Go to: Greg Bavis ・ Margaret Stark ・ Mark Tetreault・ Rick Morris・ John Storm
Greg Bavis
Contact Greg
Office: 603-254-4730
Email: [email protected]
Mailing address: PO Box 432, Belmont, NH 03220
Over 16 Years Experience with Public Safety Grant Writing
Over 30 Years in the Fire Service and Law Enforcement
About Greg: Greg has spent his entire career in the Northeast of the United States. His on-the-ground, in-the-ranks experience in both the Fire Service and Law Enforcement has helped him understand what small-town USA needs to do to obtain funding through grants. Greg has spent countless hours researching grants to find funding opportunities for the needs of not only his department, but assisting other departments obtaining funding, along with completing the required documentations for successful closeout of many grants.
Greg’s passion is finding money to augment a department’s money through grants. He takes enormous passion to all grants he writes and maintains a winning attitude in all his grant-writing endeavors. With his knowledge of the public safety arena, winning attitude, and skill for grant-writing, Greg can assist you and your department in obtaining the grants you’re looking for.
Background
Greg has been in the fire service for over 30 years. He started his career in public safety in 1988 as a full-time police officer, and a call firefighter. In my career I have worked for municipal public works along with being a call firefighter. Greg started his full-time career in the fire service in 2000, working up the ranks to Captain of a smaller rural department. In 2004 he took a firefighting position in a much larger department, eventually serving as a full-time Lieutenant for 12 years. Greg was the departments grant writer and fire investigator. While I was a full-time firefighter and Lieutenant I served as a part-time police officer for 20 years, for the past 4 years I have been employed part time as a Communications Specialist for a multi-agency sheriff’s department and a local police department.
Since 2002, Greg has successfully applied for many state and local grants. He has earned a grant success rate of over 85% for grants applied for and awarded. Those grant awards include various of Fire Act Grants. Greg has also served as the grants administrator for the Fire Act Grant received, following all federal and local reporting to ensure proper documentation of the grants. He has assisted in the closeout of 4 grants for a department that merged with another department to properly close out the grants and meet all federal requirements.
Grants that Greg has applied for and been awarded include:
- Fire Act Grants
- SCBA
- Structural firefighting bunker gear
- Gear washer and extractor
- Facility upgrades to fire alarm and full sprinkler system
- EMS gear
- State grants
- Tactical EMS gear for first responders, including bulletproof vests and EMS in the warm zone equipment
- Forestry hose and equipment
- Competitive grant funding through private companies
- Fire investigation equipment
- Fire investigation class funding for students to attend week-long investigation school
Margaret Stark
Contact Margaret
Office: 803-825-0087
Cell: 540-230-8440
Email: [email protected]
Mailing address: 237 N. Brooks St., Manning, SC 29102
Over 20 Years Experience with Public Safety Grants and Grant Writing
About Margaret: The owner and manager of First Responder Grants, Inc., Margaret Stark is also a public safety grants consultant who specializes in law enforcement grants. With over 20 years experience in grant writing, Margaret has attained certification with the National Grant Writers Association to include:
- Senior Certified Grants Specialist
- Certified Grants Administrator
- Certified Grants Specialist
- Certified Grants Reviewer
- Certified Grants Consultant
Over 20,000 Law Enforcement Agencies Assisted
During her career Margaret has assisted over 12,000 law enforcement and public safety agencies in obtaining grant-related information for applications. Her assistance to agencies has resulted in over $900 million of additional funding for agencies in need.
Whether working via face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations, or email correspondence, Margaret helps law enforcement agencies identify available grant monies and then provides step-by-step direction as to how agencies may secure the needed funding as well as providing a final review of the application prior to submission.
Teaching & Training Across the U.S.
Margaret also teaches grant writing classes in academies, law enforcement facilities, and individual agencies across the US. Margaret is a nationally recognized speaker and instructor who has presented at professional conferences and seminars including:
- International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) annual conference
- American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET) annual conference
- Virginia Chief’s Association
- The Performance Institute
- Sigarm Academy
- CHIEF Grants Regional Seminars
- University of Virginia Command College
- Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA)
- Congressman Steven LaTourette Annual Conference
- TREXPO East and West
Corporate and Practical Experience
Prior to her career as a professional grant consultant and instructor, Margaret served for 4 years as a grant writer for a police department in southwestern Virginia. She has an additional 5 years experience in writing grants and fund-raising for non-profits as well.
When ITT Night Vision decided to start the first vendor sponsored grant program in the ’90’s Margaret was their choice to head that program. This program ran successfully for over 12 years and brought in $5 to $10 million a year in grant funded sales.
During her professional career Margaret has been the grant consultant and grant training instructor for:
- TASER
- Patriot 3
- L-3 EOS
- StarChase
- Vectronix
- Homeland Defense Journal
- Zistos
- ITT Night Vision
- CHIEF Grants
- Xenonics
Also an accomplished journalist, Margaret has written articles for PoliceOne.com, Officer.com, Air Beat Magazine, Law and Order Magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, Law Enforcement Technology Magazine, and many more.
Margaret is co-author of the published reference work Grant Writer’s Handbook for Successful Public Safety Grant Proposals, which is the first reference body of work specifically targeted and directed at the public safety sector in this field.
Mark Tetreault
Contact Mark
Office: 603-965-8599
Email: [email protected]
About Mark
Mark started his fire service career as a call firefighter in 1982 and a career firefighter in 1984. He has been a Fire Chief for 10 years, is still currently an active Fire Chief in New Hampshire, and is a practicing Emergency Medical Technician. A graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program, Mark is also a Credentialed Chief Fire Officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
Mark is one of the most successful AFG grant writers in the State of New Hampshire. He has been successful in securing grant funding for equipment such as:
- Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)
- Diesel Extraction Systems
- Sprinkler Systems
- Breathing Air Compressors
- PPE Extraction Washers
- Tanker/Tender
- Type 3 Forestry
- COVID 19 Supplemental Grant
Through the SAFER fire jobs grant program, Mark has helped procure grant funding for 6 Career Firefighters. Mark’s grant writing and review expertise also contributed to a $2 million award for the only Fire Station funded in New Hampshire under the Fire Station Construction Grant.
His successful grants have also included public safety grant awards from foundation, nonprofit, and private-sector sources, such as:
- Lt. DiBernardo Grant
- Walmart Grant
- Rotary Club Grant
- Numerous EMP Grants
- EMS in the Warm Zone
- State Forestry Grants
After taking a Grant Writing Class from Fire Responder Grants, Mark discovered his passion for grant writing and was trained by the “Godfather of Grant Writing,” Kurt Bradley.
Richard “Rick” Morris
Office: 240-580-5160
Email: [email protected]
27 Years Fire Service Experience and Former AFG Help Desk Consultant
About Rick: Richard “Rick” Morris resided in the suburbs of Washington DC for 33 years before relocating to rural Western Maryland. After 20 years, Rick retired and moved to Eastern Tennessee in 2021.
Firefighter, Lieutenant, and Special Operations
Rick started a 27-year career with the Washington DC Fire Department in 1992. In August 2020, he retired as a Lieutenant. In addition to Rick’s roles as a firefighter, EMT, and line officer, during his latter career he was fortunate to be assigned to the Special Operations (SO) Division.
As a younger firefighter and officer, Rick was very involved with the technical rescue side of the SO Division. Later in Rick’s career, he became more involved with the Hazardous Materials Unit. There he worked with several local and Federal Law Enforcement agencies, addressing homeland security issues for the City and National Capitol Region.
Rick managed the electronic meter maintenance and inventory program for the department, which included meeting with manufacturers and vendors to evaluate new products and make purchase recommendations. For almost one year, Rick was the department POC for a DARPA-funded radiation detection program that utilized Washington DC as a testbed for their technology. This program is now available commercially.
From the Fire Service to Domestic Preparedness
After retiring in 2020, Rick served as an instructor at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama, where he leads the Hazmat Technician Course. Rick enjoys the opportunity to bring together a diverse professional population that includes students from the Fire Service, Law Enforcement, and EMA.
Assisting Grantees, Applicants, Grant Writers and Congressional Representatives on the AFG Help Desk
In 2002, Rick started working as a contractor for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program as a part-time employee. He worked a Subject Matter Expert for the AFG program until he relocated to Tennessee in 2021.
During Rick’s tenure, he answered questions on the AFG Help Desk lines daily as a primary duty. He also regularly interacted with grantees, applicants, grant writers, and congressional representatives. His additional responsibilities included:
- Assisting applicants with their applications
- Answering and clarifying questions concerning NOFOs
- Navigating FEMA GO
- Processing payments
- Amendments
- Assisting with semi-annual reports and closeout reports
Rick attended in-person panel review sessions as an SME and QA representative. He also preformed PPR (Post Panel Review) for applications and provided assistance to Federal Staff as needed.
From his home in Eastern Tennessee, Rick puts his extensive Fire Service and AFG experience to work assisting public safety departments nationwide with their grant needs, applications, and strategy.
John Storm
Office: 847-309-9403
Email: [email protected]
Mailing address: PO Box 334, Mancos, CO 81328
Over 10 Years Experience with Public Safety Grant Writing and 4 Years as FEMA AFG, SAFER, FP&S Peer Reviewer
Over 31 Years in the Fire Service and Public Safety
About John: John spent the first 24 years of his public safety career working in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago along Lake Michigan. He retired in 2014 to accept a Chief’s position in a fire department in Arizona, part of the Phoenix Consortium.
John has worked in every level of the fire service. His working in two vastly different regions of the United States gives him unique insight into the differences in operations and administration of the fire service. His four years experience as a FEMA peer grant reviewer is invaluable in writing successful grants, due to his in-depth understanding of the scoring metrics utilized in all the FEMA grants.
John’s passion is to assist public safety departments with their resource and personnel needs via grants. John takes pride in all grants he writes and maintains a positive can-do attitude in all his grant-writing endeavors. With his knowledge of the public safety arena, FEMA and foundational grants, and successful grant-writing skills, John can assist you and your department in obtaining the grants you’re looking for.
Background
John has been in the fire service for over 31 years. He started his career in public safety in 1990 as a full-time firefighter paramedic just North of Chicago. After working up the ranks he retired in 2014 to accept a Chief position in a suburb of Phoenix, AZ and became part of the Phoenix Fire Consortium, made up of over 26 fire departments in the region. John was in charge of Community Services and Logistics (previously Call Resource Management). John served as the department’s grant writer and also assisted law enforcement in their grant pursuits. While working in Arizona, John was fortunate enough to be chosen as a peer reviewer for four straight years for FEMA. John participated over that timeframe in AFG, SAFER, and Fire Prevention and Safety grant peer review panels.
75% grant success rate
In 2020, John left his position in Arizona and joined GovHR USA as a Vice President. GovHR is a nationwide municipal government recruiting and consulting firm where he has led many Fire Chief and Public Safety Executive recruitments and hirings. John has successfully authored many state and local grants. He has earned a 75% grant success rate for grants applied for and awarded. Those grant awards include all FEMA grants, Firehouse Subs, and other foundational and state level grants.
Grants that John has applied for and been awarded include:
- SCBA
- Structural firefighting bunker gear
- Vehicles (Tankers/Tenders, Type I pumpers, Ambulances, Brush Trucks Type III and VI, etc.)
- Gear washer and extractor
- Exhaust Removal Equipment
- EMS gear (monitors, AEDs, ACCDs, Power Lift Cots)
- State grants
- Tactical EMS gear for first responders, including bulletproof vests and EMS in the warm zone equipment
- Fire hose and equipment
- Competitive grant funding through private companies
- Fire Prevention Program Resources
In memory of Kurt T. Bradley
Grant consultant and public safety advocate Kurt T. Bradley passed away on Dec. 22, 2022, after a lifetime of service to America’s First Responders. Kurt’s obituary
Over 20 Years Experience with Public Safety Grants and Grant Writing
About Kurt: Kurt Bradley was a nationally recognized public safety grants consultant and retired law enforcement officer and administrator. Serving as the Senior Grant Consultant with First Responder Grants, Inc., Kurt used his 30 years experience in public safety and grant-writing to specialize in the grant development and grant training needs for the Fire Service, Rescue, EMS, and Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs).
Qualifications
Kurt attained certifications with the National Grant Writers Association as a:
- Certified Grants Consultant
- Certified Grants Reviewer
- Certified Grants Administrator
- Certified Grants Specialist
Background
Kurt began his career in the US Air Force, serving during the Vietnam era. He served as an Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems flight crew member and also with the nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program as an Astro Surveyor. He was a key member in the development and testing of the Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS) program currently in use today.
After an honorable separation in 1976, Kurt began his 25-year career in law enforcement. In 2001 he retired as a Lieutenant and Assistant Chief with a Police Department in Central Florida. During his law enforcement career he was the commander of the communications and criminal investigations divisions for his department. He was a certified law enforcement instructor with the State of Florida and, after the events of 9/11, served with the regional FBI anti-terrorism task force. Kurt was also the grant writer for his city.
Upon retiring from law enforcement, Kurt worked for the local housing authority, writing grants for that agency to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He also wrote grants to corporate and private foundations for social service programs. He was involved in the administration of the $24.5 million HUD HOPE VI grant awarded to that agency and had responsibility for $3.2 million of social service programs. Kurt’s work at this agency resulted in several regional and national HUD “Best Practice” awards while he was employed there for programs that he developed.
From 2004-2009, Kurt was appointed to develop and direct CHIEF Grants (a business unit of CHIEF Corp.) and had responsibility for developing this new business unit providing grant writing training and grant development services to public safety agencies nationwide.
In 2009, Kurt was offered and accepted the position of VP of Homeland Defense Grants with responsibility for developing a full service grant consulting and training firm to assist public safety agencies across the US with a special interest in DHS funding streams.
In 2010, Kurt joined First Responder Grants, Inc., as a senior consultant. He joined forces with his long-time professional colleague and mentor, Margaret Stark, to better serve the First Responder and Public Safety agencies of the US, and those companies serving them. Kurt is the Director and Senior Consultant for all Fire/Rescue/EMS and Emergency Management consulting. Their current client base covers more than 9,000 public safety agenices acorss the US.
During Kurt’s career, he and Margaret have assisted their clients and public safety agencies to win more than $1 billion dollars in grant awards from corporate/private foundations, local, state and federal grant programs.
Author, Journalist, Speaker & Instructor
Kurt gave presentations and led discussions on grant issues at conferences, summits, seminars and workshops. He regularly appeared for grant strategy and development presentations with a specialized emphasis on DHS and public safety grant seminars across the country. A dynamic speaker and presenter, Kurt engaged his audience and was renowned for his “meat and potatoes” style and his ability to present his subject matter in a format that was easily understood and comprehended well by the public safety employee.
Kurt was a regularly published freelance magazine journalist and guest columnist to public safety industry and Homeland Security publications. He was a guest staff columnist to several local newspapers and wrote a weekly law enforcement column. Kurt was the editor of his agency’s newsletter and won both the FAHRO and SERC-NAHRO “Best Newsletter” awards for a housing agency in 2003. Kurt was a featured guest columnist for the Homeland Defense Journal, FireRescue1, Campus Safety Magazine, JEMS, Fleet Safety Magazine and other public safety industry publications. He also was a prolific blogger in the Federal Grants and Funding thread of Firehouse.com forums, as well as the primary blogger and writer of the First Responder Grants Fund Finder blog.
Kurt was co-author of the published reference work Grant Writer’s Handbook for Successful Public Safety Grant Proposals, which was the first reference body of work specifically targeted and directed at the public safety sector in this field.
Kurt’s broad range of experience in public safety, grant writing and journalism made him uniquely qualified to handle the needs of public safety agencies and others, seeking grants to supplement their shrinking budgets.
As a grants consultant and retired public safety administrator, Kurt brought a unique perspective to this field both as a former agency “administrator-in-need,” and as a grant professional. His experience served departments nationwide as they competed for the billions of dollars in grant monies that have been made available through the Department of Homeland Security and other public and private sources of grant funding.
Kurt passed away on Dec. 22, 2022. He is a friend and colleague who will be deeply missed. You can see his obituary here