Did you know that not following simple formatting instructions will actually get your grant application tossed out before it is read?

 

Did you know there are grants available for small businesses?

 

Kristen Olmi does. The CEO of Youngstown-based KO Consulting shared her knowledge recently with members of the Alliance Rotary Club during a recent lunch meeting.

 

A native of Struthers, Olmi brought in $25 million-plus annually while working for nearly a decade as the Mahoning County grants coordinator.

 

However, she felt she could do more to help build up Northeast Ohio as she witnessed non-profit organizations, small businesses and smaller municipal governments struggle to obtain grant funding.

 

So, in the fall of 2020, Olmi left her stable job with Mahoning County and founded KO Consulting, vowing to her clients that “we’ll be in your corner.”

 

“I realized there was an incredible gap for our type of grant writing and development services,” said Olmi, noting that Northeast Ohio as a whole leaves about $500 million on the table annually in funding that isn’t applied for. “I felt this sort of calling to be able to provide services to non-profits, small businesses and governments of small municipality beyond what I could do with Mahoning County, so I went out on my own.”

 

Using her other previous experiences as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., a business affairs employee in the Ohio secretary of state office, and as a grant reviewer, Olmi and her team at KO Consulting are proving to be ultra-successful four years later with 30 clients, the majority of which are based in Northeast Ohio, but a few are located in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, and California.

 

“We have a 100 percent [return on investment],” said Olmi, explaining that every client that has ever paid for KO Consulting’s services have received at least ten-fold in return.

 

In 2022, the company wrote $16 million in grant applications. In return, $14 million of those were actually funded for an 80 percent success rate.

 

The company is still finalizing numbers for 2023, when it applied for approximately $60 million for its clients, including one for $40 million. If that application is successful, it will be the largest single grant that Olmi has ever secured.

 

“Grants are unique instruments for funding projects,” explained Olmi. “We sit down with our clients and do an assessment to determine what they’re getting in foundation and grant dollars, and then we find out where there are gaps. We check to see if they are missing any opportunities from federal, state, local, whatever and where we can fill in those gaps.”

 

Olmi estimates that her firm submits 10 to 15 grants each week for various clients.

“Grants are a volumes game,” said Olmi. “The more you are applying for, the greater the likelihood that you will receive funding. We are here to ensure that we align our clients and their projects with the appropriate funders. We look at our team as an extension of what your team can do.”

 

To learn more about KO Consulting, visit koconsultllc.com.

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Those interested in joining the Alliance Rotary Club should contact Mark Locke by email at markmlocke75@gmail.com