SAFER Grant Application Period Ends February 4, 2022

SAFER fire jobs grant news release from FEMA

Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Application Period will close Friday, February 4, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET. 

The deadline to submit SAFER grant applications is approaching and late applications will not be accepted. Review the FY 2021 SAFER application guidance materials including the funding notice, application checklist, frequently asked questions, and more on the SAFER Program website at: Staffing For Adequate Fire And Emergency Response (SAFER) Documents | FEMA.gov

Reminder: DHS/FEMA will not review applications received after the deadline or consider them for funding. 

APPLICATION REVIEW CHECKLIST

• Proofread your application: Mistakes or errors on your application can disqualify your organization for grant award consideration.
• Remove any “filler” or placeholder text and update each application field with your final answer.

• Does your narrative explain your organizations needs in a way that someone would easily understand? Have you compared your narrative against the Self Evaluation Guides?
• Make sure that you have described your organization’s needs in your voice. Do not use boilerplate language or copy from vendors, manufacturers, other grant applicants, etc.
• Check the quantities and costs for all budgeted line items that you are requesting and confirm that there are no discrepancies between the Request Details section of the application and the Narrative.
• Ensure that you have included costs for all items and/or activities that are needed to implement your grant, if awarded.
• Have all application fields, or questions, been answered?
• Ask a colleague who is not involved with the actual writing of the grant to proofread your application. 
• Make sure that all facts and figures are accurate throughout the entire application.

SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION

The submission of your grant application in FEMA GO is a two-step process.

Step 1:	As you input information into your grant application in FEMA GO, the status of your application will read “Pending submission.”
	After all required information is entered, you will see a button labeled “Submit for signature” in the Review Application section. Green checkmarks listed for every section of the application signifies all required information is entered correctly.
	Clicking the “Submit for signature” button moves the application to the second, and final step, of the submission process.
Step 2:	When the application moves to this step, the application status will read “Pending AOR Signature.” The application must be electronically signed by an individual who is assigned the FEMA GO user role of Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) for the submitting organization. An organization can have multiple people assigned with the user role of AOR. The AOR that submits the application will automatically become the Primary Point of Contact (POC) for the grant application.PLEASE NOTE: Applicants must add a secondary POC to the grant application and the secondary POC must be someone other than the AOR who is submitting the application. Additionally, the AOR must be a duly authorized current employee, personnel, official, staff or leadership of the recipient and provide an email address unique to the recipient at the time of application and upon any change in assignment during the period of performance. Consultants or contractors of the recipient are not permitted to be the AOR of the recipient.
	If you are assigned the role of AOR for your organization, you will have the ability to continue the application and proceed with signing/submitting.
	If you are not assigned the role of AOR, such as “Grant Writer”, you will not be able to sign and submit the application. In such cases, you must coordinate with a person assigned the role of AOR in the submitting organization. A person assigned as an AOR must log into FEMA GO and complete the final signature submission steps.
	There are several assurances and certifications that must be completed and signed by the AOR in the “Submit application” process. The “Submit” button will become active once the AOR has completed all required signatures on the Submit Application page.
	Click the “Submit” button to submit your application to FEMA.
	Once the AOR clicks the ‘Submit’ button, the screen will refresh, and the status of the application will read “Submitted to FEMA”. The application is now submitted. The AOR should receive an email from the FEMA GO system, sent from [email protected], confirming the submission. Please check “Spam” or “Junk” folders if the email is not received shortly after successful submission. Applications that have been reopened are no longer considered submitted and will not be considered for funding. To have reopened applications considered for funding, you must complete the submission process again.

HAVE LAST-MINUTE QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS?

If you have last-minute questions about applying for an SAFER grant, or are having technical problems with the electronic application, call the Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 or send an e-mail to [email protected].The SAFER Help Desk staff will be on hand Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET to help applicants through the end of the application period.

• Having computer or technical problems? Late submissions will not be accepted even if due to problems such as expired passwords or technical malfunctions. If you are having a problem submitting your application, you must report the problem to the SAFER Help Desk before the application deadline of Friday, February 4^th at 5 p.m. ET.
• Formal submission of the completed application is required. Many applications appear to be complete but have not been officially submitted into the FEMA GO system. No application will be processed automatically or considered for funding unless the applicant properly submits the request and receives a subsequent e-mail confirmation.
• FEMA GO automatically records proof of timely submission and the system generates an electronic date/time stamp when FEMA GO successfully receives the application. The individual with the AOR role that submitted the application will also receive the official date/time stamp and a FEMA GO tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission on the date and time that FEMA GO received the application. Applications received by FEMA GO after the extended application submission deadline will be considered late and will not be considered for funding.

Web Browser Information

FEMA GO will support only the most recent major release of the following browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Users who attempt to use tablet type devices or other browsers may encounter issues with using FEMA GO.

DUNS Transition to UEI

By April 4, 2022, the federal government will stop using the Dun & Bradstreet number (DUNS) to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). At that point, entities doing business with the federal government will use a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) created in SAM.gov.

Based on SAM.gov guidance, organizations that are currently registered will automatically be given a UEI and it will be displayed in FEMA GO. No action is needed at this time by active organizations. The FEMA GO system is sweeping SAM.gov nightly and the UEI should prepopulate in your application.