Valerie Mann has been working in the field of community development for 32 years. From July of 1977 through December of 1985, she was employed as a Grants Writer at the Salisbury, Maryland Mayor's office. Since that time, she has operated her own successful community development business.

She is currently under contract with a major national publisher, Praeger Publishers of Santa Barbara, California, to write a book which will be a comprehensive guide to grant writing. This book will be released in June of 2010.

Ms. Mann has written approximately 900 grant applications over the course of her career. Over 80% of these applications have been successful in winning grant funds. She estimates that she has obtained approximately $95,000,000 in grant funds over the course of her career.

She has worked to implement the following types of projects: water and sewer, street rehabilitation and construction, housing rehabilitation, parks and recreation, economic development, heritage tourism, historic preservation, law enforcement, homeland security, and fire protection.

Ms. Mann has written a number of successful grant applications to the following Federal agencies: U.S. Department of Justice, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Justice, and the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. She has been successful in winning a number of grants from the following Maryland state agencies: Department of the Environment, Maryland Historical Trust, Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Department of Housing and Community Development, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. Once funds are awarded, she works to implement the projects and is responsible for administration of the funds and preparation of planning documents.

She has on occasion been retained to write manuals, handbooks, and reports. The following is a description of some of these projects:

• Preparation of performance reports for local governments regarding program accomplishments for grant-funded projects. A report prepared in January of 1985 regarding the Enterprise Zone Program was used as a guide for other communities.

• Writing, editing and compilation of required Environmental Assessment Reports in connection with grant programs. These reports are technical in nature.

• Writing of the City of Salisbury’s 1985 entry in the All-America Cities Program.

• Writing of a 60-page Home Hunter’s Guide under the sponsorship of the Coastal Counties Community Housing Resources Board. This guide covered 30 topics within this area.

• Writing of a 70-page Landlord/Tenant Manual

• Revision of a personnel policy manual for one of the largest real estate firms in the Salisbury, Maryland area.

Her clients are primarily cities, counties, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and nonprofit agencies. The client base has been extremely loyal, with approximately 50% of her clients having retained her services for the past 10 years or more. At the present time, she has the following client mix: 6 municipalities, 2 counties, 4 law enforcement agencies, 6 fire departments, 4 non-profits, 2 for-profit businesses, and 1 university. This includes the Dorchester and Wicomico County Sheriff’s Departments, the Tri-County Council of the Lower Eastern Shore, the Economic Development Department for Worcester County, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Cambridge Police Department, the Delmarva Discovery Center, and the Towns of Vienna, Hurlock, Secretary, East New Market, Pocomoke, and Sharptown. In May of 2009, she submitted a successful grant application and planning document on behalf of the Dorchester County Sanitary Commission for funds to bring water and sewer service to the Madison-Woolford community. A submission to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) on behalf of the Town of Vienna resulted in $1,500,000 coming into the community to make needed r