Grants by the Numbers, Part 2

When I wrote my first article about grants by the numbers, I received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative. I thought I would take a few minutes and address the feedback and provide some clarifications. Specifically I want to explain that I was looking ONLY at the AFGP grants and to explain the alternatives...

I must have received about ten emails ranging from informative to abusive stating I missed the boat when I said you couldn't apply for facilities. Under the AFGP grant, there is a limit of $10,000 for minor changes, and new facilities are not included. That does not mean that AFGP is the only grant out there.

The AFGP grant is the 2800 pound gorilla, the one we all know about, and the best funded program. There are many other programs out there, but not everyone can apply. I also don't like using the term grants solely as there are many alternative funding sources. The second most popular program, and the one I heard most about is the USDA Rural Development First Responder Initiative. ( http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/cp.htm

The USDA program can be used for facilities and to even create new departments. The challenge is, many departments may not qualify. A majority of the readers of VolunteerFD.org classify themselves as 'rural'. The problem is, there are many different opinions and lists of what constitutes a rural area. If you qualify as a rural department, the USDA has multiple programs and you may also qualify for purchasing left over and used government equipment. My previous article on the USDA efforts is at http://www.volunteerfd.org/archive/usda.php

The second area I caught some feedback on was the SAFER grant initiative. I think one member's comments summed up all my feedback... "I believe a lot of volunteer companies avoided the SAFER grant because they couldn't figure what to do under recruitment and retention, and avoided the hiring side because you need a substantial commitment from your local government body to continue the hired positions in out-years as the grant-funded % goes down each year."

He's right on the point, but its a depressing point for me. It means I haven't done my job. I had planned to give you ideas specifically for the SAFER grants but ran out of time. VolunteerFD.org does have multiple recruitment and retention programs at http://www.volunteerfd.org/recruitment.php that just need to be tweaked for the SAFER grant. I can understand if a department does not want to hire employees, but we could all use the money for recruitment and retention.

Then I received some more interesting feedback...

"Just a little insight from rural America; Many small depts already have all the able bodies available on the dept. Many Medium departments have waiting lists for new members. The exit of young people from rural areas is staggering. Many small dept's are staffed by members >50 years of age.

comments on vehicle app's Small rural depts have been cobbling up farm pickup and trucks as firefighting apparatus for years. These "make shift vehicles" were old when they were painted red and had a tank thrown in. Equipment and training are great and I will never down play their importance however if the firefighters cant get to the scene, with water all the rest is mute.

Soapbox time;I get pretty tired of people talking of small towns and how rough it is when the "small town" has Wal-Mart, McDonalds and >1 school. My definition of rural small town is < 500 people, >80 miles to Wal-Mart (yes one can live that way), <5 active businesses in town, the nearest school is >10 miles away. Where most able body folks, male and female, serve on the town council, church board, school board, volunteer to do EMS and fight fires and still work 50+hrs, raise a family, take care of elderly town folk, etc. etc.

You wish to get to know small rural towns before you tell them to not apply for needed items."

Wow. I guess I missed the boat. The point of my original article was to give departments alternative ideas for applying for grants and ways to leverage the numbers to their advantage. I thought every department could use more members, but I guess I'm wrong.

Here's my soapbox time; I provide information of general interest to Volunteer Fire Departments. My information tends to be US centric, even though the website has a large following in Canada and New Zealand. VolunteerFD.org was designed to "Bring Volunteers Together" and we've done a pretty good job at it. I challenge anyone to point out a better source of information. Not all of the information on the website is usable for your department. As someone else has said, your mileage may vary. If every one of our 16,500+ members can find just one thing that is useful on this website, I think I've done my job and made a lasting impression on the Volunteer community as a whole. I appreciate feedback and welcome it. Let me know how I can help you but please understand I serve the community as a whole, not just rural, suburban, or urban departments.

By the way... The grant period for the Fire Safety and Prevention program is just ending...

(Washington, DC) August 22, 2005 - The Department of Homeland Security today posted at the website for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program the guidance for applications for this year's Fire Prevention and Safety grants.  The application period is presently scheduled to begin on September 6, 2005 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  The Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will continue to accept applications for these grants until the end of the application period, October 7, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The program guidance provides potential applicants with the competitive basis and evaluation criteria for their applications.  This year in addition to the fire prevention and safety grants, non fire department organizations will also be able to apply for firefighter safety research grants.

The applications will be automated and will be accessible from the website for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program at www.firegrantsupport.com .   The website also provides useful information on the funding priorities and process that are discussed in the Program Guidance for the Fire Prevention and Safety grants.  A list of Frequently Asked Questions will be added, and will be updated as the staff learn the areas of inquiry that are most often presented.  An applicant tutorial on the fire prevention and safety grants, designed to instruct users on the preparation and submittal of competitive applications, will also be available at www.firegrantsupport.com . Applicants who have questions regarding the fire prevention and safety grant opportunity should contact the help desk at 1-866-274-0960 or at firegrants@dhs.gov .  During the application period, the help desk will operate Monday to Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EDT), but is prepared to revise hours of operation based on volume and demand.

The AFG is administered by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.