Celebrating the Victories of our Funding Services Team
What does the funding services team do?
At McGill, relationships are the key to success. Whether it’s managing funding for a water interconnection between two partnering clients or securing funding for a community to repair their failing sewer system, our funding services team always prioritizes the relationship with the client. Through these relationships, McGill is able to identify and align the specific needs of the community with the proper funding opportunities.
March 14th is International Grant Professionals Day, so we want to highlight McGill’s funding services team and their amazing work.
The primary purpose of the funding services team is to simultaneously support McGill’s clients and internal engineering staff. Christyn Fertenbaugh, the Funding Services Manager, describes the workflow as a triangle—the client, McGill’s engineering staff, and the funding services team are always working together.
Our funding services team is unique in that each person brings a necessary skill. Here is a rundown of the impressive qualifications of our team:
Christyn Fertenbaugh is a licensed PE who spent 14 years working for DEQ, including three years at the Division of Water Infrastructure (DWI), so she understands the technical side of projects and the best ways to apply for funding. She has experience with water and wastewater permitting as well as water, wastewater, and planning funding management.
Leah Martin has worked with state and federal funding her whole career. From CDBG to ARC, she knows the ins and outs of funding agencies and can help clients make sure they are checking all the boxes.
Mariah Farris was a mortgage loan officer before joining McGill, and she supports the team by interpreting audits, ensuring financial documentation is correct, and keeping the funding flowing smoothly. She is also using her financial background to develop financial analyses for clients, including rate studies to evaluate how they can support their capital improvement programs.
Julia Byrd spent several years working at DEQ, and she worked in the wastewater permitting unit and on the wastewater/stormwater team at DWI. From these experiences, she understands how funding works on the backend and has a unique understanding of how the permitting teams coordinate with DWI, which makes her the ideal liaison for clients working with wastewater projects.
Lauren Elliot is the newest addition to the team, and she has already brought a fresh perspective to routine processes. She is working toward becoming McGill’s newest CDBG guru!
Why should a community use McGill to pursue grants?
The funding services team wants the client to be as involved as they want to be in the funding process; the client should always feel like they are part of McGill’s team. All team members have a strong attention to detail and can ensure that when a document or task is complete, it will be accurate and ready to go. Since all the team’s work goes through at least one peer review before being sent to the client or submitted to DWI, the final product is always clean, clear, and correct.
Additionally, the funding services team recently had a 100% success rate on applications submitted to DWI. All six applications, prepared or supported by McGill’s team, were considered during DWI’s Fall 2024 funding round were awarded funding. The six projects include:
- Wilkesboro Yadkin River Raw Water Intake & Interconnection Upgrade
- Mount Olive “Find & Fix” Sewer Rehab
- Troy CDBG Sewer Rehabilitation
- Conover L’Echo Park Sewer Outfall Replacement
- South Granville Water and Sewer Authority Water Treatment Master Plan
- Boiling Springs Merger/Regionalization Study
What do communities need to know for the next funding cycle?
The spring funding deadline is April 30th at 5 PM. If you are interested in applying for funding, you should start your application now. Since the last cycle, there have been some changes to the priority rating system, so make sure to double-check the guidance and ask for help if you need assistance with the requirements. Also make sure the application resolution is passed by your governing board before the deadline and is submitted as part of the application package.
Where do I go from here?
When asked what she enjoys about working on the funding services team, Christyn said: “My favorite part about working on McGill’s funding services team is the people I work with and the work that we do. I understand the impacts that securing and managing funding has on a community, and it means a lot to me to be able to help people in this way.”
If you have any questions about McGill’s funding services team or want more information, please reach out to Christyn Fertenbaugh at christyn.fertenbaugh@mcgillassociates.com. Click here to read more about how McGill has been supporting communities through grant research, development, writing, and administration.
