The Division of Local Government Services and the Shared Services Czars recently announced that the FY25 LEAP Grants are now available for the fiscal year July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Grants are accepted on a rolling basis, but municipalities are encouraged to submit as soon as possible due to the grant’s popularity and funding availability.
LEAP Challenge Grants are available to municipalities, counties, school districts, and authorities. The grant allocates funds to the most compelling projects that support efficiency-generating shared services. The grant program is designed to promote innovation among peer communities and counties and challenges local governments to collaborate on more extensive partnerships. The grants provide reimbursement for qualifying expenses incurred in the study or development of shared services programs and services under the Uniformed Shared Services and Consolidation. There is $150,000 available in each county with up to three awards per county. Joint Insurance programs and cooperative purchasing programs and projects are ineligible.
LEAP Implementation Grants are available to municipalities, school districts, commissions, authorities, and fire districts. The grants, which provide funding to assist in covering the costs associated with shared services implementation, are on a rolling application process. The grant will not exceed $400,000 per project, which may account for up to a maximum of 75% of implementation expenses for local governments.
Please note that effective with the FY 2025 LEAP Implementation grant program, school consolidation studies that provide for reimbursement of costs associated with school consolidation studies that support the creation of meaningful and implementable regionalization plans must be submitted through the FY 2025 School Regionalization Efficiency Program (SREP).
All LEAP grant applications must be submitted through the SAGE grant management system.
Contact: Lori Buckelew, Deputy Executive Director & Director of Government Affairs, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x112.