We’re not sure yet when AFG is going to open. Now is the time to get set up and familiar with FEMA GO. Once it’s go time for AFG, you’ll be off to the races!
FY 2018 AFG and SAFER award rounds are winding down. Fire grants worth millions have been awarded to Fire Service Organizations nationwide.
But what’s next?
Now that awards are wrapping up, it’s time to get ready for FY 2019 fire grants. Application periods haven’t been confirmed yet. What matters far more, though, is that you are getting ready now, so that whenever a grant opens, you are ready to go on your application and narrative.
What does it take to get ready for FY 2019 fire grants? Contact us today to discuss your department, the equipment you need, and how to get ready for any grant.
In what are expected to be the final award rounds for FY 2018 SAFER and AFG, 221 US Fire Service Organizations have received a total of $35,760,094 in fire grant awards.
During Round 8 AFG fire grants, $34,897,561 was awarded to 214 fire departments, including:
Friends Of Long Lake Fire Ems, Inc., Long Lake, WI, Operations and Safety, $6,190
HI-NELLA FIRE CO, SOMERDALE, NJ, Regional Request, $14,286
Nashua, City of, Nashua, IA, Vehicle Acquisition, $80,952
Upper, Township of, WOODBINE, NJ, Operations and Safety, $548,095
BOLTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT, BOLTON, NC, Regional Request, $846,542
SPECULATOR, VILLAGE OF , SPECULATOR, NY, Vehicle Acquisition, $928,571
During the final round of 8 SAFER fire job grants, 8 fire departments were awarded a total of $862,533 for recruitment, hiring, and retention of firefighters:
City Of Savannah, Savannah, GA, Hiring of firefighters, $2,138,478
City of South Fulton, INC, Atlanta, GA, Hiring of firefighters, $2,242,500
Chillicothe Community Fire Protection District, Chillicothe, IL, Recruitment and retention, $200,000
WARE, TOWN OF, WARE, MA, Recruitment and retention, $90,000
Goose Creek Rural Fire Department Inc , Goose Creek, SC, Recruitment and retention, $552,258
HOPKINS, COUNTY OF, SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX, Hiring of firefighters, $243,429
Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority, Kent, WA, Hiring of firefighters, $948,192
YODER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT 5A, YODER, WY, Recruitment and retention, $485,410
Application periods for FY 2019 AFG, SAFER, and FP&S programs will be announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to First Responder Grants for updates.
From coast to coast, 7 First Responder Grants clients won a combined $1,073,179 in fire grants from the FY 2018 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). These awards were announced as part of the 325 Rounds 4 and 5 AFG fire grant awards and the 123 SAFER fire jobs grant awards announced Sept. 11 and 13, 2019.
Hualapai NES, AZ, Washer extractor/structural turnout gear, $70,300
Fort Lee FD, NJ, SCBA, $55,500
Southwick FD, MA, Hydraulic Rescue Tools, $39,000
2 SAFER awardees, for a total of $761,667:
Dwight Fire Protection District, IL, $283,000
Waxahachie FD, TX, $478,667
AFG and SAFER fire grants are administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“In addition to equipment, training, and facilities, FEMA fire grants can also help Fire Service Organizations recruit, hire, and retain personnel,” says Kurt Bradley, Senior Grants Consultant at First Responder Grants. “SAFER can make a big difference for departments trying to boost their rosters. These winners are a reminder that any department, big or small, anywhere in the country, can make their way to a grant’s winner’s circle.”
About First Responder Grants
Public safety agencies nationwide rely on First Responder Grants for grant writing training, grant consulting, and the latest news and tips and news for writing winning grant applications. Since 1998, our Certified Grants Consultants have helped public safety agencies like yours win over $2,000,000,000 in grant funding. Our grant writing training students learn to write competitive grants that bring home additional funding dollars to your agency, but that’s not all. Students receiving First Responder Grants training in grant writing maintain a documented +80% success rate at winning a grant award after attending our classes—many on their very first application.
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:
System for Award Management (SAM) Reminders
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:
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 the SAM.gov is FREE
SAM.gov registrations are only active for one year and registration must be renewed and revalidated at least every 12 months from the date previously registered to avoid being INACTIVE.
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:
If you have questions or concerns about your SAM.gov registration, please contact the Federal Support desk at https://www.fsd.gov
First Responder Grants can help too.
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?
Are you looking for a grant that can supports your organization’s fire prevention, preparedness and control efforts?
The current round of the FM Global Fire Prevention Grant Program closes Mar. 31. This long-time grant program is open to fire departments and brigades, as well as national, state, regional, local and community organizations. Eligible programs include:
Fire Prevention Education/Training (community outreach initiatives, workshops, publications)
Arson Prevention/Fire Investigation (juvenile fire setter programs, continuing education courses, digital and specialized cameras, accelerant detection equipment)
There’s still time to get in your application. But if you miss the deadline? Fear not. FM Global accepts applications on a rolling basis. If you miss the Mar. 31 deadline, the next review date is July 31.
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!
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.
This document will provide Recruitment and Retention applicants with a list of the categories and sub-category available in the application as well as information on the level of details needed for each budget line item.
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.
