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at the time,” she said. “Te process went faster than the DOC’s became available.” A distributor supplied the district with a list of manufacturers and Cummins Emissions
Solutions was selected to provide the DOC’s. “(Our) primary manufacturer involvement is to provide technical information on
products to use in proposals,” said Terry Raupp, global distribution leader for Cummins. “Te Manufacturer Distribution Network will support customers with funding resource contacts. Cummins has connected major customers with large nonprofits such as the American Lung Association in order to apply for funding. We have also worked with customers to get access to emerging technology funds.”
THE PROCESS Springfield was a textbook example of how one school district approached the challenge
of meeting EPA guidelines using a third party. On the flip side, much of the grant application process for bus contractors is handled by the National School Transportation Association, which represents private contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. Te EPA does not award grants to private entities for retrofits or replacement buses unless they partner with a school district or a nonprofit agency associated with transportation or the environment. NSTA Grant Coordinator Robin Leeds said the association identifies EPA grant opportu-
nities by region, notifies its members in those regions of the opportunities and submits a single grant application on behalf of those members. When a grant is awarded, the money is distributed among the members in that region who submitted proposals. Since 2003, Leeds said NSTA has garnered more than $4.5 million in grants to fund member projects. “We are a conduit,” Leeds said. “We’ve been fortunate. We’ve gotten about one grant
a year that is distributed to all the contractors who applied in that region. In 2011 we got an award that was divided among the three companies that were interested. We manage the grant. NSTA is the grantee. We make sure everything is being followed and that we get the most for the EPA’s money.” Where retrofits are concerned, Leeds said NSTA sends out an RFP to all manufactur-
ers of NSTA certified equipment. “When the bids come in, we make the decision, based on price, location, convenience
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and time. We’re the ones that actually engage the equipment vendors. And we pay those vendors directly from the grant.”
MANUFACTURERS ASSIST THE END USERS Most grant-writing veterans know that it is a learned process that can be simple to
complex, but either way, attention to detail is key. Unless applying for a portion of the money allocated to a nonprofit, school districts must compete against the entire field. Te school district and the manufacturer stand to lose money. So as with Cummins, other manufacturers take an active role in the grant application process. Peter Bruenke, spokesperson for Hug Filtersystems, said an entire filter system is expen-
sive and that school districts need the grant money or they wouldn’t be able to comply. “We collaborate with school districts in getting the information together but not in
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the writing itself,” Bruenke said. “I’m not sure what others do.” Brade Edgar, president and CTO of Clēaire Advanced Emissions Control, said the
company does whatever it can to help school districts acquire the grant money. “Our dealers work with our end users, the school bus fleets themselves, and they apply
for grants. But we will provide assistance in applying for the grants,” Edgar said. “A lot of times these grants require you to know what equipment you are going to put on the buses. We will help out our customers and dealers any way we can.” Leeds said when NSTA began submitting grant applications in 2003, some went smoother
than others, but they kept getting better. “It was a learning process for all of us,” Leeds said. “In general, it has been a smooth process
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for us. Te EPA keeps changing and improving it. I have learned over the years what is likely to resonate with them and what works best for our members. We try to create a good experi- ence for our members where they are benefiting, the school districts are benefiting, students
60 School Transportation News Magazine July 2012
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