communities, value the considerations and contributions those communities and leaders make to the State of Wyoming as a whole, and assist them in securing dollars to continue those efforts for future generations that will benefit from them.

Wyoming communities are one of the state's greatest assets and the Grant Management Office is here to strengthen them and help everyone endure the influx of available federal funds.

GMO FAQs 

The Grants Management Initiative is one of many priorities that Governor Gordon has dedicated time and interest to and has tasked the State Budget Department to lead this effort by establishing the Grants Management Office (GMO) to assist state and local governments with securing federal dollars under the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the CHIPS and Science Act.

The goals of the Grants Management Office (GMO) are to:

I. Identify and pursue federal resources to support State of Wyoming priorities, with a focus on Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the CHIPS and Science Act.

II. Provide technical assistance to local governments, non-profits, and small businesses across the state to support the full range of activities associated with grants management, including the pursuit of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the CHIPS and Science Act.

III. Build lasting capacity at the State and within local government communities to plan for, pursue, secure, execute, and manage grants.

The Grants Management Office (GMO) supports Wyoming local governments and communities through a broad range of grants management activities across the grant lifecycle, including needs identification and planning, project scoping, funding opportunity identification, stakeholder coordination, grant application development, and post-award grant management support. Activity areas of the GMO include: 

• The creation of the Wyoming Grants Connect Hub to help users find available Federal and State funding opportunities. 

• Supporting local governments in identifying and applying for federal grant funding and managing federal grant awards.

• Supporting local governments in the construction of grant applications to State-administered grant programs

• Supporting State Agencies in their efforts to distribute grant funds to Local Governments and Communities.

  • The intent of the GMO is to assist our State Agencies in their grant programs and reduce capacity burdens.

  • The GMO is not taking over the administration of State Agency Programs, these will continue to be housed and managed through each State Agency.

• Technical assistance and training for local communities through the Wyoming Grant Assistance Program (WYGAP).

The Grants Management Office (GMO) serves the constituents of Wyoming by providing grant management support to Wyoming State Agencies, local governments, tribal governments, nonprofits, and small businesses.

The Grants Management Office (GMO) will support Wyoming State Agencies by: 

• Supporting State agencies in identifying funding needs

• Identifying potential federal funding sources to meet strategic priorities

• Supporting the development of applications for federal funding opportunities

• Supporting agency capacity in implementing State-administered grant programs

  • More specifically, by assisting the local governments and communities in the construction of these applications to produce an eligible application, thus assisting and contributing to a more streamlined application review process by the State Agency.

The long-term impact of the Grants Management Initiative is to necessitate and build the knowledge, skills, and abilities to secure federal funds in the boundaries of Wyoming.

Local governments, non-profits, and small businesses can access technical assistance (TA) by submitting a technical assistance request through the Wyoming Grant Assistance Program (WYGAP) Technical Assistance (TA) Request Form. TA requests will be accepted on a rolling basis. You will receive a response to your request via email within 3 to 5 business days.

Information on upcoming and past webinars, office hours, and other training or networking opportunities can be found on the Wyoming Grant Assistance Program (WYGAP) Resources landing page.