DARTdrones Announces Local Government Grant

The DARTdrones Team is excited to announce the first-ever Local Government Grant, which will award $100,000 of drone training to local governmental bodies and municipalities around the country. The DARTdrones Grant Committee will accept applications through Friday, January 31, 2020.

Introducing the DARTdrones Local Government Grant

Following the immense success of the DARTdrones Public Safety Grant — with $500,000 of training awarded to more than 250 police and fire departments across the country this year — DARTdrones is now launching the Local Government Grant Program. The DARTdrones Grant Committee will accept applications from cities, towns, states, departments of parks and recreation, and any public service departments that missed the opportunity to apply for the previous grant.* The deadline for applying for the grant is January 31, 2020, so representatives from local governmental bodies are encouraged to apply today.

“DARTdrones is committed to reducing the financial burden of implementing local government drone programs, which can save lives, radically improve community safety and security, and make public servants’ jobs easier in numerous ways,” said Abby Speicher, CEO and Co-Founder of DARTdrones.

This grant provides training to teach public servants how to formalize and optimize their drone programs. Drone technology is applicable to both emergency response and daily operations, and local governments can use drones to improve communities on a number of fronts. In regions around the country, examples of drone program successes include:

• Governmental agencies using drones for natural disaster and emergency response
• Departments of parks and recreation piloting drones to find missing persons
• Cities and towns conducting drone surveys of watersheds and reservoirs
• States utilizing drones to assess construction sites and building conditions
• Police teams using drones to give SWAT operations better views before officers need to expose themselves to danger
• Zoning departments mapping and enforcing codes with drone survey capabilities

Getting drone training from DARTdrones at the beginning of the establishment of a drone program has numerous financial and practical benefits for local governmental agencies.

“The best approach to creating a local government drone program is to build from the top-down from the beginning,” said Michael McCann, Local Government Consultant and Enterprise Account Manager of DARTdrones. “If you can put a plan in place at the municipal level before individual departments start their own programs with their own plans, resources can be shared and costs reduced. The efficiency of equipment usage will be optimized to avoid duplication, necessary FAA waivers will be obtained for every department’s benefit rather than just one, training will be standardized across departments, and SOPs will be adopted across departmental lines.”

To start your drone program strong and with an eye towards sustainable growth, apply today. For questions about DARTdrones drone training courses or the Local Government Grant Program, please call 800-264-3907 or email [email protected].

*Individuals are not eligible to apply for this grant. Applicants must be a current representative of a local government.

How to Apply For a Local Government Grant

1. Click here to begin your department’s grant application.
2. Once that initial application is submitted, you will receive an email with the complete DARTdrones Local Government Grant application process.
3. After your application is submitted, the DARTdrones Grant Committee will review and reach out in February and March of 2020.
4. Please note, the application deadline is January 31, so ensure your application is complete before this date.