Grant Services

KA provides full-service grant support—from needs assessments and opportunity research to application writing and post-award management. With over 30 years of experience and deep knowledge of federal and state priorities, KA helps shape competitive projects, build agency relationships, and secure funding. Let us be part of your grant success story.

  • Each grant notice of funding opportunity announcement (FOA) specifies the review criteria and considerations in the evaluation of applications submitted. KA will review your application and offer comments and editorial suggestions that will better align the grant narrative to the review criteria.  We will also identify sections of the narrative that require additional information and offer recommendations on where to obtain additional information. 

  • Grant issuing government agencies and foundations award grants to proposals that completely address the key elements of the FOA. Forms and project budgets must be completed and be well reasoned, and grant narratives must convincingly address selection criteria. During the grant writing process, KA will work with you to develop checklists and schedules so that we are organized to complete the application efficiently and comprehensively. We will draft the grant narrative and seek constant feedback and guidance. KA’s professionals have written successful grant proposals for most major federal agencies.

  • Grant Long Range Planning begins with identifying priorities and projects for which you will seek federal, state or foundation funding. KA has over 30 years’ experience working for and with local, state and federal agencies and we monitor daily grant FOAs released from state and federal agencies and foundations.  In addition, KA professionals have developed expert practice areas for several federal agencies including EPA, HUD, DOE, DOI, EDA, DOD, NOAA, NPS, DOT and the Department of Treasury.

    As part of Grant Long-Range Planning KA will complete a Needs Assessment of your priority projects and identify appropriate grant opportunities for which you can compete. This analysis will produce a Grant Funding Guide which will include relevant information on grant match requirements, an estimated timeline for release of funds, an assessment of the complexity and competitiveness of the grant program, and other program specific information required to prioritize funding opportunities. KA will then work with you to strategically develop your project proposal to ensure it comprehensively addresses grant eligibility criteria and is positioned to be highly competitive.

Environmental Consulting Services

Karl Kalbacher, PG, is a nationally recognized expert in Environmental Consulting and Brownfield Redevelopment, with over 30 years of experience. He guides public and private clients through property acquisition, cleanup, redevelopment, and complex regulatory and approval processes.

  • Federal agencies are required to assess the environmental effects on proposed actions prior to making decisions. The range of actions covered under NEPA is broad and includes permit applications, land management, and construction projects.  KA possesses decades of experience preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments and HUD Environmental Review Records for local governments seeking federal grant funds for construction projects.  

  • The Phase I ESA report is routinely prepared for a real estate holding. The report details potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities.

    The Phase I ESA is generally considered the first step in the environmental due diligence process. If a property is considered contaminated, a Phase II ESA may be conducted which entails sampling and laboratory testing of the soil, air, surface water, groundwater media and testing building materials such as asbestos tiles and insulation, mercury switches, and lead-based paint for hazardous substances.

    KA’s Karl Kalbacher was selected by EPA to participate in the Negotiated Rule Making that produced the All-Appropriate Inquiry regulation on the conduct of Phase I ESAs. He possesses extensive experience completing both Phase I and Phase II ESAs and offers consulting services to municipal and private sector clients engaged in Federal or State Superfund site investigations and remediations.

  • KA’s Karl Kalbacher has been a Professional Geologist since 1993.  He has prepared wellhead protection and groundwater recharge protection zones for state governments and has extensive experience leading groundwater supply and contamination investigations.

  • KA possesses extensive experience in solid and hazardous waste site management, investigation and remediation for public and private sector clients. KA’s experience includes managing over 500 hazardous substance release and nuclear waste site investigations and remediations in the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, New York, Florida, and North Carolina.

  • KA offers Expert Witness services for hazardous waste site disputes and land application of sludge cases.

  • KA possesses multiple decades of experience preparing human health risk assessments for Superfund and Brownfields sites. Risk Assessments are prepared in accordance with EPA’s Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund.

Economic Development Services

KA provides Economic Development Services to support business retention, growth, and entrepreneurship. Services include strategic planning, technical support for major projects, and drafting local tax incentive policies—offered independently or alongside grant applications.

  • KA offers to municipalities an Economic and Demographic Analysis Report which integrates current demographic conditions with an economic analysis of businesses and industries.  The report includes an Industry Cluster Analysis which determines the geographic concentration of interrelated competitive businesses with sufficient size to generate external economies. Industries that are part of clusters have developed buyer-supplier relationships, share labor pools, draw qualified workers from area institutions of higher education, and are located near each other.

    The EDA Report includes recommendations to support local economic development projects and initiatives and KA will also develop a list and description of viable state and federal grant funding opportunities that support economic development. 

  • KA possesses extensive experience preparing US DOT Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) reports for the BUILD, INFRA, CRISI, ROUTES, CARSI, SOGR, and PID grant programs. The BCA is a systematic process for identifying, quantifying, and comparing expected benefits and costs of a potential infrastructure project. The BCA provides estimates of the anticipated benefits that are expected to accrue from a project over a specified period and compares them to the anticipated costs of the project.

    Since 2018, KA personnel have worked with local governments to secure nine US DOT infrastructure grant awards totaling over $198 million.

  • The Comprehensive Land Use Plan, also known as a General Plan, Master Plan, or Land Use Plan is designed to guide the future actions of a community. It presents a vision for the future with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect a local government and community. The Comprehensive Plan includes guidance on how a local government may make decisions on public and private land development proposals, the expenditure of public funds, tax policy, tax incentives, cooperative efforts with other state and local governments, and issues of pressing concern.

    KA economic development services include preparing Comprehensive Land Use Plans for communities. The Comprehensive Plan document includes a complete socio-demographic analysis of your community and an analysis of current economic conditions and drivers. The Plan will also identify areas targeted for new development and redevelopment and offer recommendations on the development and management of physical growth to ensure adequate infrastructure and services are provided to achieve a common vision for the future.

  • KA helps governments consider the potential municipal net revenue benefits from land use plans and entitlements. Our fiscal impact models estimate tax and other public revenues generated from new development, as well as the cost of public services required to serve a new development.

  • KA will prepare both US DOT Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (“RRIF”) and the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (“TIFIA”) credit, and EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program applications. These programs provide credit assistance for qualified transportation or water projects of regional and national significance.

    Many large-scale, surface transportation projects - highway, transit, railroad, intermodal freight, and port access - are eligible for RRIF and TIFIA assistance. WIFIA will fund both Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act projects and enhanced energy efficiency projects, desalination, aquifer recharge, and water recycling projects.

  • KA is experienced at preparing HUD Consolidated Plans (CP) for local jurisdictions. The CP assesses a local government’s affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions. KA will prepare the CP report in compliance with HUD regulation and guidance for entitlement communities and include community derived data and place-based investment recommendations.

  • Example of a Wellhead Protection Area

  • Slit Spoon Rock Samples, Electric, Caliper, and Sonic Logs - Oak Ridge Federal Reservation, TN - Proposed Landfill for Low-Level Radioactive Waste

  • Bubble Chart - Industry Cluster Analysis Example. The bubbles displayed on the graph represent the relative size of each industry’s employment in a focus area.

  • US DOT Benefit Cost Analysis Excel Spreadsheet Example

  • Proposed Zoning Districts for the Town of Ashford, NY Comprehensive Land Use Plan

  • Harrisburg, PA 5-Year HUD Consolidated Plan

Questions before getting started? Get in touch.