Cheshire County Grants Department
The County of Cheshire employs a full-time grants manager and full-time grants specialist who together oversee the fiscal and contractual obligations of most grants awarded to the County. The grants department monitors, reports, and in general manages all financial and contractual aspects of grant awards, as well as searches for grants and coordinates grant writing process.
Cheshire County Grants Department is not a grant-making agency. Its primary purpose is to manage grants the County receives and to apply for grants on behalf of County government.
Cheshire County recognizes that grants and other funding sources provide significant resources to enhance the county’s ability to provide services and activities not otherwise available with taxpayer money. The county grants department seeks grants for projects and programs that are determined by the commissioners to further core county functions or that provide for activities which are in the best interests of Cheshire County residents.
The department writes and manages most competitive grants that Cheshire County receives. It delivers incredible value by offsetting costs of county-provided services by fiscal sponsoring organizations who are expanding community services, and by creating and sustaining jobs. The department aims to bring in as much grant funding to the region as possible.
As time allows, and upon request, the grants manager assists municipalities and nonprofits who serve Cheshire County residents with technical assistance and grant writing instruction. Please send an email to the grants manager should you like to be notified when the next grant writing class registration opens and/or if you would like the grants manager to forward grant opportunities relevant to your organization.
Straight-Forward Grant Writing Course
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED and open July 8, 2025 for the next Straight-Forward Grant Writing Course to be presented on six Thursdays, August 28th to October 2nd, 2025; from 9:00am to 1:00pm, in-person at Cheshire County Hall. Applications are due AUGUST 1, 2025 at 5p. Please complete the online form here: https://co.cheshire.nh.us/grant-writing-course-registration-application/
In order to help increase the number of grants written and awarded to agencies that serve Cheshire County residents, the Cheshire County Grants Department presents a Grant Writing Course that is its own grant. In other words, it is not “free” and instead is “grant funded” and attendees must apply for a grant for in-kind tuition to this course.
Thursday, August 28th
- 9:00-10:45 Overview, complexity, and expectations
- 11:15-1:00 Goals, objectives, and activities
Thursday, September 4th
- 9:00-10:45 Logic model and work plan
- 11:15-1:00 Outputs, outcomes, and impacts
Thursday, September 11th
- 9:00-10:45 Evaluation
- 11:15-1:00 Problem statement
Thursday, September 18th
- 9:00-10:45 Sustainability
- 11:15-1:00 Organizational capability
Thursday, September 25th
- 9:00-10:45 Budget inclusion items
- 11:15-1:00 Budget calculations and justifications
Thursday, October 2nd
- 9:00-10:45 Readiness & searching
- 11:15-1:00 Application types & alignment
Each topic includes a warmup interactive group activity, then a lecture with a physical respite in the middle, and suggested homework/activities to practice grant writing. There will be a 30-minute refreshment and networking break between topics.
Cheshire County Grants Manager Suzanne Bansley will present this course. She has been working in the grants field for 13 years and is a certified grant professional with an MBA in Managing for Sustainability and a bachelor’s degree specializing in finance. Suzanne has a flare for government grants and quirky enjoyment of budgets. She has written 119 awarded grants to date totaling more than $32 million dollars.
This course doesn’t cost money, but is also not free. Before the first day, students will execute an In-Kind Grant Agreement asserting their understanding and acceptance of the Grant Course Grant Agreement Terms and Conditions, which include meeting eligibility conditions, attending all the classes, and certifying they will complete the grant writing process for at least one grant within six months.
Eligibility:
- Work for a Cheshire County serving nonprofit or municipality organization (whether an employee or volunteer);
- One person per nonprofit or two per municipality, more if seats are available 1 week prior;
- Be tasked with (or volunteer for) writing a grant for your organization;
- Be of novice or beginner level;
- Not have attended the previous grant writing course offered by Cheshire County (unless class isn’t full within 1 week prior to start);
- Be able to attend all classes;
- Participate in class interactions;
- Write a grant during the course (submission is optional);
- Give feedback during the course and at the end.
Selection Criteria/Priorities:
- Municipalities are preferred and will be given priority over applicants representing other organizations.
- Applicants must demonstrate high certainty for perfect attendance.
- Applicants must demonstrate high probability for being able to complete an entire grant writing process with priority for students more likely to have a result of an application submission.
- Applications with lowest levels of experience and training in grant writing will be given priority over applications with more experience and/or training.
Timeline:
Successful applications selected to be enrolled in the course will be notified by August 7, 2025 and will have until August 14, 2025 to accept the “in-kind grant” enrollment to the Cheshire County Grant Writing Course.
Accessibility:
If you require any accommodations to fully participate in this workshop, please contact Suzanne Bansley at sbansley@co.cheshire.nh.us or 603-355-3023 before registering.
Refresher for Former Students:
Also new, former students are welcome to attend one class during this course should they like a refresher on any topic. Space is limited. Please email sbansley@co.cheshire.nh.us in advance if you would like to attend and provide the name of the topic(s) of interest.
Summary:
This course will help guide you through the very basics of grant writing and expand your ability to write a competitive grant for a Cheshire County nonprofit. By the end of this course, you should be able to search for a grant, identify if it is feasible, determine if the project is competitive, write a narrative proposal, and assemble a budget. With very limited grant funding being available, the more skilled Cheshire County potential grantees are, the more funds will flow into the county to benefit everyone.
Application:
https://co.cheshire.nh.us/grant-writing-course-registration-application/
Feedback Forms (for students):
https://co.cheshire.nh.us/grant-class-feedback-forms/
