Buncombe County committee outlines FY27 grants process, sets deadlines for applicants and reviewers

The Strategic Partnership Grants Committee for Buncombe County on an unspecified February meeting laid out how it will evaluate applications for fiscal year 2027 grants, including two funding tiers and a timeline for application submission and review.

Staff explained the program includes two distinct award tracks: Option 1 for one-time, non-operational grants of up to $10,000 and Option 2 for larger program or project grants of up to $85,000. "Option 1 is up to $10,000 for a one-time thing, not operational. Option 2 is up to $85,000 for something more of a program or a project," a staff member said during the presentation.

Why it matters: staff gave an illustrative allocation (ten $85,000 awards and fifteen $10,000 awards) that would total $1,000,000, the requested budget figure discussed as a planning benchmark. Committee members emphasized the need to prioritize project quality while retaining some flexibility to achieve balance across focus areas and geographies.

Key details and process

- Staffing and reviewers: staff will send the scoring tool and orient first-time reviewers. The committee discussed whether every reviewer should score every application for fairness or whether to split reviews by the two funding tracks to manage workload. Staff noted the scoring tool is the same for both tracks but that larger grants will be expected to provide more detailed reporting.

- Application counts and outreach: staff reported prior cycles had 73 and 78 applications; at the moment, 22 people had registered for grant-writing workshops, 20 groups had signed up for one-on-one consultations, and 13 draft applications contained dollar amounts (two for $10,000, seven requesting $85,000, and several intermediate requests).

- Strategic weighting: projects addressing tropical storm recovery and other strategic plan objectives will receive scoring weight under the published criteria. Staff said those priorities are baked into the scoring tool so such projects can receive additional points.

- Deadlines and timeline: applications are due by noon on Feb. 20. Staff said individual reviewer scores should be completed by March 29, providing roughly five to six weeks for review, and the committee’s next regular meeting will be March 5.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from Dec. 4, 2025: motion made and approved by voice vote with no opposition reported.

What’s next

Staff and Angeline will confer about reviewer assignments and whether the committee should split reviews by fund track or hold a special meeting to manage workload; they will report back to the chair and the committee. The committee will present recommendations to the Board of Commissioners after reviewing and ranking applications.

Attribution

Quotes and details in this article are based on committee discussion and staff presentation during the meeting. The speaker who described the two grant tracks and the application counts spoke in a staff capacity and was first recorded in the transcript at SEG 024.