One of the hardest things I have to tell people as an architect and professional grantwriter right now is a reflection on the state of the global economy: Very few people are giving to anything other than disaster relief, food banks, and homeless shelters right now. Think about it: Are you gifting any part of whatever is left of your nestegg to anyone these days?? Well, I'm certainly not able to - I'm saving every penny for my Kin Domain!
Nonprofits throughout the world are reporting reduced funding, and many funders/foundations are freezing their assets or closing their doors until things turn around... just google "nonprofit feeling economy" and see the pages and pages of articles about how nonprofits are hurting - no matter how noble their intentions. By all accounts, a return to the times of plentitude will not be anytime soon. So how do you tap into a well that is dry and come up with water?
My advice... Conserve precious energy and resources. Protect the cash and time you'd give a grantwriter and try to accept one very hard truth... it is extremely unlikely that anyone is going to give you land or a house. There are really only two ways to do this: Be smart about what you invest, and get ready for a very cool learning experience in sweat equity. It's going to be hard work and you'll probably be pinching pennies the whole way.
However bad this news may be to you, please don't despair! All is not lost! There are programs that can help reframe things in a more positive financial light. Here are some ideas that might help:
Tax incentives:
In the US, you can get a tax break of up to $50K for restoring a historic building. Find one that fits your needs and has a bit of land about it, and restore to your hearts' content! Then make the land work for you~! I regularly help clients to determine of an existing home or commercial structure can fit their needs, be renovated to a better standard, and function as a kin domain or eco-collective. Best of all, this method often produces the best result, as it is recycling on a very grand scale and really old houses work fantastic with just a few tweaks! And as a bonus, many times you get more mature landscaping to work with that is a great resource for birds and other lovely creatures you may want to engage! If you'd like to find out about sources of funding for historic preservation in the US, please visit The Preservation Directory Funding Guide. This technique works ESPECIALLY well for reusing old schools and offices, turning them into community centers, schools, office incubators, etc!
Now, where I live there is not enough sustained wind to make wind power viable. However we have plenty of sun to make solar very appealing! Many states and some federal programs give you tax breaks if you install solar or wind power, and many more utilities will allow you to sell your excess supply to them. So size your install for the end game - if someday you want to install a barn and a shop and a workshop and a residence, put that much capacity in now. Whatever you aren't using yet, sell them. You get multiple benefits - you won't have to size the system up, you won't have to have as large of batteries, and you get a cash inflow to spend along the way.
Okay, I'm sorry but I have to work on a project this afternoon and I need to step away from this...
Please keep checking back and I'll keep adding information and ideas as I can!
