Episode 9: How Funding Stacks Shape Real Projects

Jax Harper

Alright, welcome back to Dirt-2-Doors Radio, everyone! If you’re new here, I’m Jax, and I’m with Cody Douglas—visionary, builder, and, honestly, the guy who fixes things no one else will even touch. Cody, before we dive in—last episode was all about cities being underwater with just basic stuff, right? Today… money. The messy part. I’ve gotta ask: when you say “capital stack” for a city or a Tribe, what’s actually in that pile? It’s not just one giant check, is it?

Cody Douglas

No—and I wish it was, Jax. See, when folks picture funding for, say, a big city project or a Tribal community, they assume it’s “Hey, here’s a lump sum from the state, let’s go build.” But in the real world, municipal and Tribal deals are a patchwork of funding sources. We’re talkin’ federal grants from HUD or DOT, local municipal allocations, sometimes state money, enterprise profits—like revenue from a casino or water utility for a Tribal project—and, uh, sovereign lending. Sometimes these communities even pull in BIA programs, you name it. And every source has its own timeline, its own paperwork, and its own rules. It’s juggling chainsaws, honestly.

Jax Harper

I always thought, like, you just get one big loan and that’s that, but you’re saying it’s…layers? Multiple sources every single time?

Cody Douglas

That’s exactly it. I’ll give you an example—no names here, but we did this mid-sized municipal building, right? That project, I kid you not, had EIGHT different sources of capital. Grants, city bonds, a slice of private foundation money, some enterprise funds—honestly, we would’ve needed a flowchart just to explain who was writing which check. There’s this myth that you land “the loan” and crack on, but it never works that way for public projects or Tribes. You gotta layer money, sometimes in very, very specific order, or you never even break ground.

Jax Harper

That’s wild. And most developers, myself included, would never guess how chaotic that stack really is. Makes single-family flips look tame, huh?

Cody Douglas

Tame’s an understatement, Jax.

Jax Harper

So I know Tom has watched this craziness up close on the job. I wonder what it is really like trying to keep eight lenders or grantors happy at the same time?

Cody Douglas

Tom’s not here with us today, but if he was, he'd probably tell you about that recreation center job—a total circus until we found the last piece of funding. It’s a lot of late-night phone calls, trust me.

Jax Harper

So, okay, if you’re trying to actually build something for a city or a Tribe, what, uh—what’s in their “funding toolbox?” Like, what are the main ways they actually raise money? I always hear about city bonds, but what else is going on?

Cody Douglas

Great question. Alright, so cities mostly use their General Fund allocations—think their basic pot of money from taxes—for small stuff. But for the big-ticket projects? They issue municipal bonds, which is like borrowing from a bunch of investors, paid back over decades. They can also score federal grants—HUD, DOT, that kind of thing—or charge impact fees on new development. Sometimes you see cities partner up, literally, with utilities or third parties. Now, Tribal nations—it’s a different animal. Sovereign lending is a big one, so they can borrow on terms states can’t always get. Then there’s enterprise profits, and some Tribes have those programs like Tribal 8a, or tap into BIA—Bureau of Indian Affairs—grants for specific needs. There’s a mix of old-school and cutting-edge stuff, honestly.

Jax Harper

So, uh, is that why cities or Tribes sometimes seem to take forever to launch a project? Just getting all those pieces to line up?

Cody Douglas

Exactly, and flexibility is the kicker. Some communities get creative. I remember a Tribal nation—again, can’t name names, but they wanted to kickstart a housing project. They used casino revenue for the core funding and then snagged a surprise USDA grant at the eleventh hour. That’s what got ‘em over the finish line. No single funder was gonna cut it.

Jax Harper

That’s wild. I mean, as a developer, I’d be sweating bullets with that much uncertainty. So, what makes the best builders—like, what makes someone actually good at this? Is it just having patience, or—?

Cody Douglas

It’s not just patience, Jax, it’s knowing the toolbox inside and out. You gotta understand the city’s funding rules, but also bring in private partners—sometimes just to fill a little gap. There was a job in Texas, city needed new water lines. We missed one federal grant deadline—just by a couple days—and the whole project almost cratered. The best teams hunt for alternate sources constantly, and they build networks that go beyond just public money.

Jax Harper

Sounds like you gotta be half-banker, half-builder, and a little bit detective, just to keep these projects alive.

Cody Douglas

If there’s one “secret art” in this business, it’s capital stacking. You’re mixing federal grants, bonds, private money—heck, sometimes Tribal enterprise or non-profit support—into a stack that actually works. But the tricky thing, Jax, is every stack has its pitfalls. Deadlines don’t always line up, some capital wants to be first money in, others last, some require matching funds, and if you fumble the timing, you can lose it all. The whole project can unravel fast.

Jax Harper

Alright, but—and I’m gonna be blunt—what do cities or Tribes even want from us as developers? Like, how do you show up and not just look like some suit with a pitch deck? And, where do you even fit in as Dirt-2-Doors™? Are you translating, or are you just acting as, I don’t know, the “glue guy” for the funding?

Cody Douglas

It’s both, honestly. What these communities need is someone willing to listen to their unique vision, and then actually blueprint that into reality—funding stack and all. And that’s exactly where Dirt-2-Doors™ fits in: we bridge that gap. We translate the vision into something every funding partner can believe in, because if the capital partners don’t trust the plan—or each other—you’ll never get all the pieces lined up. The developer who just chases a checkbook doesn’t last long. You gotta solve for the people and the process, not just the price.

Jax Harper

So it’s not just about writing a flashy proposal or having big connections. You actually gotta stick around, solve the little details, and earn that trust right through the finish line, huh?

Cody Douglas

Absolutely. And I’ll toss in one last quick story—Tom once talked about this municipal rec center where the city had a big federal grant that suddenly—poof!—hit a ceiling. Private capital stepped in at the eleventh hour, plugged the gap, and the only reason it worked is everyone had history together. Trusted the builder, trusted the partners. That’s what made the stack succeed—not just, you know, the money itself.

Jax Harper

That’s kinda wild, and honestly reassuring—because all the structure in the world doesn’t fix things if the people behind it aren’t actually committed. Well, that’s all for this episode! We’ll dig even deeper into the wild world of real project delivery next time. Cody, thanks—as always—for peeling back the industry curtain for us.

Cody Douglas

Anytime, Jax. Always a pleasure. See you—and all our listeners—soon.

Jax Harper

Alright, that’s a wrap for Dirt-2-Doors Radio. Take care everybody, and we’ll catch you on the next one!