Elizabeth has a rich background in grants and funding. Prior to employment with E.B. Howard Consulting, Elizabeth worked primarily in the municipal sector and wrote hundreds of grant proposals to state and federal agencies for everything from major infrastructure projects (water and sewer) to other public facilities, homeland security, environment, education, records management, community/economic development and historic preservation.
What Elizabeth enjoys most about working in the funding subject matter expertise industry is that there is always something new. Even if clients are working in the same industry on the same problems- whether it’s utilizing Artificial Intelligence, IoT, developing a software product or platform, creating a medical device, or solving a community or societal problem, everyone’s solution and approach are unique. Elizabeth especially enjoys working with the world’s problem solvers – the engineers, data scientists, software developers, social scientists, medical experts, educators, and too many more to list – who are working to advance their fields and the greater body of knowledge about so many different things.
When asked about a past project that was a lot of fun, Elizabeth recalled several municipal projects that stand out: “Municipal projects often require pictures to document the problem, so I’ve been to many interesting sites – parks, waterfronts, historic buildings, and some wet, muddy, undeveloped areas complete with waist-high brush and voracious mosquitoes. Probably the most fun was a commissioning ceremony for a new firefighting vehicle (funded by FEMA) where I got to ride in the vehicle. I declined a ride on the aerial, however. It turns out they are A LOT taller in real life. I stayed on solid ground and took pictures of everyone else. Other fun things include waiting weeks for a rainy day and then dashing out in torrential rain for that single perfect picture of a storm drain or flooded intersection. SBIR proposals don’t involve that same level of physical interaction, but they do lead to me reading through studies, clinical trials, and related literature, which is fun to me.”
Some of the projects that Elizabeth is most proud of include working with multiple agencies over several years and getting funding to solve a decades-long drainage problem for a small rural village, and grants that improved water quality or brought water to previously unserved areas. One of the first grants she ever wrote was a sewer project for a low/mod income area – that project will always be special to her.
Some advice Elizabeth has for grantseekers include: “If it’s in the budget, it has to be in the narrative, the importance of letters of support, and – I can’t stress enough how helpful this is – starting the SAM registration process early, even if you are not ready to apply.“
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.