Grant provides $25,000 in free equipment use/rental to a winning community to repair and/or build local infrastructure or other critical systems.

CASE Construction Equipment has issued the call for entries for the 2021 Dire States Equipment Grant. Submissions can be made now at DireStates.com/Grant. The entry deadline for the 2021 grant is December 31, 2020, and the winner will be announced in January 2021.

Originally launched in 2016, the Dire States Grant provides one winning community/project with $25,000 in free CASE equipment use/rental to offset the costs of building or repairing a critical piece of infrastructure. This includes the ability to self-perform the work with qualified staff, or to work with a contractor who can use the grant to offset equipment costs related to the project. Employees or representatives of municipal, county and other local governments/public institutions are eligible to apply.

Entrants will be asked to describe the project and provide a detailed assessment of how that local piece of infrastructure benefits the community. All projects that fall within the primary categories of infrastructure, as identified by ASCE in its Infrastructure Report Card, will be considered. Examples of infrastructure projects eligible to win include (but are not limited to): road/bridge repair or construction, utility improvement/replacement, erosion control along lakes and rivers, wastewater system improvements, school projects and park/recreational construction.

“Now more than ever, we are seeing the importance of a well-built, well-maintained and reliable public infrastructure,” says Debbie Townsley, director of marketing, CASE Construction Equipment. “Local communities and institutions are the first to delay or put off improvements when budgets get tight – the Dire States Equipment Grant will help the winning entrant push forward with a project that benefits the local community, and provides long-term savings and efficiencies that will allow them to do more with the resources they have.”

All local governments and public institutions in the United States are eligible to apply. A full list of rules and submission criteria are available at DireStates.com/Grant. For more information on Dire States, visit DireStates.com. For more information on CASE, visit CaseCE.com.