How to Position Your Agency and Program to Secure Funding

In this talk, we review best practice strategies for securing funding to kickstart and expand new and existing UAS/drone programs.   Hear from Laura Milford, a public sector technology and funding expert with over 30 years’ experience who has assisted many agencies in navigating the complex funding landscape, to walk through how to identify potential funding sources and will share notable funding programs applicable to DOT and Public Safety drone initiatives. This includes highlighting the success of our funding strategy assistance program through the USDOT SMART Grants program with Caltrans and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

Learn how to: Navigate the complexities of internal and external funding alignment

Prepare to apply for various grants applicable to drone technology

Use Skydio’s no-cost Skydio Funding Advisory Services* to assist public sector agencies seeking to fund a new program

-- *Skydio is not providing legal advice nor is it making any representations regarding the viability of any grant application. Any Skydio advice or assistance provided in the grant application process is provided 'as is.’

Good afternoon. Welcome to grants for Department of Transportation and Public Safety drone operations.

This session is the first in a series of webinars exploring funding mechanisms and strategies to kick start or expand public sector drone programs.

Our focus today is threefold. Since grants can be the first thing that come to mind when thinking about how to fund a new technology initiative, we'll discuss several notable grant programs for department of transportation and public safety drone operations.

Next, we'll describe Skydio's new funding advisory services. This is a no cost program designed to help agencies identify and secure funding for Skydio drone initiatives.

We can work with you to align your drone program, prepare to apply for funding, and create solid funding applications. We'll talk about that program a little bit later in this webinar.

And then finally, we're going to highlight two recent customer grant success stories whose application processes were a collaboration with Skydio's funding advisory services team.

We have a really varied audience today, so the content is going to resonate differently to each of you based on your goal. Our objective is for all participants to take away some useful information to apply to your individual funding considerations.

Next slide.

So let's do some introductions. My name is Laura Milford. I am today's primary presenter, and I'm a consultant to Skydio providing the or in the role of a funding strategies adviser.

My background in the public sector and public safety technology space dates back to the early nineteen nineties, so don't even bother doing the math. My projects and clients are pretty varied ranging from technology master plans for municipalities and the largest state department of motor vehicles to dispatch center build outs and consolidations and nine one one network designs.

Many of these projects I've worked on had a financial feasibility component, and that focus evolved me into a real interest in funding mechanisms for public sector sector technology initiatives.

I'm going to turn it over now for my partner, Noreen, to do her introduction.

Thanks, Laura, and thanks to all of you for joining us today on our live talk. My name is Noreen Charlton, and I lead public safety marketing here at Skydio.

I've spent the last several years in the reality capture space as it pertains to scene reconstruction and forensic analysis with public safety applications. And before that, I spent just over a decade with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as a crime scene analyst.

I've noticed a few of you are local to me in the Ohio area. So I'm located just west of Cleveland. And if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Before we get started, as your moderator for today, I wanted to cover a few housekeeping items. First, the number one question everyone always has, yes, this session is being recorded, and you will have access to this recording through Skydio's airborne insights where you registered for the event.

Secondly, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop those in the chat. I will be here to monitor them throughout the session, and we will have time to go through the q and a at the end.

With that said, I think it's easy to understand how drones can fit into a variety of workflows across many industries.

Figuring out where they can be used to make your job more efficient or cost effective or safer isn't difficult. However, often, the hardest part is figuring out how to fund that program.

We are extremely grateful to have Laura on board as she is a wealth of information regarding available grants and providing assistance in obtaining funding. So let's get into it. Laura, I'll hand it back to you.

Thank you.

This slide is a bit of a teaser, talking about Skydio's no cost funding advisory services.

These are the three threads that I'll be talking about kind of throughout the presentation, and then we'll get into more detail later. But those being drone alignment, preparing to apply, and creating funding applications.

So keep these concepts in mind as we work through today's presentation, and know that you'll hear more about them when we get to the end.

Before we delve into specific grant programs, I wanna talk about an overarching concept that's crucial to the funding equation, and that's the concept of alignment.

Five elements of drone program or alignment are shown here, and I'd like to discuss each of them.

The first element of alignment is champions.

So we use the term champion to refer to the command staff or executive level person whose support will open the doors needed for a drone program to begin or to persist.

So how and who is that? A champion might not be the chief or agency head, but it's the one who will connect the drone subject matter experts to the internal grant resource people and to the budget staff.

The champion will advocate for recognition of the program as a department priority against competing initiatives and may advocate on a regional stage as well if regional grants are involved.

The champion will add advocate for budget. So let's take a step back here. Grants are certainly a viable source of funding for Skydio drone initiatives, but it's important to consider the right role for grants in any budgetary mix. A former administrator of the FEMA grants portfolio challenges that a program or technology that's mission critical should not be grant funded.

And a police chief I spoke to earlier this week told me if a technology is gonna help my guys and girls work better and safer, I'm gonna figure out how to use my budget to pay for it. The champion is the person who's going to be integral to such decisions.

Additionally, the champ the champion will be the person who shepherds the project through governing body approvals, and the champion will ultimately approve expenditures.

So one of the first questions Skydio advisory services asks is if the project champion is identified because an area of alignment in which champions are typically deeply involved is agency budgeting.

So whether funding a drone program internally or with external resources such as grants, understanding the agency budget and aligning drone program milestones will get and keep the program on track. Some important things to understand, When does the fiscal year begin? When does the budget process begin? Now this may be six to twelve months prior to the start of the new fiscal year. What is the budget process, and how does the drone initiative need to be represented represented whether with direct funding or seeking grants?

If grants are being sought that require payment upfront with reimbursement or a match, can the budget accommodate those sums?

And finally, are year end unspent funds anticipated?

And if so, can those funds be prioritized for a drone initiative?

The next three areas of alignment specifically apply to grant seeking. Drone use cases must align to the specific objectives and outcomes of the grant funding being sought. This sounds obvious but calls out the importance of clearly understanding the grant rules or guidance and tailoring program descriptions, use cases, and outcome measures to the guidance.

Your Skydio rep and Skydio advisory services can collaborate to draw in the functional and technical details that are needed to fully address the grant requirements.

Grant cycle alignment is similar to agency budget alignment and is key to timely funding. Each grant program has a unique cycle for announcement, submission deadline, award announcement, availability of funds, and period of performance.

Understanding the annual cycles of key grant programs should factor into overall project timelines for drone initiatives and should also drive collaboration and alignment with internal grant resources.

And finally, each agency needs to align and foster positive relationships with state resources, such as the state administering agencies to optimize grant funding. We'll talk more about SAAs a little bit later.

So let's move on now and talk about federal grant programs for the US Department of Transportation and FEMA or rather through those those overarching organizations.

I wanna talk briefly about how grant programs work, specifically the federal grant programs of the US Department of Transportation and FEMA, which is an element of the Department of Homeland Security.

This is a very high level explanation, but a good level set for more detailed discussion.

First, where does the money originate?

The funding sources we'll highlight today come from two sources, annual appropriations and the bipartisan infrastructure law or bill.

First, annual appropriations.

Federal grants are funded by Congress through the annual appropriations process.

Funding is authorized in one bill and appropriated in another.

Congress expects funds to be expended in the fiscal year for which they were appropriated.

So if, for example, a grant program has a period of of performance of three years, Congress expects the full amount of the grant award to be spent in the first year, not spread over three.

Second, the bipartisan infrastructure law, which you might also know as IIJA, is a five hundred and fifty billion dollar package of new infrastructure investments signed into law last year.

The bipartisan infrastructure law includes funding for roads and bridges, transit and rail, broadband upgrades, improving water and power systems, upgrading airports, ports and waterways, environmental remediation, and electric vehicles.

Grant types may be formula or competitive.

The majority of federal funds are distributed to states via a formula defined by law.

Each state may determine a different method of distribution, whether its own formula based on a population or a competitive process.

Each state has various state administering agencies, as we mentioned a minute ago, that oversee distribution of federal funds.

It's important to know the state administering agency that oversees funds pertaining to your organization and to know how the state will distribute the funds it receives from the federal government.

SAA designations are listed on the websites of the federal agencies whose funds they administer.

The bipartisan infrastructure law programs we will highlight are competitive rather than formula grants.

Eligibility is determined by each granting organization of the US Department of Transportation, and eligible entities apply directly rather than through state administering agencies.

The bill programs, as suggested by name, offer investments in infrastructure over five years. Some of the programs are relatively modest and others are just plain massive. We see a fit for drones either as stand alone initiatives or as tools for project delivery in numerous of those programs.

Finally, it's important to note that grant programs may offer funding through upfront drawdown or may require a recipient to expend its own funds and submit for reimbursement.

A nonfederal match of either either money or in kind products and services may be required.

These requirements are all spelled out in grant guidance documents.

Let's move on.

So this slide is another kind of level setter.

Key terms. We show terms that are gonna recur throughout the remainder of this webinar and are in prominent in grant speak and in grant documents.

First, FHWA and NHTSA refer specifically or respectively to the Federal Highway Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And sorry. Let's try this again. The Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Each of is one of the seven organizations comprising USDOT, and we'll talk about several relevant grant programs from those organizations a bit later.

We just discussed BIL, which is the bipartisan infrastructure law.

The next SHSO is state highway safety office.

Each state has one and is broadly responsible for the state's federally funded highway safety program. If you aren't already, you can get acquainted with your SHSO by reviewing its website.

NOFOs are notices of funding opportunity.

These are the means by which the federal government announces grant opportunities.

NOFOs specify the opening, closing, award, and period of performance dates of grants. Note eligibility, describe in detail the information to be provided in the application, and define evaluation criteria.

It's important to understand NOFO timing. While many programs have a thirty, sixty, or ninety day application period, successful applicants begin developing their application content well in advance of the date the NOFA was released.

Skydio's funding advisory services can assist with this process.

We've touched briefly on state administering agencies or SAAs and the importance of knowing the state administering agency that oversees funding pertaining to your organization.

The final three items refer to the component programs of the comprehensive FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program that's part of the FEMA Preparedness Grants portfolio.

We'll discuss the State Homeland Security Program or SHSP, Urban Area Security Initiative or USI, and Operation Stone Garden or OPSG in more detail.

Now let's talk about some specific grant programs.

We'll discuss specific USDOT and DHS FEMA grants, but first level set with some fundamentals about each portfolio.

The USDOT programs we're focused on today are formula based programs flowing from FHWA and NHTSA to state highway safety offices and competitive programs funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law. The FHWA NHTSA program focuses on traffic and highway safety plans while the competitive bill funding targets infrastructure investments.

The grants offer program and project based funding, and all offer opportunities to acquire drones to use as technology tools to more efficiently execute projects.

So we call this the first of our bubble slides. The three USDOT programs we'll discuss today are represented in the visual by the relative value of each program. Please note these are only three of many, many grant programs offered by USDOT that can be evaluated for a fit for drone acquisition and deployment.

Let's move ahead and discuss the state highway safety grant program, smart, and the bridge investment program.

So these are the three notable USDOT programs we'll focus on today.

The first is the State Highway Safety Grant Program, which is jointly administered by NHTSA and FHWA at the federal level and state highway safety offices at the state level. Funds can be spent on any of nineteen specified program types supporting the state highway safety plan.

Three of the areas that may be supported through drone initiatives include improving enforcement of traffic safety laws, enhancing emergency services, and improving traffic records.

Typically, each state highway safety office has its own competitive program with applications due to that office prior to the the office's submission of the state's application to NHTSA and FHWA on August first. So this is a a a good example of how the date of a NOFO is not when you begin work because programs that trickle up to a federal program often have many advancing components and gates to pass through.

The next program of note is SMART, which stands for strengthening mobility and revolutionizing transportation.

Smart program, which we noted is rooted in the bipartisan infrastructure law, focuses its grants grant awards to public agencies conducting demonstration projects using technology to help improve safety and or efficiencies.

Smart is a highly competitive program with eight focal areas, one of which is innovative aviation excuse me, aviation innovations.

In the first round of smart awards earlier this year, which were just for stage one planning and demonstration efforts, seven UAS demonstration projects were awarded funding, including three in which Skydio was a named partner.

The stage one recipients will be eligible to apply for stage two deployment grants later this year. The next NOFO for a new round of stage one awards is expected to be released this month with a due date in October or November. If your agency is preparing to submit a smart application that includes a Skydio drone component component, our funding advisory services are ready, willing, and able to assist you.

And then finally, the bridge investment program is another competitive BIL program. It focuses on existing bridges in the National Bridge Inventory to reduce the overall number of bridges in poor condition or in fair condition at risk of falling into poor condition.

The eligibility includes states, metropolitan planning organizations, and local and tribal governments with applications submitted directly to FHWA.

In twenty twenty three, nine awards were made ranging in value from eleven million dollars to seventy two million dollars which illustrates the substantial size of these awards defined as planning projects, bridge projects under a hundred million dollars, and large bridge projects over one hundred million dollars. The likely opportunity we see with the bridge investment program is to include drones for inspection related tasks as tools to heighten efficiency and safety of a project being documented for application submission. The next NOFO release is anticipated for this summer, although DOT hasn't offered any more specific details as to what month that might be.

Next slide, please.

Let's shift gears now and talk about the DHS FEMA portfolio and several of its programs that might be a fit for public safety drone initiatives.

FEMA grants fall into four buckets. The programs we're focused on today are preparedness grants, which are defined as grants that support citizens and first responders to ensure we work together as a nation to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate terrorism and other high consequence disasters and emergencies.

Have you noticed the federal government never says anything concisely?

Preparedness grants reflect the mission areas, national priority areas, and thirty one core capabilities of the national preparedness goal.

FEMA reviews and adjusts the national priorities annually based on threat and risk assessment.

The tar the capability called protection of soft targets and crowded places has been one of the six stated national priorities in recent years and fits drone use cases.

These programs favor regional investments and are administered through state administering agencies.

Each SAA has its own unique program requirements for collecting and evaluating subaward applications, but all must align with FEMA guidelines.

Significantly, DHS and FEMA updated its risk methodology to ensure its grant programs are as simple and easy to access as possible and similarly urge the SAAs to do the same thing. So, hopefully, we're going to see some some streamlining of application documentation processes.

Funding for sustainment and new capabilities built with homeland security funding must be deployable if needed to support regional and national efforts.

Drones are allowable expenditures, but any funding application requiring or requesting drones must include detailed documentation required relating to utilization, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, data and records retention, and additional policies.

Those requirements are stated clearly in each SAA's grant guidance.

Let's go to some more bubbles.

Similar to our slide depicting select USDOT programs, this visual shows three programs in the DHS FEMA preparedness grants portfolio.

We will discuss the Port Security Grant Program, Transit Security Grant Program, and the Homeland Security Grant Program, which comprises the state homeland security program, urban area security initiative, and operation stone garden.

The state homeland security program and UAWSII are noncompetitive formula based awards based on statutory minimums and relative risk as determined by the DHS FEMA risk methodology.

Operation Stone Garden, the port security grant program, and transit security grant program are competitive.

So I see we're already on the next slide. No need to move. We'll talk about some of these notable DHS FEMA programs now.

The Homeland Security Grant Program is the most intricate of the DHS FEMA grants we'll talk about today and also the most far reaching.

Through its three component programs, the Homeland Security Grant Program supports a full range of preparedness activities, including equipment purchases across defined core capabilities and mission areas.

As previously noted, SHSP and UASI are formula based while operation stone and garden is competitive, but all applications under these three programs are submitted by the state administering agency, and each SAA has its own multi tiered process for determining the final mix of projects and investment justifications included in its state submission to DHS.

I mentioned this to reiterate that a positive relationship with your SAA, be it through a grants administrator or a member of the command staff, is really important.

Most states state processes begin in January or February with the formal NOFO released in February and SAA submissions due in May. So, again, this is getting to the work that needs to be done prior to the NOFO date and when those final applications are due.

So here are a few key notes about the state homeland security program and USI.

First, both of them have a thirty six month period of performance and require no match. And as we talked about earlier, despite being a thirty six month period of performance, funds need to be expended in the first year of the award.

New programs need to identify a risk gap and define how to close that gap.

UASIs are structured with working groups or subcommittees that align to the thirty one core capabilities identified in the FEMA national preparedness goal. In a in a particular USI region, proposals are subcommittee associated with the core capability for the identified gap and solution.

This is the process through which new technology initiatives are introduced into the funding queue.

As an example, in one USI, the fire hazmat USAR subcommittee is aligned with the with three core capabilities, including mass search and rescue operations.

For the state homeland security program, those working groups are at the state level and under the purview of the SAA.

UASIs typically have the flexibility to reorder projects for funding and or to apply on year unused year end funding for new initiatives.

Twenty five percent of the combined state homeland security program, EUOSI allocation in any state must be dedicated to what's called law enforcement terrorism prevention activities, which is a potential fit for drone programs identifying and addressing a threat threat or a risk related gap.

And finally, some some agencies are eligible for state homeland security program funding and also for USI funding, but all agencies eligible for USI funding are eligible for SHSP funding.

So if you're contemplating introducing a new request in our Ewasi jurisdiction, the local relationships with the Ewassee community could garner a more favorable favorable response and a submission through the SAA process for state homeland security program funds. And, really, that comes down to simple. Local is better relationships. Local may have a better chance of using those relationships to advance a program.

The third component of the homeland security growth grant program, operation stone garden's purpose is to enhance coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies to jointly enhance security along the nation's land and sea borders.

Eligibility is limited to counties and border states, and that eligibility is tiered based on proximity to the border.

Rather uniquely, counties must have an ongoing US border patrol operational coordination through a customs and border patrol sector office to be eligible to receive funds.

Like the Homeland security program and UASI, Operation Stone Garden has a thirty six month period of performance and requires no match.

Moving on, the port security grant program supports maritime security risk management and mitigation.

Any entity subject to an area maritime security plan, including local government agencies, is eligible to apply through a multi step application directly to FEMA. The NOFO for this program is released in February with applications due in May. The port security grant program has a thirty six month period of performance and requires a twenty five percent match.

Skydio recently helped guide a port security grant program application that included an investment justification for drones to address the enhancing protection of soft targets and crowded places national priority area.

Finally, the transit security grant program funds owners and operators of public transit systems to protect surface transportation and the travel public from acts of terrorism and to increase the resilience of the transit infrastructure.

A list of eligible entities is published each year, and an additional eligibility requirement is a security plan approved by the entity providing transit security.

Deploying drones to scan surface infrastructure for routine maintenance or to detect threats may be viable use cases for this program.

The transit security grant program has a thirty six to forty eight month period of performance and requires no match.

The information provided here about select DHS FEMA grant programs really barely scratches the surface. Much more detail is contained contained in the FEMA preparedness grants manual, which is available on the FEMA website. You can also contact me with specific questions through grants at sky d o dot com.

Well, we've covered a lot of funding information today, specifically touching on several of the many grants offered by USDOT and FEMA.

Skydio created its funding advisory services program to help agencies and organizations navigate funding complexities, both internal and external.

We offer our services at no cost to those who envision a Skydio drone program and need to figure out how to fund it. Here's how we can help. First is drone program alignment, which we discussed early in today's webinar.

Our account executives recognize that their contacts may understand drone technology, use cases, and potential benefits to their agencies and aren't aligned with an internal champion and aren't positioned to influence financial commitments and prioritization.

We can support those alignment efforts with questions to pose, coaching, and talking points to position your program internally.

We can also assist with regulatory improvements, including FAA pilot licensing and EV loss waivers through Skydio's regulatory support as a service team.

Next, we can help you prepare to apply for funding. We'll work with you to hone the use cases of your Envision Drone program and offer specific suggestions about grant programs and other potential funding mechanisms that fit your use cases and agency profile.

We can also meet and work with your internal grants resources to discuss current grants your agency receives and coordinate new applications and program cycles.

And finally, we can work with your agency to create new funding applications.

This type of work typically typically takes one of three forms. First, we can review and edit application content that is created by your drone subject matter experts and internal grant resources to serve as an external check and balance to ensure all NOFO requirements and evaluation criteria are addressed.

We can collaborate with your resources to jointly prepare application content, or we can take the lead in crafting content based on an outline and technical details you provide.

While we can't guarantee that you'll be awarded funding for a Skoda drone initiative, we can help you put your best foot forward in the application process.

Skydio recently assisted Caltrans and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities with stage one smart applications.

Both of those were funded, two of the, the five or seven that we mentioned earlier in the smart discussion. So next, we're gonna give a brief overview of each project and how Skydio assisted before we wrap up today's presentation.

I see we've moved on to Caltrans. Okay. So Caltrans was a very interesting project in that it it demonstrates remote autonomous infrastructure constructions construction inspection. That's kinda tough to say.

Using progressive deployment of, dock technology.

The two sites were were were totally different of each other.

The one site is a Butte City bridge replacement, and the second was the East Otay Otay port of entry project site.

Those of you who know California know that the East Otay Otay port of entry is an enormous project. It has huge ramifications for commerce, between the United States and Mexico, and the facilitation of facilitation and expediency of this project is is quite critical.

So to be able to shorten project time frames through the use of drones is quite important.

We were the application lead on this this, application. We worked tightly with Caltrans, back and forth creating content and, buffing it up, making it pretty, and and ultimately ensuring that all the boxes were checked. As we mentioned, this project was funded and will be moving into a stage one application for a broader deployment when the next notice of funding opportunity is released.

Let's move on to Alaska.

So our our second success story today is the Alaska Department of Transportation and and Public Facilities.

This initiative supports the Alaska rural remote operations work plan and uses drone technology for infrastructure inspections and gathering situational awareness data. What's really integral about this program is Alaska's rural way of life and how the drone use cases are also being utilized for smart disaster response.

This was a collaborative effort as well, also awarded, and we're presently moving on collectively to a stage two application as well as other program applications.

So we asked Ryan Marlow from Alaska if he'd give us a quote for our presentation, And I'd like to conclude with this, if we can move on to the next slide.

Ryan said our collaboration with Skydio was key to our smart grant award. If working with Laura on stage one was this much fun, I can't imagine what stage two will be. Honestly, he really did say that. So we're we're very appreciative to have been part of this project and, also very flattered by his comment.

So the before we move to questions, the last thing I'd like to leave you with is three takeaways. The first is when seeking to fund a project, no single approach is going to fit all.

Alignment is absolutely essential, and relationships can make a difference.

So with that, I wanna thank you very much for your participation and turn it to Noreen for questions we may have received.

Yeah. Thanks, Laura. You obviously know a lot about this, and we're really fortunate to have you to assist us in understanding it, but also to assist our customers in obtaining that funding.

I do have a question for you, and a lot of times, this is specific more to public safety agencies because when you apply for grant funding, it's great that you have the money now, but what happens with additional years and additional money that you may need for, you know, continuing to maintain your program? So, typically, with grants, do you have to use that money for only an initial purchase, or can you use it for renewals or maintenance on your hardware and software?

You're right. That's very important.

A a grant application may include the initial purchase and some onetime bundled services, but you're not going to typically submit a grant application just for renewals of licenses or maintenance. Those are not typically funded items.

So the the conclusion is bundle your procurement in your initial application, and that will depending on what you're buying and how it's licensed or how it's maintained, that may mean creating a a unique contract for what you need to purchase.

Excellent. Thank you. I've had some questions about how to obtain more information or specifically, questions about your slides or some information on your slides. So once again, I just wanted to remind everyone, you have the ability to email grants at sky geo dot com.

Laura definitely has access to that email as well as several other people so we can all collectively work together to make sure you get the information that you need. I mentioned this in the chat. We will not be distributing the slide deck, but you will have access to this recording, within a couple days. It will be posted live to airborne insights.

And I'm not giving out Laura's personal email address just so she doesn't hate me from here on out.

Thank you.

So, you know, there's a lot of information in here regarding kind of DOT specific funding, but would you say that there's also a fair amount of money out there for public safety law enforcement agencies?

Yes.

Clearly, DOT is is the bigger beast just because USDOT is such a massive agency.

There are opportunities for funding for public safety programs.

Those I talked about today are a lot of the ones that are a really good fit.

Unfortunately, the program that law enforcement relies on most heavily for technology acquisitions, the burn JAG money, does not allow the use of funding for drones.

Head scratcher as to why.

And sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, unfortunately, that that's true.

So to fund your your public safety drone initiatives, need to get creative, get understanding the state homeland security grant program because that is available to all entities depending on how your SAA creates that subaward process.

Additionally, the state highway safety grant program, we we mentioned that on the DOT side, but there there are use cases within those funding streams for some of the, the traffic safety initiatives that local law enforcement undertakes.

Excellent. Thanks. We do have a question. Are grants available for single person LLCs or only for large entities?

I imagine some grants are available for single person LLCs. They are not the ones that we're talking about in this batch of programs.

Thank you.

It could hold on a minute.

No. It's fine.

With I didn't talk about this today, but within the the FEMA portfolio is also a nonprofit security grant program.

It it has some of the same focal points in term in terms of core capabilities and national preparedness goals.

That's aimed at nonprofits rather than government entities.

It still doesn't address the single person LLC, but it is kind of a a one off on additional funding.

Perfect. Are you aware of eligible grants for fire departments?

Fire departments, depending on use case, are eligible to apply for both state homeland security funding and for UASI funding. The aid to firefighter grant program also disallows direct purchase of drones.

Okay. Are government municipalities, namely cities, eligible to receive a grant from the smart grant program?

Yes.

Short and sweet. I like it. Are there funding sources out there that are more than just grants?

Oh, yes. There are.

So we mentioned this was going to be a series of webinars.

And while we're still developing what that that schedule's going to look like, we will be offering additional content that talks about other programs.

They they range from the the use of law enforcement trust funds, which is, asset forfeiture money, to, budget realignment to private foundations and police foundations. So, yeah, there there are all kinds of interesting ways to secure funding, and we just kind of scratched the surface today.

Yeah. I think that's a a good call out. You know, Laura, you mentioned it in the beginning of the webinar, but we do plan on having a series of these. This kind of was intended to be like a high level umbrella overview of the fact that we have our Skydio funding service at no cost if you need assistance, as well as kind of just some high level information on the DOT public safety monies that are out there. But we do anticipate having public safety kind of law enforcement fire specific webinar as well as a webinar more specific for DOTs.

So with that said, Laura, I think we're going to wrap it up for today. If there were additional questions in the chat that we did not get to, please know that your name and information has been logged in there with the question, and someone will be reaching out to you shortly with some additional information.

Again, grants at skydio dot com. If you need further assistance, Laura and team will make sure they follow-up, and you can get the help that you need. Laura, thank you so much for all of your information today. I'm sure that there were a lot of key takeaways that people have and, you know, the recording that they can go back and listen to, of course, for additional note taking.

To all of you that joined us today, we really appreciate you attending.

We're kind of looking for some feedback. So if there are, you know, specific topics that are related to funding or grants or the application process that you'd like more information on kind of in a broader view that maybe we can turn into webinar, throw that feedback our way, we would really appreciate it.

Laura, any last words for the group here?

Thank you for participating. I I hope this was interesting and you learned something, and, we're here to help you work on your funding challenges.

Excellent. Thank you so much, everyone. We appreciate your time. Have a wonderful day, and stay safe.