Rotary honors the dedication of a town's grant coordinator

During Longboat Key's hurricane recovery process the town has had an expert in its corner to push those efforts forward.

Kalee Zavela, the town of Longboat Key's grants coordinator, shared with the Rotary Club of Longboat Key what she has learned about projects to improve the community. She was the guest speaker at their Oct. 21 meeting, and she explained to attendees what exactly she does to pursue projects for the town.

Rotary Club of Longboat Key President Terri Driver presented a certificate of appreciation to Zavela for sharing her insights and her work.

Photo by Dana Kampa

Zavela said she often receives suggestions for grants to pursue from town officials and field experts. A significant part of her job is exploring each request to see if it would be a good fit. The project needs to be beneficial to the town, and she needs to gauge how likely it is Longboat Key may receive it.

Once she determines a project is worth examining further, she prepares an application. If the town receives funding, she follows the project all the way to the end, ensuring any necessary progress reports and cross-department coordination gets done.

She noted, however, that her role extends beyond the paperwork.

Zavela has worked to build relationships with neighboring municipalities, state departments and the occasional private foundation to gain a deeper understanding of what grant opportunities are out there.

"I joined in 2023 as the town's first grants coordinator, and I feel very lucky to have this position and have been able to build it as I went to mold it into what it is today," she said.

Several large-scale infrastructure projects have arisen in the few years she has served in her role with the town. A 50-year-old subaqueous pipeline in Sarasota Bay is slated for replacement, coming with a $30 million price tag. The town is also working to address elevation issues in flood-prone areas.

She offered updates on her grant achievements since taking up the role. Notably, she said she has applied for $38 million worth of grant funding; $7.7 million has been awarded by various state-level funding and other sources, and she is waiting for confirmation on pending projects.

Zavela said she is also proud of the work she did to secure additional public safety equipment and training, particularly that geared toward biker safety.

Often times, these grant opportunities are focused on long-term improvement projects, and it can take a while to get reimbursed. But she said she will continue to push for the development of "shovel-ready" projects in hopes of securing more funding.

As she continues to grow membership with the Local Grants Professionals of Southwest Florida, a group she founded, and forge more relationships, Zavela looks forward to finding even more ways to help Longboaters thrive.

 Driver said, in addition to coordinating a multitude of upcoming events, the club will be focusing its efforts on helping end polio.

Members will be working throughout November to raise funds for The Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus Program, a worldwide vaccination campaign.

 As part of that appreciation, the club made a donation to Polio Plus in her name.