Earmarks 101: What Nonprofits Need to Know Before Applying

If your nonprofit has a capital project, a piece of equipment you want to purchase, or a program you’d love to scale but can’t fund through a federal, state, or foundation grant, earmarks are a great next fit. They’re one of the more overlooked tools in a nonprofit’s federal funding toolkit, and for the right project, they can bring in more money than other sources.

Here’s what earmarks actually are and what you need to know before you apply.

What Is An Earmark?

An earmark, otherwise known as Community Project Funding in the U.S. House of Representatives and Congressionally Directed Spending in the U.S. Senate, is federal money that a Member of Congress requests on behalf of a specific organization for a project in their district or state. Instead of competing against organizations nationwide in an open grant process, your project is put forward directly by your Representative or Senator and included in that year’s annual appropriations bill.

Your job is to make the case to a congressional office that your project deserves to be one of the limited number of requests they submit that year.

Five Things To Know Before You Apply

• • • Every congressional office runs its own process: There’s not one national application. Each Representative and Senator sets their own internal deadline, drafts their own forms, and often articulates their own priorities for what they’ll consider. The window to apply is usually short, sometimes just a couple of weeks, so it’s important to be aware of your Member of Congress’s processes (many have email lists you can sign up for).
    • Not every project qualifies: Earmarks generally fund specific, one-time needs like construction, renovation, or equipment purchases rather than ongoing operating costs.
    • Community support is required: Organizations need to show Members of Congress that projects meet demonstrated community needs before they request funding for them. Letters of support strengthen an application, and some offices require them. Start building that support well before you apply.
    • Funding amounts vary widely: Earmarks have funded projects from a few hundred thousand dollars up to several million, depending on the account and the office. A well-built request for a well-matched project can be transformative for an organization’s budget.
    • Applying builds a relationship, win or lose: Even if your project doesn’t get funded the first time, the process puts your organization directly in front of your Member of Congress and their staff. That relationship often pays off down the road, whether for a future earmark application, a letter of support for another federal grant application, or having a champion in Washington, D.C. who knows your work.

What This Has Looked Like For Real Organizations

Earmarks have funded a wide range of projects for organizations like yours. A few examples include:

• • • $3,000,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to redevelop a vacant historic property into affordable housing units.
    • $1,700,000 from the Department of Justice to expand Mental Health First Aid training across public safety sectors, including law enforcement, fire science, paramedic medicine, and corrections.
    • $2,170,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a new community center and childcare center.
    • $1,500,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase advanced equipment for biomedical research and treatment.
    • $2,200,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to improve access to care and health outcomes across community health centers.

How McAllister & Quinn Can Help

Earmarks reward preparation and relationships, and that’s exactly where McAllister & Quinn can help. We track congressional deadlines across the full delegation, help you build the case and documentation your project needs, and work alongside you to develop the relationships with congressional offices that make a request competitive.

If your organization has a project that might be a good fit, we’d like to assist you in your submission. You can contact our earmarks expert, Angie Buckingham Melton, at [email protected].

Interested in learning more? Visit our website at McAllister & Quinn Nonprofits & Public Agencies.