Applying for a North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) standard or small grant may seem like a ton of work. We’re not here to tell you that it isn’t (because it IS a ton of work), but we will tell you how to make the process smoother for you and your partners. Here are our top tips for NAWCA success:

1. Assemble your team. Your team should be a mix of funding partners and specialists that you bring together at least three months before the deadline.
2. Review the rules. Everyone on your NAWCA team should be up to speed on the current application guidelines (they do change from time to time), especially if people are new to the process or they haven’t applied in a while.
3. Pick a leader. Delegate someone to set deadlines and communicate with the IWJV.
4. Get everyone to commit. Secure signed Partnership Contribution Statements for non-federal match BEFORE any grant proposal writing starts.
5. Sign Partnership Contribution Statements! We can’t stress this enough. Plus, these statements will have all of your numbers (dollars, acres) that you’ll need in the grant proposal.
6. Round down. Instead of 55.68 acres, write 55 acres. This will simplify your math and also make it easier to exceed your goals in the long run.
7. Get consensus. NAWCA is pass/fail. Having 25 partners set against 10 partners won’t help your score. It WILL complicate your life.
8. Lean on established partnerships. “Old match” is a lot easier to track than “new match” (which is basically a pledge).
9. Get a GIS Guru. Find someone on your team to complete maps and shapefiles.
10. Celebrate! Once you submit your grant, congratulate your team on tackling the mountain of work that is a NAWCA grant.