If you’re in the bus and motorcoach industry, you’ve probably been keeping your eye on a new bill coming before Congress that would provide $10 billion to the industry. With at least half of that going toward grants, now is the time to make sure you’re prepared with the information you will need to write a grant proposal. But do your research. You don’t have to spend money before the bill has passed.

Here’s what we know:

According to the United Motorcoach Association, the Coronavirus Economic Relief Transportation Act, or CERTS Act, will be introduced by Senators Susan Collins and Jack Reed on July 1.

Provisions of the CERTS Act include that not less than 50 percent of the amount will be used to provide grants. Conditions include: Funding for an over-the road bus company may not exceed its 2019 calendar year revenue; Maintain employment through Dec. 31, 2020; and Recall or rehire any employee laid off, furloughed or terminated because of reduced service.

According to the UMA, eligible activities include acquisition of services, equipment, personal protective equipment and other measures needed to protect workers and customers from COVID-19. The grant can also go toward continued operations and maintenance of existing capital equipment and facilities including rent, leases, insurance and debt service.

For more information, visit www.uma.org.

Here’s what you can do now:

Be prepared to write a grant or to hire someone to write a grant for you.

Writing a grant takes time. You may want to include letters from your local Chamber of Commerce about the services you provide or customer impact statements. You will need to have your financial documents ready and your plan for how you would use the funds ready to go.

You don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute to get your ducks in a row once the bill has passed. Being late to the game could mean missing out on an opportunity to receive funding. So do your best to gather your paperwork and come up with your plans now.

Just be cautious. You don’t want to pay someone to write a grant for a bill that hasn’t even been presented yet, let alone passed.

The bottom line is you can be prepared without spending any money. Get your grant proposal materials together now so that once the bill is passed you are ready to go. Once it has, you can write the grant proposal or hire a reputable firm to write one for you.

On Your Mark Transportation, LLC can help you write a grant proposal. Contact us at 615-669-0107.