The FY 2015 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant application period is underway and will close on Friday, March 25, 2016 at 5:00 P.M. EST. We recommend that you start your application today by reviewing the FY 2015 SAFER Application Assistance Tools. These tools were produced specifically to help potential applicants plan their FY 2015 SAFER applications.
Application Assistance Tools and Tips Are Available
FY 2015 SAFER Application Assistance Tools
- Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
- Application Checklist: This checklist will help you prepare your SAFER grant application
- Self-Evaluation – Hiring of Firefighters. Rehiring, retention, attrition, and new hires; and career, combination, and volunteer fire departments
- Self-Evaluation – Recruitment and Retention – Fire Departments: Combination and volunteer fire departments
- Self-Evaluation – Recruitment and Retention – Interest Organizations: National, State, Local, or Tribal Volunteer Firefighters Interest Organizations
- Economic Hardship Supplemental Information – Hiring of Firefighters: This checklist will help those departments applying under the Hiring of Firefighters category to gather information on the economic conditions of their fire department in preparation of a SAFER grant application
- FY 2015 SAFER Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
SAM.Gov Registration Is Required to Apply and Receive Grants
All eligible applicants must be registered and active in the System for Award Management (SAM) before you can submit an application. Per 2 CFR § 25.205, FEMA may not make an award to an entity until the entity has complied with the requirements to provide a valid DUNS number and maintain an active SAM.gov registration with current information. SAM.gov consolidates federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).
To register, or validate your information, please visit: https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.
SAM.gov Registration Tips: Please ensure the following items are current in SAM.gov and the DUNS number used in SAM.gov is the same one you use for all FEMA applications:
- Organization’s name
- Address
- Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Banking information (type of account (checking or saving), routing number, and account number
- Many websites may look official in appearance but are not. As a reminder, registration in SAM.gov is FREE
- SAM.gov registration is only active for one year and must be renewed annually
- FEMA has prepared a technical assistance document, the SAM.gov Get Ready Guide. This document is designed to walk you through the SAM.gov registration process
- This information should be consistent in all registration documents
Should you need assistance with your SAM.gov account, there are several ways to get help:
- Submit your SAM.gov question online to the Federal Service Help Desk at https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do
- Call the Federal Service Help Desk toll free at (866) 606 – 8220
- SAM Quick Start Guide for New Grantee Registration and SAM Video Tutorial for New Applicants are tools created by the General Services Administration to assist those registering with SAM.gov
- If you have questions or concerns about your SAM.gov registration, please contact the Federal Support desk at https://www.fsd.gov.
Submitting Preparer Information
FEMA requires that all applicants disclose the name, address and contact information of the person or organization, to include contracted grant writers, who are responsible for preparing the SAFER application. Please ensure that this information is accurate at the time of submission. As a reminder, all applicants must attest that all information contained within the application, including preparer information, must be true, complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge. If you contract with a grant writer, and they either refuse, or provide advice to not list them in the preparer information section of the application, please notify the SAFER program office.
Attention To Detail and Completeness of Your Application
SAFER is one of the most highly competitive grant programs offered through the Federal government. It is important to ensure the accuracy of the information submitted as part of your application, to include, but not limited to, your department’s demographic information, call volume, staffing levels, comprehensive budget breakdowns, recruitment and retention rates, if applicable, as well as the required narrative statements.
Recruitment and Retention Regional Applications: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Requirement
FY 2015 regional awardees will be required to produce, upon FEMA’s request, a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or similar document. This document will serve to demonstrate that all parties identified as part of the application have agreed to participate in the application, understand their roles and responsibilities as part of any award, and to further identify the distribution and use of any grant funded assets or services. The MOU must be signed and dated by all participating entities. Additional guidance regarding the requirement for MOU’s may be found in the FY 2015 SAFER Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).