By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting As the effects of climate change continue to impact our planet, there has been an increased focus on clean and renewable energy.  And the U.S. government puts its money where its mouth is through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which directed billions of dollars to clean energy grants.  These grants

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting Federal grants have a lot of pros and cons as compared to state grants: Pros of Federal Grants Larger awards Longer timeframes to conduct your project Helpful Program Managers to help you vet your project for funding “fit” Usually more detailed proposal feedback if you are not successful Cons of

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting Workplace safety is the right of any American worker.  After all, we all deserve to be able to do our jobs safely to ensure that we make it home at night to see our family.  But, who should pay for the measures needed to keep employees safe? In some states,

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting I get calls from startup founders on a fairly regular basis. They’re eager, excited, and hoping to find grant funding for their up-and-coming dream venture. I can feel their excitement and as difficult as it is, I have to break some unfortunate news to them: There are virtually no grants

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting I have spoken recently on the topic of sustainability grants in manufacturing, which has led me to research sustainability plans.  While these documents are more common with larger manufacturing companies, I would suspect many small and mid-sized manufacturing leaders would ask, “What is a sustainability plan?”  In addition, they may

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting If you pay attention to federal funding opportunities as they are announced, the words “advanced energy” and “recycling” are prevalent in current and past funding opportunities.  Why is this? What Started the Wave of Clean Energy and Recycling Grant Funding The wave of grant funding started with the President’s Executive