Transportation Safety Call for Projects

This annual funding project, overseen by the Destination Safe Coalition, works to prevent transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries within Greater Kansas City. Funding and grant management for these projects come from both the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety.

The Destination Safe Coalition works to prevent transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries within Greater Kansas City. The call for projects encourages local organizations and agencies to develop projects that reduce traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries through education, emergency response, or enforcement.

While any non-infrastructure related projects will be considered, the top focus areas are:

Unrestrained occupants.
Aggressive drivers — speeding, following too closely, etc.
Impaired drivers — alcohol and drug use, including prescription drugs.
Distracted drivers.
Teen drivers.
Older drivers.
Pedestrians.

Funding requests are typically between $100 and $30,000.

Layer Title

Application Schedule

Table

DATE	ACTIVITY
March 4, 2024	Portal opens for applications
April 4, 2024	Final day to submit applications
May - June 2024	FY2025 funding awards announced

Eligibility

Any nonprofit organization, jurisdiction, governmental entity, or for-profit business is eligible to apply. The program must serve an area within the boundaries of the Destination Safe Coalition, which includes counties in the Pioneer Trails Regional Planning Commission boundary and the MARC boundary.

Kansas counties

Johnson County, Kansas
Leavenworth County, Kansas
Miami County, Kansas
Wyandotte County, Kansas

Missouri counties

Cass County, Missouri
Clay County, Missouri
Jackson County, Missouri
Johnson County, Missouri
Lafayette County, Missouri
Pettis County, Missouri
Platte County, Missouri
Ray County, Missouri
Saline County, Missouri

Local governments may only apply for funding from their home state. Any applicants who have received funding a previous year but did not complete the requirements of the agreement will be ineligible for the following grant cycle.

Application tips

The best applications are:

Innovative.
Include data to support why a certain project should be prioritized.
Make a clear case for how the project will address the issue or issues.
Explain past experiences that will demonstrate the ability to do the project.
Include partner agencies.

And they address how the project will use strategies from any of the following plans:

Destination Safe's 2022-2027 Transportation Safety Plan
MoDOT's Show-Me Zero Plan
KDOT's Strategic Highway Safety Plan

Past examples of successful projects include

Education: Youth and older driver outreach programs
Emergency Response: Stop the bleed training
Enforcement: Message boards, handheld RADAR

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Application scoring

Table

Part of application	Weight in scoring
Problem statement	20%
Project scope	20%
Alignment with Safety Plan	20%
Solution or performance objectives	20%
Budget	20%

Funding guidelines

Below are common purchasing questions, however, this is not an exhaustive list. Funds cannot be used to produce materials for profit. Infrastructure-related improvements are ineligible for these funds.

While there isn’t a limit on how much funding a single project can request, approved projects have typically requested between $100 and $30,000, with an average of approximately $11,000.

For applications in Missouri, please review the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety funding guidelines.

Incentive or Promotional Items

Kansas — No. The funding Kansas uses for these projects is federal NHTSA Section 402 funding, which prohibits the purchase of any promotional items and memorabilia, including models, gifts, souvenirs and trinkets.

Missouri — Yes. However, if you plan to purchase incentive items with a logo or messaging, indicate what types of items you plan to purchase. If more than one proposing agency plans to purchase the same types of items, purchases may be coordinated for potential bulk discounts. Note that the estimated cost of such items must be included in your budget.

Law Enforcement Equipment

Kansas — Yes. Agencies will only be considered if they actively participate in the KDOT STEP program. The purchase of a good or a service over the amount of $5,000 will require proof of three bids and the selection of the lowest bid that meets the specifications.

Missouri — Yes. The purchase of a good or a service over the amount of $10,000 will require proof of three bids and the selection of the lowest bid that meets the specifications.

Car Seats

Kansas — Very limited. Providing car seats is an important resource for many communities but should be part of a greater program to influence the safety of children in Kansas City. Applicants are encouraged to partner with existing car seat programs for their projects.

Missouri — Limited. Providing car seats is an important resource for many communities but should be part of a greater program to influence the safety of children in the Kansas City MoDOT MCRS region. Applicants are encouraged to partner with existing car seat programs for their projects.

Media Buys

Media buys are limited in both Kansas and Missouri. Large purchase media buys will be made by both Kansas and Missouri through existing statewide contracts. If your project incorporates public messaging through media contracts, please contact the MoDOT MCRS representative with media questions and note all media must be preapproved by MoDOT MCRS prior to production.

Staff Salaries or Overtime

Kansas and Missouri — No. Funding may not be used to pay overhead for general salaries or operating costs of a facility that is used for other purposes. For example, funding shall not be used to supplement a full-time employee's salary.

Existing programs

The goal of this funding is to support innovative and effective programming to reduce the number of traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries. To do that, it’s important to know what ongoing programs are already funded in the area.

Buckle Up Phone Down

BUPD is a program that encourages individuals and businesses to make the pledge to do the two most important things to move the needle closer to the ultimate goal of zero deaths on our roadways: wearing a seatbelt and not driving distracted. This program includes resources, information and logos. This resource is available for anyone to use as part of their program.

Black teenage boy in driver's seat of red car

Seatbelts Are for Everyone

KDOT funds SAFE, a teen-run, peer-to-peer program that focuses on increasing teen restraint compliance through education, positive rewards, and enforcement. It is designed to bring awareness to the importance of wearing a seatbelt, therefore reducing the number of motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities across Kansas. If your program includes outreach to high schools in Kansas, you are encouraged to contact the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office.

Kansas City Regional Outreach

KDOT has an existing contract regarding traffic safety efforts in Wyandotte, Johnson, Douglas, Leavenworth and Miami counties, especially in the areas of child passenger safety, increasing occupant protection of all ages, employer programs, older driver programs, and reducing impaired driving. If you have traffic safety needs within these counties, please contact the KTSRO traffic safety specialist for the region.

Show-Me Zero

Show-Me Zero is a strategic highway safety plan for eliminating fatalities and serious injuries on Missouri roadways. Through a collaborative effort of diverse stakeholders, Show-Me Zero takes a multi-disciplined approach to achieve safer roads through education, public policy, enforcement, engineering and emergency response.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are examples of eligible costs?

Examples of eligible costs include but are not limited to public health fair expo fees, safety assemblies, speakers' fees, travel expenses, education, printed materials, and design work.

Are partners required?

No, but we encourage partnering with local organizations to accomplish your project. When agencies work together, it uses funds more efficiently and promotes collaboration across various types of organizations.

How do I find partners?

Destination Safe is made up of agencies and organizations that all value and work toward promoting traffic safety, so it is a great starting point to find partners. Partners can include any agency within or outside of Destination Safe. To be considered a partner on your project, a representative from that agency must play an active role in the project for which you are applying for funds.

Who can I ask for help with an application?

Any of the Destination Safe Program Managers can help answer questions you may have.

KDOT: Noel Schneider, noel.schneider@ks.gov 785-296-7416 ext. 67416
MoDOT: Debra Huwar, debra.huwar@modot.mo.gov, 816-607-2187
Pioneer Trails RPC: Christopher Hess, chris@trailsrpc.org, 660-463-7934

Are bids required for purchasing?

The purchase of goods or services over certain amounts, specified by state below, requires proof of three bids and selection of the lowest bid that meets the specifications.

Kansas: $5,000 and items must be assembled or manufactured in the United States.
Missouri: $10,000

I can think of other ways the item I want to purchase will benefit our organization outside of my project. Can I plan on using the purchased items outside of traffic safety?

No. All costs must be tied directly to an event or program with the purpose of improving traffic safety.

If funding is provided by the Kansas and Missouri departments of transportation, what is Destination Safe’s role?

Destination Safe acts as a sort of vetting process for traffic safety efforts in the Kansas City region for the Kansas and Missouri departments of transportation. Both Kansas and Missouri have the sole discretion in determining project funding, but they consider the recommendations of Destination Safe when making this determination.

How is grant funding received?

Both Kansas and Missouri distribute grant funds through reimbursement. If your project is funded, you will receive correspondence from the applicable organization with contracts and information regarding the reimbursement process. No expenses should be incurred until the appropriate funding contract is signed and executed. Invoices submitted for reimbursements after the last invoice deadline will not be processed.

Can I apply for more than one project?

Yes. You can apply for more than one project, but you must submit a separate application for each project.

Contact us

Still have a question? Contact Destination Safe.

Contact Destination Safe