WILCOX COUNTY COMMISSION

Camden, Alabama – April 13, 2009 - The Wilcox County Board of Commissioners moved in a positive direction by hiring a grant writer. Clarenda Stanley, a native of Pine Hill and 1993 graduate of Wilcox Central High, has agreed to write state, federal, and private grants for the County on a contractual basis. Ms. Stanley currently resides in North Carolina where she heads up corporate and foundation relations for an institution of higher learning. To date, Ms. Stanley has raised more than $22 million in funding.

Although it may be several months until the grant writer's efforts bear fruit, the Commissioner John Moton expects her efforts will soon be pulling in "hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants", with the position more than paying for itself. “In a time when our nation is in an economic downturn, its time for our County to be more aggressive in ensuring we are applying for resources. We cannot afford otherwise.” Moton states.

Seldom has job performance been so easily quantifiable. In a time of tight budgets, increasing demands for services and wide availability of grants, chances are this will prove to be an advantageous and lucrative decision. At present, county departments apply for their own grants. Staff members doing the paperwork aren't grant writers per se, but employees who have managed to fit the work in with their regular duties. Because of this decentralized procedure, there is no countywide tally of grants applied for or received. Also, there does not exist an employee who is assigned to search out grants for which the county is eligible. With tens of millions of dollars in grants available from the state and federal governments and from private foundations, there is fertile ground to explore.