Publisher’s Note: This has been the biggest return on investment in Gardner’s History. 50 grand has returned 50 million. That is a 100X (100 times) return on investment. When first proposed by the Mayor, there were some naysayers, but City Council approval was given. Even our optimistic editorial at the time predicted $6 million would come in (and we were being hopeful). Congratulations City of Gardner Team!
Men Who Brought Tens of Millions to Gardner Stop by City Hall
During interviews with Gardner Mayor Nicholson we have spoken about the $50,000 investment in 3rd party grant writers which has brought in $50 million to the City of Gardner. The success of the effort is simple: Whatever a grant pays for, property taxes do not need to fund.
Gardner Mayor Nicholson provided this photo of 2 members of the Keller Team who came to his office in Gardner and the Mayor released this statement: “A few years ago, in order to make sure that the City stayed competitive and aware of any state or federal grant programs that became available, the City hired on-call grant writers, Keller Partners Co., to locate, apply for, and assist with reporting for various grants that the City would be able to utilize. Prior to this, our staff would have to research the grants, write the applications, manage the reporting, track the projects- all while performing their regular job duties. This made it so we missed out on several grant opportunities just because there’s only so many hours in a day. In the first two years of this partnership, tens of millions of dollars in grant funds have come to the City because of this new partnership. We meet every other week to go over ongoing projects, upcoming grants, our capital improvement plan, goals, etc. and as needed in between.
Because of the success of this so far, earlier this year, the City Council approved my request to award the company a 5-year contract with the City to continue this success.
Earlier this week, had a nice surprise at the office when Tom and Jon from Keller Partners stopped by the office after a trip they had to Boston, so they could see some of the work they’ve brought funding for in person.”