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“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

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Our best wishes to you on this Fourth of July

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence

Perhaps more than ever, 2020 is a time to reflect on our great nation and celebrate America. Our best thoughts are with you, along with our gratitude for all you do to keep our country safe.

Thank you and Happy Fourth of July!

Free Body Armor for Law Enforcement Officers

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Thousands of law enforcement professionals in the United States and around the world are working in dangerous environments and they do not have a ballistic vest to protect them. In addition, thousands of officers are graciously provided new ballistic vests every 5 years. While the manufacturer warranty may be expired, often the vest will still effectively protect those that do not have one.

The Armor of God Project began in 2009 and in 2018 transitioned into Vest For Life. The program is now headquartered in Knoxville, TN, but their mission remains the same: Protect those who protect us by providing donated ballistic vests to officers who need them.

Learn more and apply

AFG COVID-19 Supplemental Awards Underway

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Supplemental grants help Fire Service Organizations nationwide against coronavirus

FEMA has begun announcing award rounds for Fire Service Organizations awarded Supplemental AFG grants to aid their operations against the novel coronavirus. Awards will continue until all funding is exhausted.

View the award list

Recipients will be notified through email and must log into the FEMA GO portal to review their award package and accept the award. Information on all AFG grant awards is posted on the AFG website at www.fema.gov/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program and updated on a regular basis.

GRANT ALERT! Up to $5K from Walmart grants

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Apply for Walmart Community Grants by Dec. 31, 2020

Looking for a way to fund projects?

The Walmart Community Grant Program awards grants ranging from $250 to $5,000.

Eligible nonprofit organizations must operate on the local level (or be an affiliate/chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.

Organizations may only submit a total number of 25 applications and/or receive up to 25 grants within the 2020 grant cycle.

Grant applications are due no later than Dec. 31, 2020.

Learn more and apply

Need help with this grant?

Contact us

Walmart Community Grants

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$250 to $5,000 grants

Grant Website

Grant Guidelines

Grant Deadline: This program accepts applications on an ongoing basis.
Grant Deadline: Dec. 31, 2020

Grants from Walmart and Sam’s Clubs benefit your local area

The Community Grant Program awards grants ranging from $250 to $5,000 through each of our facilities (Walmart Stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Logistics Facilities). Eligible nonprofit organizations must operate on the local level (or be an affiliate/chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.

What this grant does for your agency

Organizations may only submit a total number of 25 applications and/or receive up to 25 grants within the 2020 grant cycle.

Agencies awarded the Walmart Community Grants receive grants of $250 to $5,000.

Grant Eligibility

For full eligibility details, see the Grant Guidelines:

Organizations applying must meet one of following criteria:

  • An organization holding a current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3), or (19) of the Internal Revenue Code, listed on the IRS Master File and conducting activities within the United States (excluding nationally sponsored organizations, such as American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Children’s Miracle Network and United Way)
  • A recognized government entity: state, county or city agency, including law enforcement or fire departments, that are requesting funds exclusively for public purposes
  • A K-12 public or nonprofit private school, charter school, community/junior college, state/private college or university; or a church or other faith-based organization with a proposed project that benefits the community at large, such as food pantries, soup kitchens and clothing closets.

About the Walmart Foundation

In 1962, Sam Walton opened the doors of the first Walmart. He recognized the value of bringing affordable products to people in small towns. Walmart has been helping people save money – and live better – ever since. In 1982, the Walmart Foundation was created to help support the communities Walmart serves. Together, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation generally provide more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind annual giving. More

Grant Deadline

Grant applications are due no later than Dec. 31, 2020.

Apply

Apply for the Walmart Community Grants

Department of Justice Awards Nearly $400 Million for Law Enforcement Hiring to Advance Community Policing

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The Department of Justice today announced nearly $400 million in grant funding through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP).  The Attorney General announced funding awards to 596 law enforcement agencies across the nation, which allows those agencies to hire 2,732 additional full-time law enforcement professionals.  The awards announced today are inclusive of the $51 million announced in May as part of Operation Relentless Pursuit.  

“The Department of Justice is committed to providing the police chiefs and sheriffs of our great nation with needed resources, tools, and support.  The funding announced today will bolster their ranks and contribute to expanding community policing efforts nationwide,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “A law enforcement agency’s most valuable assets are the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting and serving their communities.”

The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing by providing direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement officers.  In addition to providing financial support for hiring, CHP provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to enhance local community policing strategies and tactics.  In a changing economic climate, CHP funding helps law enforcement agencies maintain sufficient sworn personnel levels to promote safe communities.  Funding through this program had been on hold since the spring of 2018 due to a nationwide injunction that was lifted earlier this year.

CHP applicants were required to identify a specific crime and disorder problem focus area and explain how the funding will be used to implement community policing approaches to that problem focus area.  Forty-three percent of the awards announced today will focus on violent crime, while the remainder of the awards will focus on a variety of issues including school-based policing to fund school resource officer positions, building trust and respect, and opioid education, prevention, and intervention.  The COPS Office received nearly 1,100 applications requesting more than 4,000 law enforcement positions. 

The complete list of awards can be found here.  To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp.  For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

Summer grant prep

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Summer is a great time to prepare your department for upcoming grants and future grant opportunities. Here are a few tips to get you on your way to being prepared for any grant that comes your way:

Conduct a needs assessment

Proper planning involves a myriad of things, one of which is assuring that you have proper manpower and equipment to carry out your basic mission for your citizens. A needs assessment gives you the facts you need to know about how well prepared your department is to carry out its primary function.

How to do a needs assessment

What grants will you go for?

Each year, public, private, corporate, and non-profit organizations provide thousands of grants worth billions of dollars. What programs are out there that your agency could benefit from? What program will you try for for the first time? What programs have you tried for and gotten rejected, but you’re ready to try again?

Don’t miss another grant

Make sure your agency is set up in FEMA GO

FEMA GO has been a big change in how public safety agencies apply for federal grants. The intent behind FEMA GO is to have grants be managed in a more streamlined, user-friendly system. Over time, organizations like yours will be able to manage FEMA grants and other programs in one place.

This is a new system, and it is a big change. However, the new rules of the road are the new rules of the road. Once you are up and running, you should be ready to work in the new system to apply for and manage grants, and our get-ready-GO guide can show you what to do:

FEMA GO guide to apply for and manage grants

Know and practice the 4 things grant winners have in common

Over the years we’ve looked at thousands of grant applications, and we have seen it all. The good. The bad. The ugly. And there are things that consistently set the winners apart from the losers. Put our 4 tips to work in your grant efforts, and you will be far more likely to celebrate a grant award:

The 4 things grant winners have in common

Let the numbers do the talking

You can make a well-stated case for why your department needs a grant more than another, but you also have to back up your story with hard data. Luckily, there’s lots of that out there. Demographics, critical infrastructure, economics, you name it.

Get the numbers and facts you need with our resource lists

After you submit your grant, request Letters of Support

Congratulations, you submitted your grant! Once your application is in, though, there is still one thing left to do. It’s something you can—and should—do with any grant:

Request letters of support

Train

Just as you train for different incidents, it takes solid training to write a good grant too.

Check out our online training and national training options for what’s right for you

Need help with all this?

Our expert Senior Grant Consultants are a phone call or an email away.

Contact us today

NIMS ALERT 11-20: FEMA Releases COVID-19 Operational Guidance for Hurricane Season

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FEMA Releases COVID-19 Operational Guidance for Hurricane Season

FEMA released “COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season” to help emergency managers and public health officials best prepare for disasters, while continuing to respond to and recover from COVID-19.
 
The guide provides actions emergency managers and public officials can take to prepare for response and recovery operations during ongoing COVID-19 response efforts. Specifically, the guidance:

  • Describes anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19.
  • Highlights planning considerations for emergency managers based on current challenges.
  • Outlines how FEMA plans to adapt response and recovery operations.
  • Creates a shared understanding of expectations between FEMA and emergency managers.
  • Includes guidance, checklists and resources to support emergency managers’ response and recovery planning.

Private sector and non-governmental organizations can use the guidance to gain an understanding of the government’s posture, planning and readiness efforts.
 
To expand awareness and understanding of the guidance, FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate is conducting four webinars. The webinars will allow emergency managers an opportunity to discuss how the guidance can assist jurisdictions review and modify their plans given the constraints and limitations of the ongoing pandemic. To register, please click on the link for the preferred webinar from the list below:

Download the COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season on the FEMA website.

LEAs GRANT ALERT! Last chance for coronavirus grant

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BJA Coronavirus Emergency Grant closes May 29

For Law Enforcement Agencies seeking additional funding to aid with coronavirus response, May 29 is the LAST DAY to apply for the BJA’s FY 2020 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program.

May 27 is new FY2019 NEW SAFER Application Period Deadline

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Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants

In recognition of the economic hardships facing local jurisdictions and fire departments across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf has waived the cost share, position cost limit, supplanting, and minimum budget requirements for FY19 SAFER grant applicants. For more information, see Information Bulletin 450 which can be found here.  In addition, the application period is being extended to May 27, 2020 at 5 p.m. ET. 

Please note: Funds under the FY 2019 SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity must be used to hire new, additional firefighters, and the costs to hire those firefighters must be at the usual annual costs of a first-year (i.e., entry-level) firefighter. This requirement has not been waived.

Additionally, the waiver of the requirements identified above does not apply to the FY 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) or to the FY 2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant – COVID-19 Supplemental Program (AFG-S).

In consideration of the economic impact of the pandemic, Acting Secretary Wolf has also authorized waivers for certain provisions of the FY 2020 SAFER Grant Program. DHS/FEMA will provide more details on the FY 2020 changes soon.

Applicants no longer need to request an economic hardship waiver within the FY 2019 online application. If you have already submitted your FY 2019 application, no further action is needed at this time. The waiver of these provisions and the adjustments to the requested amount will be handled by the SAFER Program Office during their technical review of applications.

If you have not yet submitted your application, please note that the applications will continue to show the cost share/position cost limit. However, as stated above, there is nothing additional that applicants need to do regarding these provisions. The adjustment will be made by the SAFER Program Office.

The FEMA Grant Outcomes (GO) system 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 Authorized Organization Representative (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. Applications received by FEMA GO after the extended application submission deadline will be deemed as late and typically will not be considered for funding.

DHS/FEMA will not review applications that are received after the extended deadline or consider them for funding except in cases where a technical problem outside of the applicant’s control prevented submission of the application by the deadline.