The Grant Committee finds, applies for and administers the outside funding that pays for most of the association’s work on the lake — state grants, county and tribal partnerships, and the reporting each of them requires afterwards.
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Chair
Bob Mott
Questions for the Committee? Email info@pelicanlakeassociation.org.
Why grants matter this much
Membership dues are $30 a year. Mechanical harvesting alone costs $2,500 a day. The arithmetic does not work on dues, and it was never meant to — dues are what keeps the association running and what lets it commit to a season before anyone else’s money arrives. Grants are what pay for the work itself.
In a recent year, outside funding brought in roughly twice what the association collected in dues. None of it arrived unasked.
Where the money came from in 2025
| Source | Amount | What it paid for |
|---|---|---|
| State aquatic invasive species grant | $45,303 | Mechanical harvesting of Eurasian watermilfoil, including a late-season harvesting study |
| WDNR Clean Boats Clean Waters grant | $8,000 | Trained inspectors at the boat landings |
| Sokaogon Chippewa Community | $4,500 | Clean Boats Clean Waters costs |
| Sokaogon Chippewa Community | $2,500 | Aquatic invasive species management |
A further $2,500 was awarded by the Sokaogon Chippewa Community in early 2026 in continued support of the Clean Boats Clean Waters program. A partial payment on an earlier grant also arrived during 2025, with the balance due the following year — grant money often lands a season after the work it funded.
Partners, not just funders
Two relationships are worth distinguishing from grants. The Sokaogon Chippewa Community and the Suick Family Foundation both choose to support the association year after year, and both increased their contributions recently — together adding $22,000 to the association’s funding in a single year.
That is a different thing from winning a competitive grant. It is a continuing relationship with organisations that share an interest in the health of this water, and it is worth saying so plainly rather than filing it under fundraising.
What makes the association fundable
Grant awards are not luck. The DNR requires that management actions be supported by a current comprehensive plan and by recent survey data, which is why the association’s ten-year Lake Management Plan and its lake studies matter well beyond their own contents. The updated plan was directly responsible for securing one of the largest surface water grants awarded to any lake association in 2025.
What a grant actually requires
- A current comprehensive plan the work can be tied back to
- Recent survey data supporting the proposed action
- An application written to a deadline, often months before the season
- Matching funds or in-kind contribution from the association
- Records kept through the season — what was done, where, and what it cost
- A report afterwards, which is what makes the next award possible
The reporting is the part people underestimate. A grant that is won and then poorly documented is a grant that does not come again.
How this committee works with the others
The Grant Committee does not decide what the association does. Water Quality decides how to tackle the milfoil; Fish and Wildlife decides what the fishery needs; Finance tracks what it all costs. This committee’s job is to find money for what has already been decided, and to make sure the paperwork behind it holds up.
- Water quality and lake health — where most grant money is spent
- Water Quality Committee — the program grants pay for
- Governing documents — the association’s financial policies
News & Minutes
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Sokaogon Chippewa Community renews support for invasive species prevention
A $2,500 award supports the 2026 Clean Boats Clean Waters programme, following $7,000 in combined support during 2025.
Everything tagged Grant — news, minutes, documents and meetings.
Can you write, or keep records?
This is committee work that happens at a kitchen table in winter, not on the water in July, and it is some of the highest-leverage volunteering the association has. If you have written a funding application, kept books, or simply write clearly and meet deadlines, this committee would be glad of you.