EMS grants: Go 'outside the tackle box' for funding solutions

Dwindling budgets, aging equipment, and a constant decline in reimbursement rates create a unique environment for EMS agency budgets, opening the need for a new type of creative accounting.

Now, before you call the Securities and Exchange Commission, I am not talking about the type of creative accounting that bankrupted multiple companies and ruined the lives of thousands of people.

I am talking about the creative accounting that pushes a quarterback to the outer edges of the tackle box hoping to safely release the ball before being tackled.

While trying to brainstorm for how I was going to start off this new EMS Grants Help column, I was sitting in my seat at our local university's football stadium.

During this game I noticed that the quarterbacks on both sides were forced multiple times to scramble outside the "tackle box" before dumping the ball in the direction of some unsuspecting athletic trainer sitting on the sideline.

I am sure that the intended outcome was not for a completed pass out of bounds, but sometimes we find that "outside the tackle box" provides better results than playing inside the lines.

If you are the director of a fire service agency, or a law enforcement organization, you know that the sum total for annual grants can reach into the hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.

For those sitting in the director's chair for an agency within the Emergency Medical Service community you know that access to these grants may be difficult to attain, and the sum total may be limited to a small percentage of the overall amount.

So, as the role of grant funding in public service leans toward police and fire, EMS is going to have to shake the overwhelming force of the pursuing defense back that has broken through the line and seek safer grounds with funding "outside the box."

Before a team can ever make the field, they go through intense trainings that span days, weeks, months and years, and grant writing is no different.

Preparation for writing grants can be as easy as prepping for plays against another team. You must look at previous grant guidance documents and ensure you have applied for a DUNS number through Dun and Bradstreet available here and ensure you are registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) available here.

In addition, begin preparing a file with key community information. Communities with higher risk and those with a decreased funding base due to a loss of a large community funding source such as a factory or distribution center will typically see a higher rate of funding.

As the well-tuned, highly prepared football team will tell you, success is where opportunity meets preparation.