Tulsa Seeking Volunteer Grant Evaluators

Press release from the City of Tulsa:

November 19, 2021

The City of Tulsa is seeking grant evaluator volunteers to assist in the review of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants.

Each year, the City receives HUD grants and notifies a mass distribution list of the availability of funds and holds mandatory workshops for all agencies and organizations interested in applying for a grant.

Projects that can be funded range from multi-unit new construction rental housing projects to youth after school programs. All HUD grants target housing and community development projects to serve low and moderate income individuals or to eliminate blight.

To assist the City of Tulsa HUD Community Development Committee in determining which proposed projects should be recommended for funding, five grant evaluators help determine average proposal scores.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer grant evaluator should contact the City of Tulsa’s Grants Administration by email at grantsadmin@cityoftulsa.org or by phone at (918) 596-9083.

Evaluators receive training (approx. 1 hour) on the evaluation criteria and what to look for when evaluating a proposal. These trainings will be held via GoToMeeting. Each evaluator will receive an electronic copy of the evaluation tool and 3-5 different proposals via the online OneDrive platform. Depending on the type of project, each proposal requires 1-2 hours of time to review. The review process begins the first week in December and ends the second week of January.

Through this process, grant evaluators can learn about various agencies and what they do to assist low to moderate income individuals in our community. Serving as an evaluator is also beneficial to those who might write grants themselves. Volunteers can also benefit by adding the experience gained to their professional skill set.

This press release was produced by the City of Tulsa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.