AFG is coming.
The question is, will your department be ready to hit the ground running when the Fire Service’s biggest grant opens for applications?
Get. Ready. Now.
And the way you get ready, is to know what you need. To know what you need, it’s time to conduct a needs assessment. We’re going to walk you through how.
If your department is like thousands of others around the country, you are wondering when you are going to hear about your AFG application. We’ve been hearing about fire departments receiving some eye-widening emails, and here’s what our own Senior Grant Consultant has to say about the instructions in the email:
“The following emails are starting to arrive in people’s mailboxes,” says Kurt. “I do not believe it is an indication of an award to anyone. However, the only people receiving them are those with 2018 AFG applications in the system right now. If you have any application submitted and under consideration at this time, you need to do this right now!”
If you’ve received an email like the one below, follow these instructions:
This is a reminder that per the FY 2018 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Programs (AFGP) all grant applicants must have been registered in System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting their online application.
All Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grant applicants must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times while they have an application pending or have an active federal award.
FEMA may not make an award to an applicant if they do not have an active SAM.gov registration with current information.
Therefore, we recommended that all applicants check their SAM.gov account to make sure it is ACTIVE. Please ensure the following items are current in SAM and the DUNS number used in SAM is the same one you use for all FEMA applications:
Should you need assistance with your SAM.gov account, there are several ways to get help:
If you have questions or concerns about your SAM.gov registration, please contact the Federal Support desk at https://www.fsd.gov
The information above is what we’ve been hearing about coming from SAM and FEMA. Are you trying to figure out what this means for your grant and your application?
We can help with that. Contact us today
FDs, if you’ve been worried about grant funding getting reallocated for the border wall, some recent news should set you at ease.
President Trump has signed into law the Consolidated Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations Act. This $333 billion spending package includes multi-million dollar increases to many grant programs. Here’s a breakdown of funding levels for various grants and agencies:
* AFG and SAFER have been funded at $350M FOR EACH PROGRAM, which is level funding from 2018
* State Fire Assistance program funded at $81 million, which is up $1 million from FY18
* State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) funded at $525 million, which is $18 million up from FY18
* United States Fire Administration (USFA) funded at $44.179 million (plus another $1.5 million for National Fire Academy infrastructure improvements). FY18 funding was $42.9 million
* Urban Area Search and Rescue System funded at $45.18 million, which is $10.15 million up from FY18
* Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funded at $640 million, which is $10 million up from FY18
* Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program funded at $17 million, which is $1 million up from FY18
The upshot?
These crucial grant programs are healthy. You can safely ignore any doom-and-gloom nonsense circulating in the media or around the station table.
If you haven’t already, get working on those SAFER applications, start prepping for FY19 AFG, and look into any other Federal program that might benefit your department.
Congress and the President have done their job on allocating the funds. Now it’s your turn to get to work on winning those grants!
Grant Application Period: 8:00 a.m. ET, Friday, February 15, 2019 — 5:00 p.m. ET., Friday, March 22, 2019
NOFO Number: DHS-18-GPD-083-000-99
The purpose of the SAFER Grant Program is to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments.
The objective of the SAFER grant program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities to respond to emergencies and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Local fire departments accomplish this by improving staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
These are the areas where the NOFO indicated that the information is different from previous years
Applicants may now request to waive the position cost limit for new firefighters.
Pursuant to IB 427, applicants must indicate when they apply for an award whether they are requesting a waiver and what requirement they seek to waive.
The simplified acquisition threshold increased to $250,000.
The definition of “new recruit.”
Updated prioritization and eligibility tables.
Although not required for a SAFER grant, it is preferable that the enhanced staffing levels of all SAFER recipients should ensure that all first-arriving apparatus are staffed with a minimum of four qualified personnel (to meet National Fire Protection Association.
(NFPA) 1710/1720 standards) who are capable of initiating the suppression response. Ultimately, SAFER recipients should achieve more efficient responses and safer incident scenes, thereby ensuring communities have improved protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
SAFER offers grants to support projects in two activities. This NOFO provides potential eligible applicants with application requirements and details for processing and evaluating applications for financial assistance for both of these activity areas:
Hiring of Firefighters Activity is to hire new, additional firefighters to improve staffing levels or changing the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters
Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity is to assist fire departments with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response
Agencies awarded the FY 2019 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) receive funds to recruit and hire firefighters.
Only a limited number of grants will be awarded:
Available funding for the NOFO: $350,000,000
Projected number of Awards: 300
For full eligibility details, see the Grant Guidelines.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helps people before, during, and after disasters. More
Grant applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. EST, Friday, Mar. 22, 2019.
Funding Opportunity Number: DHS-18-GPD-083-000-99
Apply for the FY 2019 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants (SAFER)
The FY 2018 SAFER application period will open on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. ET and will close on Friday, March 22, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Start planning your FY 2018 SAFER Grant application now by reviewing the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and Economic Hardship Waivers Information Bulletin (IB), and technical assistance tools below. These tools were produced specifically to help potential applicants begin to plan their 2018 applications ahead of the application period. The tools can be viewed on the AFG website or downloaded to your computer.
SAFER Grants Help Desk: If you have questions about the technical assistance tools listed below, call or e-mail the SAFER Grants help Desk. The toll-free number is 1-866-274-0960; the e-mail address for questions is firegrants@fema.dhs.gov.
Remember: The FY 2018 FP&S grant application period will open on Monday, November 12, 2018 at 8 AM ET and will close on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 5 PM ET.
The FP&S Program Office will host 2 webinars to help you with your FY 2018 FP&S grant application. The webinars will provide potential applicants with general information about the FP&S grant program, how to navigate the grant application, and tips for preparing an application. FP&S Program Officers will be available to answer questions.
Details and more: AFGP Workshop Schedule at FEMA.gov
Please make sure to thoroughly review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) prior to beginning your application, as it contains the latest updates to the FY 2018 FP&S Grant Program. Begin preparing your application now by using the following application assistance tools:
Up to $35,000,000 in fire grants availableGrant Application Period: Monday, November 12, 2018, 8 a.m. ET – Friday, December 21, 2018, 5 p.m. (EST)
The purpose of the FP&S Grant Program is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards by assisting fire prevention programs and supporting firefighter health and safety research and development.
The objective of the FY 2018 FP&S Grant Program is for grantees to carry out fire prevention education and training, fire code enforcement, fire/arson investigation, firefighter safety and health programming, prevention efforts, and research and development.
FP&S Grants are offered to support projects in two activities. This NOFO provides potential eligible applicants with application requirements and details for processing and evaluating applications for financial assistance for both of these activity areas.
Fire Prevention and Safety Activity (FP&S)
The FP&S Activity is designed to reach high-risk target groups and mitigate the incidence of death, injuries, and property damage caused by fire and fire-related hazards.
Accordingly, the four project categories eligible for funding under this activity are:
Each category within this activity has specific priorities. For additional details, please see Appendix B – Programmatic Information and Priorities, Section II. Funding Priorities.
Firefighter Safety Research and Development (R&D) Activity
The R&D Activity is aimed at improving firefighter safety, health, or wellness through research and development that reduces firefighter fatalities and injuries.
The 6 project categories eligible for funding under this activity are:
Agencies awarded the FY2018 Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grants receive grant funds to mitigate the incidence of death, injuries, and property damage caused by fire and fire-related hazards; and to improve firefighter safety, health, or wellness through research and development that reduces firefighter fatalities and injuries.
Only a limited number of grants will be awarded.
Available Funding for the NOFO: $35,000,000
Projected Number of Awards: 150
Period of Performance: 12–36 months.
For full eligibility details, see the Grant Guidelines:
Fire departments; and national, regional, state, local, federally recognized tribal, and non-profit organizations that are recognized for their experience and expertise in fire prevention and safety programs and activities. Both
private and public non-profit organizations are eligible to apply for funding in this activity.
For-profit organizations, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible to receive an FP&S Grant Award under the FP&S Activity.
FEMA helps people before, during, and after disasters. More
Grant applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. EST, Fri., Dec. 21, 2018.
Funding Opportunity Number: DHS-18-GPD-044-000-98. Apply for the FY2018 Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grants
FEMA has announced Round 10 fire jobs grant winners for the FY 2017 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program. FEMA awarded 18 fire service hiring grants totaling $19,655,982, including:
Subsequent SAFER fire jobs grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest SAFER fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 7 fire safety and prevention grant winners for the FY 2017 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants program. FEMA awarded 13 fire grants totaling $15,945,893, including:
Subsequent FP&S fire safety and prevention grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest FP&S fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 11 fire grant winners for the FY 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). FEMA awarded 33 fire grants totaling $19,385,110, including:
Subsequent AFG fire grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest AFG news.