(Seguin) – Your dreams for that hometown project no longer have to stay as dreams. Whether you are a non-profit group or even a municipality, Ewald Kubota in Seguin is encouraging groups to apply for Kubota’s Hometown Proud $100,000 Community Project Revitalization Grant Project.
Diana Benavidez, a representative for Ewald Kubota, says community partners have until April 27 to submit their grant applications online.
She says not only is the Kubota Tractor Corporation looking to grant funding but it’s also looking to utilize Kubota equipment for the refreshing, refurbishing or revitalization of a public space.
“Say you are a non-profit and you want to build a playground in your community for kids who right now have been undeserved as far as having a place to go or a community garden or a new paved bike path in the local park or something along the lines of serving the community or kids — beautifying. You are updating a ball park or what you’ve lacked (in) funds and manpower or equipment to actually get it done and everything is so expensive and I think Kubota realizes that there has been just a huge depletion over the last year in morale, in resources and this is their way of saying, ‘hey, let’s do this. Let us help you,” said Benavidez.
No matter the project idea, Benavidez says each entry has a chance to be named one of the five finalists. She says from there, the final selection for Kubota will be left in the hands of the individual communities.
“There’s going to be five projects that will be chosen and then the actual communities are the ones that vote and the project with the most votes, the most support is the one that actually wins the grant,” said Benavidez.
John Ewald, owner of Ewald Kubota in Seguin, says as your local partner for Kubota equipment, they have a vested interest in the success of this community because they not only work here but live here too. He says this is the “exact kind of boost they (need) to bring a project to life in our neighborhoods.”
Benavidez says when a group or municipality applies, they also bring awareness to their individual mission or vision.
“We have so many really good programs in our individual markets so it would be great if somebody from Seguin was represented and had a chance to be featured and I think one of the big deals is there’s only going to be one winner but I think for as much as Kubota is trying, it’s to bring awareness to the individual programs where if they could get a little bit of exposure, it could be a great thing,” said Benavidez.
Benavides says applying for the Kubota Hometown Proud grant has been made easy with three simple online steps.
“What you do is you submit your application on the website. It’s kubotahometownproud.com and they make it really easy. There’s a button ‘apply now.’ It does ask for them to tell them what the needs are, describe the status of the project, what other resources they have access to, where the actual project is located and then it even ask what type of Kubota construction equipment could be useful to them,” said Benavidez.
In May, the public will, again, be offered the chance to cast a vote for one of the top five finalist projects. Benavidez says every voter that cast a vote will also be eligible to win a grand prize.
“Here’s an incentive. Every voter that cast a vote will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a (Z200 Series) Kubota zero-turn mower or a sub-compact tractor (BX Series),” said Benavidez.
The community-project finalist with the highest combined score from points and votes will be announced as the winner in July 2021. No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win the contest. Officials rules are also available at KubotaHometownProud.com.