How to Work with METF

Initial Contact

We recommend that you contact METF before applying for a grant.  You can initiate your interaction with METF by emailing METF at this address. An METF officer or board member will respond to your email promptly to discuss your proposed project.

In your email you should generally describe your project, what benefits will come from it, what organization is supporting your project, and where the project would be carried out. Your METF contact will be experienced in these matters and will be able to recommend courses of action that will make your project more likely to succeed.

Applying for a METF grant

If you and your METF contact agree that your project will be valuable and appears feasible, you will complete an METF grant application form. The application will ask you to provide some fairly specific information about the project, such as

• The location of the project

• The purpose of the project

• The benefits provided by the project

• The amount sought from the grant and an itemization of expected expenses

• A projected completion date, including phases as needed

• An authorization to proceed with the project pending funding from the sponsoring organization and any property manager involved

You can complete the application as a paper form, which may be printed from this link, or completed via an online form found here.  The electronic form can be processed more quickly than the paper form, and it can be electronically updated after it has been submitted.

The METF board will consider your application at its next scheduled meeting. The board may request that you attend either virtually in person to answer any questions they may have.  Your METF contact will inform you of the board's decision promptly.  

Implementing a funded project

The approved funding will be transferred into an account from which you can draw funds to cover project expenses.  If additional outside funds are acquired through METF, those will also be moved into the account as well.  You should plan to track all project expenditures and should be prepared to document those expenses with receipts. You will be responsible for acquiring the needed labor, either as volunteer workers or as paid subcontractors, and for scheduling and carrying out the needed work. METF may inspect the project's progress at any time, and periodic progress reports may be requested for projects of a larger scale.  

Reporting after the project's completion

METF may conduct a final inspection of the project after its completion. A full report on the project must be submitted within 180 days of the project's completion. The report should demonstrate how the the purposes of the project and the environmental, educational, and/or community benefits have been accomplished. Pictures are helpful, as are any metrics of usage that are available. Expense receipts must be attached to the report before final disbursements are issued. Any funds remaining after payment of all outstanding expenses must be returned to METF.