Funding for water and wastewater projects can be confusing to navigate, and it is generally provided by a variety of agencies in each state. Some states have made an effort to consolidate funding entities and partner agencies to provide a singular point of contact for assistance to communities in their region. In this blog series, you will learn about some of the existing Water Advisory Committees in the country, what they are, who they bring together, how they operate, and what assistance they provide to their state. In this blog, we will give an overview of the Georgia Funders’ Forum.
What is it?
The Georgia Funders’ Forum, which is facilitated and convened by IB Environmental, provides an opportunity for agencies that fund water resource-related projects in Georgia to connect and collaborate on addressing the water, wastewater, and stormwater funding needs in the state. These funders include the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Environmental Protection Division, and several others. The goal of the Georgia Funders’ Forum is to create an environment where funders can work together to discover how to create more efficient and effective ways to distribute limited dollars for water, wastewater and stormwater projects in Georgia while also meeting, honoring and maintaining the integrity of their individual mandates.
Why was the Georgia Funders’ Forum created?
The Georgia Funders’ Forum was started in 2007 by Stacey Isaac Berahzer. Stacey is also the founder of IB Environmental and under her leadership, IB Environmental has established a long track record of financing water resource management in Georgia. Before the inception of the Georgia Funders’ Forum, there was not a well-established mechanism for funders to meet and learn about each other. If a funder could not help a system with a specific financing need, they would be unable to provide the system with other leads. As a result, many systems were left without any answers or alternative pathways. By creating relationships among the funders, the Forum provides systems with more information about other funding opportunities and has even helped facilitate a few co-funded projects.
Meeting
Georgia Funders’ Forum meetings are collaborative, informal gatherings, meant to foster an environment for funders to build relationships. Food is provided and shared at each meeting, and funders take turns hosting the quarterly meetings. Alternating the hosting agency during the year helps generate a culture of mutual engagement and encourages involvement from both on-site staff and agency leaders. With limited staff resources at some of these agencies, garnering this level of participation is only made possible by alternating hosts and locations. Because funders face common challenges, the Forum allows members to lean on their collective experience to solve problems. Members function as a support system and can help each other with common challenges and provide insight into their agencies, unique programs, and processes. This also helps members learn what worked for each other when pursuing new projects and developments in their organization. IB Environmental convenes the Forum meetings quarterly, usually in or near Atlanta, and the meetings are exclusive to funders. The Georgia Funders’ Forum convenes an annual workshop and webinars throughout the year to inform communities of funding opportunities and procedures, as well as provide technical training on topics such as rate setting and asset management.
How to receive assistance?
Systems in Georgia seeking assistance should first explore the “Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Funding Table” or “Septic Funding Table” found on the Georgia Funders’ Forum webpage to identify which funder may be most relevant to them, and can contact the funder directly. By contacting a Georgia Funder’s Forum member directly, a system can learn how to apply for funding. If that funder does not meet their needs, the funder can recommend another member of the Forum that may be more appropriate. Lastly, systems can connect with IB Environmental by subscribing to their newsletter or following them on social media here, where information on workshops and webinars will be provided as it becomes available.
Point of Contact for the Georgia Funders’ Forum
Stacey Isaac Berahzer
Phone: 770-509-3887
Email: stacey@ibenvironmental.com
Website: http://gafundersforum.org/
