How one Rio Grande Valley firm is helping communities secure millions in grant funding

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored content provided by Border Affairs, a government relations and consulting firm. It was not produced by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal editorial staff.

By Border Affairs

A South Texas consulting firm is helping local governments and nonprofits across the Rio Grande Valley secure millions in federal and state grant dollars, with recent awards funding everything from new fire apparatus to a juvenile detention center renovation.

Border Affairs, a government relations and consulting firm serving the region, offers grant writing, project management, and funding consultation services to municipalities, fire departments, police departments, libraries, and other public entities. The firm also distributes a free grant newsletter to organizations that may qualify for funding opportunities.

“Federal and state funds provide essential opportunities for local governments to leverage their funds into support for undertaking vital projects in their communities,” Border Affairs CEO Humberto Garza said. “Capitalizing on grants enhances our ability to build on monumental developments, especially when it comes to infrastructure development.”

Among the firm’s recent successes is a pair of grants totaling more than $523,000 awarded to the Mercedes Fire Department in Hidalgo County.

A $300,000 award from the Texas Forest Service funded the purchase of a new water tanker, designated Tender-1, under the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The grant was made possible through a historic $192 million appropriation by the 89th Texas Legislature, approved by the governor to fulfill previously unfunded requests submitted on or before November 7, 2024.

A separate $223,500 grant from the Office of the Governor’s FY2026 Border Zone Fire Department Program funded a pickup truck, heavy-duty equipment trailer, track loader, and a FYREBX T3 firefighting attachment — a 300-gallon system designed to help crews battle brush fires in rough terrain.

Mercedes Fire Chief Javier Campos Jr. said the new tanker immediately expands the department’s capacity in the field.

“This tanker is a little bit larger, so we’re responding with a lot more water,” Campos said.

He added that the equipment serves a purpose beyond city limits.

“When we purchase these trucks, we not only purchase them for our community, we purchase them to assist other agencies,” Campos said.

In Starr County, Border Affairs helped secure a $963,000 Department of Justice grant to renovate the Starr County Juvenile Detention Center in Rio Grande City. The funding covered new surveillance equipment, replacement cell doors, updated computers, a modernized control room, and broader interior renovations. Staff at the center had previously operated with aging and outdated equipment.

Border Affairs also assists police departments seeking funding for body-worn cameras, rifle-resistant body armor, license plate readers, and new patrol vehicles, as well as flood mitigation projects that draw from Texas General Land Office funds tied to the 2018 and 2019 South Texas floods.

Garza said the firm works with clients throughout the entire grant lifecycle, from research and application writing through submission, approval, and post-award fund management, and does not limit its services to government agencies. Nonprofits and other eligible entities may also contract with Border Affairs on a per-application basis.

Grant amounts handled by the firm range from thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the nature of the project and the funding source, which may be federal, state, or corporate foundation.

For more information on Border Affairs and its grant services, contact its offices in the Rio Grande Valley at (956) 975-6490 or h.garza@borderaffairs.org.