Client: Town of Cowen
Project/Grant Application Lead: Mayor Jerry Dornburg
Funding Received #1: $15,000
Funding Entity #1: Rails to Trails Conservancy
Funding Opportunity #1: Trail Grants
Purpose: Funds to create a strategic plan and appraisal of trail connector from Allingdale to the Town of Cowen on the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Trail
Date Awarded: 9/23/24
Funding Received #2: $37,000
Funding Entity #2: WV Office of Energy
Funding Opportunity #2: EECBG
Purpose: Applying for funds to replace old and inefficient doors in the municipal building.
Date Awarded: 8/13/24
The WV Grant Resource Centers’ Client Spotlight series is a monthly feature highlighting the incredible work our clients are doing to secure local, federal, and private funding to empower their communities and economies. See all previous Client Spotlights here.
This month, the West Virginia Grant Resource Centers are shining the Client Spotlight on the Town of Cowen, located in rural Webster County, West Virginia. Since collaborating with the Grant Centers, the community has applied for and received two grant awards, totaling $52,000 in project funding for economic development, community development, and outdoor recreation.
As project lead, Cowen’s Mayor, Gerald “Jerry” Dornburg, connected with the Grant Centers in an effort to build the community’s grant writing capacity and help secure funding for Cowen’s economic and infrastructure initiatives. Prior to working with the Grant Centers, Dornburg said he had limited grant writing experience.
“We know that grants will be beneficial to assist with improving the town for its citizens,” Dornburg said.
The first award Cowen received was the Energy Efficiency Conservation and Block Grant, funded by the West Virginia Office of Energy. The energy efficiency retrofit grants aim to help local governments and nonprofits reduce their overall energy use by retrofitting or upgrading to more efficient alternatives.
The Town of Cowen received $37,000 to support the replacement of inefficient doors in their Municipal Building.
The community’s second grant award, which totaled $15,000, came from the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Trail Grants program, which provides financial support to communities across the nation to establish or enhance walking and biking trails.
Cowen’s RTC funding will support the creation of a strategic plan and an appraisal of a trail connector between Cowen and the nearby town of Allingdale on the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Trail. Dornburg said the trail connector project could add “approximately nine additional miles of trail to the current 15 miles from Richwood to Allington in Nicholas County.”
“It will allow the Camden on Gauley area all the way to Cowen to enhance and grow economic development,” he said.
Throughout their collaboration, Dornburg said the Grant Centers’ “great, friendly, knowledgeable staff” had been tremendously helpful to the Town of Cowen.
“They are a valuable resource and enable us to put together a very competitive document for submission,” Dornburg said. “Their organization is excellent and a very valuable asset to the communities.”
Overall, he added, “It has been a great experience and pleasure to work with the Grant Resource Centers.”
Looking ahead, Dornburg said the Town of Cowen plans to apply for more grant funding in the future.
“We will continue to grow our little community and improve our facilities for our people,” Dornburg said.