KBS BLOG: A Farewell to KBS
July 28, 2011
Abby Brengle has been the communications coordinator for Kuntzsch Business Services for over three years. Beginning this August she will be leaving KBS to begin a Master of Arts program in English literature at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Abby was the second person hired on to the KBS staff as an intern in 2008, a position that quickly grew to a full-time role with the company.
As I leave my position as communications coordinator here at KBS for graduate school, I am reminded, once again, of the mantra communications professionals must recite on a daily basis: consistency, consistency, consistency. (To be fair, we communications people have many mantras: plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead; be concise, be concise, be concise; spell-check, spell-check, spell-check; etc.)
Effective communications stem from a well-conceived, consistent approach to both the written and visual elements of an organization. Whatever it is you’re developing, it’s got to look like it sounds, and it’s got to sound like it looks. Not only that, but that look and sound must also be appropriate for each specific organization, connect directly with its strategic goals and various audience members, and be malleable enough to work for various communications outlets, everything from quick tweets to fully researched and polished articles.
Additionally, this seemingly magical look and sound must be understood and embraced by everyone on staff. Anyone who picks up a phone, writes an email, or responds to an inquiry is communicating, regardless of his or her title. Maintaining a consistent message and tone is often just as important in these informal communications as it is in the formal ones.
This is where the “coordinator” half of my title has come into play, particularly. Internally and with many of our clients, we work with multiple people at once who might contribute text, visual elements, or perspective to a single document, website, or event. What we do well here at KBS is blend each individual’s unique writing style and design preferences into a consistent and thoughtful piece, on point with the organization’s goals. From grant applications to stakeholder events, from brochures to policy pieces, we at KBS tell our clients’ stories well.
These are the issues most communications professionals face on a daily basis and are the issues I feel privileged to have worked on at KBS with fantastic clients like Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy, Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities, NextEnergy, Michigan State University, and numerous others. Each client requires a unique message for different audiences, each with a unique set of tonal, visual, and strategic guidelines to follow.
As my duties at KBS transition to a new communications professional, you can be sure the old mantras are back, front and center: consistency, consistency, consistency. Because we practice blending multiple voices and perspectives into a single message on a daily basis, everyone at KBS is well prepared to bring in a new voice to the team, and allow an old one to leave. In fact, I would even wager KBS has this transition down so smoothly, you might not even notice I’m gone. It’s been a real pleasure.
City of Detroit awarded $100,000 from State
July 26, 2011
The City of Detroit was awarded $100,000 grant from the State to install energy efficient and off-grid street lighting. We’re proud to have worked with NextEnergy to write the winning proposal. Learn more here: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdcd/7-25-11_advanced_lighting_grants1_359029_7.pdf
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES: July 2011
July 18, 2011
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Innovative Manufacturing Initiative
Letter of Intent Due Date: August 1, 2011
Application Due Date: August 25, 2011
Maximum Award: $9M
Expected Number of Awards: 35-50
The U.S. Department of Energy is soliciting applications for research and development projects to advance the engineering and development of transformational manufacturing process and materials technologies in clean energy. Applications should propose solutions that will lead to large improvements in energy productivity, environmental performance, product yield and economic benefits.
SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge to Induce Market Transformation
Letter of Intent Due Date: July 29, 2011
Application Due Date: August 31, 2011
Available Funds: $12.5M for a maximum of 25 awardees
The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting proposals for projects that will improve market conditions for rooftop photovoltaic across the United States through streamlined and standardized permitting and interconnection processes. Projects should focus on permitting and interconnection processes, net metering and interconnection standards, financing options, and planning and zoning.
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
Deadline for Application: August 10, 2011
Total Prizes: $1Mc
Top Prize: $500K
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is seeking late-stage, technology-led business applicants that can demonstrate a business plan for their innovative technologies. The competition, designed to highlight Michigan as a destination for technology innovation, is comprised of three rounds, with awards distributed in mid-November at the Henry Ford Museum.
Transit, GHG, and Energy Reduction
Application Due Date: August 23, 2011
Available Funds: $49.9M, up to $15M per Grant
The U.S. Department of Transportation requests proposals for Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER). This program supports capital investments that will assist in reducing the energy consumption of transit systems and capital investments that will reduce GHG emissions in public transportation systems.
Clean Fuel Buses and Facilities
Application Due Date: August 23, 2011
Available Funds: $51.5M
The U.S. Department of Transportation requests proposals for the purchasing or leasing of clean fuel buses, including buses that employ a lightweight composite structure, construction or leasing of clean fuel bus facilities or electrical recharging facilities and related equipment, and projects relating to clean fuel, biodiesel, hybrid electric, or zero emissions technology buses that exhibit equivalent or superior emissions reductions to existing clean fuel or hybrid electric technologies.
COMMUNITY and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Promoting Sustainable Working Waterfronts
Application Due Date: August 15, 2011
Available Funds: $300K
The U.S. Economic Development Administration seeks applications from qualified researchers to identify strategies, practical methods, and finance mechanisms that address economic challenges in waterfront communities. Applicants should propose to research, identify, and disseminate effective strategies that will maximize the potential of their waterfronts as a driver for economic vitality.
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative
Application Due Date: August 8, 2011
Available Funds: $3.6M, $300K per Grant
Expected Number of Awards: 17-22
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is awarding planning grants and implementation grants to organizations working to transform neighborhoods by revitalizing housing and investing in services, schools, transportation and access to jobs. Successful applicants will propose energy efficient, sustainable housing transformation and investment in recreation and cultural opportunities.
Community Development Block Grant and Brownfield Development Training
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is hosting a series of training events on the Michigan Brownfield and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs. CDBG provides grants to local units of government for economic development, downtown development, blight elimination and planning. The Brownfield Redevelopment Program helps redevelop properties that are contaminated, blighted or functionally obsolete.
KBS BLOG: It’s All Connected
July 14, 2011
Early summer skies beckon the private pilot. Mild mornings, calm winds, and wonderful places to visit abound, especially in Michigan! Two years ago I received my private pilot’s license and have since had the joy of taking to the great Michigan sky. During my training and especially after being “set-free” I began to realize how much it’s all connected. From the clouds I could see how Michigan’s swamps, streams, rivers, and lakes all flow from one to the other. Forests and farmland dance with one another each as a piece of Pure Michigan.
Recently, flying back from Mackinac Island (MCD), as the forest gave way to the farmland at Clare, our mission at KBS became especially clear to me. We are all just a small piece of the bigger picture. Nature doesn’t stop at county lines, private property boundaries, preserves, or state forests. From the sky, it’s all one big living organism. KBS is dedicated to the prosperity of this great living organism through supporting clients whose projects advance natural resources conservation, clean energy solutions, and community & economic development. Our work is centered not just in each space as they stand alone, but in the intrinsic intersection of all three.
With a birds-eye view, it’s clear how Michigan’s natural resources have shaped the state’s economy. Cities don’t just pop up in the middle of nowhere. They are strategically located around natural resources, just as KBS is poised squarely in the middle of it all, helping Michigan’s businesses, non-profits, universities, and communities reach their energy, environmental, or economic potential.