‘CNMI does very well with ANA funds’

 According to Susan White, a Ka’anani’au technical specialist who helps lead workshops in grant-writing for the Administration for Native Americans, the CNMI has done” very well” in [grant] competitions over the past years.

“If you look at your population compared to the whole country, [the CNMI] should be getting one every three years, but you guys have always had at least one and frequently two grants out here per year,” she said.

She noted some cultural projects funded in the CNMI such as a book on medicinal plants written in the Chamorro and Carolinian languages, as well as a “traditional knowledge” project headed by the Public School System.

She also cited the children’s library on island as well a hydroponic project at San Vicente Elementary School.

White noted that there is no limit for awards given per region.

“You don’t compete per region, you compete with the whole country,” she said, adding that the CNMI does “extremely well” compared to the rest of the nation.

White recently concluded a three-day workshop in grant writing and project planning at the Northern Marianas College for organizations or individuals who want to avail of funding provided by ANA for community-based projects.

White encourages more of the community to join workshops like this.

“These are pretty significant dollars that you can apply for,” she added.

She said that grant-writing skills are learned as well—skills that can “open the door to different funding sources” to address problems on island.

Some of the attendees of the workshop were the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the CNMI Women’s Association, the Public School System, NMC Rota and NMC Tinian, the Office of the Mayor and some private individuals.

White described the three-day workshop as intensive as it prepares organizations to write 150-pages worth of detailed project planning, which includes plans for budget, personnel, facilities, and activities.

In regards to criteria, she said organizations are asked to show their long-range goals and how their project addresses needs.

“[The project] has to be tied into need,” she said, citing a community’s high-obesity rate or unemployment as examples.

An ANA comparison chart for described four programs: social and economic development strategies (SEDS); Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies (SEEDS); Language Preservation and Maintenance (Lang. P&M); and Language P&M – Esther Martinez Immersion (Lang. EMI).

SEDS funds programs for early childhood development, suicide prevention, and arts and culture, with 22 awards given with a ceiling of $400,000 and floor of $50,000 per budget period over one to three years.

SEEDS funds programs in agriculture or economic infrastructure, for example, with 15 awards given with a ceiling of $500,000 and floor of $100,000 per budget period for project periods lasting one to five years.

Lang P&M awards 10, with an average of $275,000 per budget period for one to three years, and Lang. EMI awards six with a $300,000 average period for three years.

White said deadlines for grants are in March, with most grants awarded on Oct. 1 except for the language programs.