Transcript Presentation title slide - 42 pt Times New Roman, White

2005 Assistance
to Firefighters
Grant Program
State and Local Government
Coordination and Preparedness
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Mission Statement
Provide Assistance;
 directly to fire departments and non-
affiliated Emergency Medical Service
organizations to enhance their protection of
the health and safety of the public, as well as
that of their personnel (AFG),
 for fire prevention and firefighter safety
research and development (FPS).
This Presentation
For both new and returning applicants
Overview
This presentation and other detailed information
available:
http://www.firegrantsupport.com
FY2005 Workshop Overview
Changes for
FY2005
Programs and
Activities
Regional
Applications
Successful Grant
Writing
Grantee
Requirements
SAFER
Most Important Lesson
Learn About This Grant

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
Program Guidance
Tutorial
FAQs
Application Review
www.firegrantsupport.com
Program Guidance
 The Program Guidance is the essential handbook for
successful grant application.
 Program Guidance should be downloaded and
reviewed. Highlight the priorities and plan your
application using the Program Guidance.
Online Grant Tutorial
http://www.firegrantsupport.com
Explanation / Eligibility of Grant Program
Guidance for Navigating Application Screens
Changes to 2005 Grant Program
Imbedded in the Online Application
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions contain a wealth
of information, including questions you
should ask but may not think of!
FAQs are updated throughout the grant
application period.
Changes for FY2005
Fire Prevention & Safety separated
Non-affiliated EMS organizations
eligible
Recipient limits increased
Matching fund requirements lowered
Who May Apply for Competitive
Program?
Non-affiliated EMS organizations and rescue
squads
Fire departments recognized in good standing of
a city, county, township, parish, or tribe.
Fire districts
Previous grant recipients
The Assistance to Firefighters
Grant
Two Grant Programs:
• Assistance to Firefighters (AFG)
• Fire Prevention and Safety (FPS)
Two Funding Streams
Fire
EMS
Each funding stream has the following
programs:
1. Operations and Safety
2. Vehicle Acquisition
Only ONE application in ONE program area
EMS Funding
A minimum of 3.5% of the appropriated
funds must be awarded to EMS
activities.
 A maximum of 2% the funding for EMS
activities may go to non-affiliated EMS
organizations.
Grant Appropriation
$650,000,000
Fire $412,750,000 Operations and Safety
Fire $159,250,000 Vehicles
EMS $9,750,000 Operations and Safety
EMS $3,250,000 Vehicles
FP&S $32,500,000
Fire or EMS
Operations and Safety Program
 Training
 Equipment
 Personal Protective Equipment
 Wellness and Fitness Activities
 Modifications to Stations and Facilities
EMS
Vehicle Priorities
Priority
Priority Two
One
Ambulance First Response
(transport
Unit
unit)
(non-transport,
chase unit)
Special
operations
vehicles
Priority Three
Helicopter/Plane
Command
Vehicle
Rescue Boat
Hovercraft
Other Specialty
Priority
Urban
Communities
Suburban
Communities
Rural
Communities
1
Pumper
Aerial
Quint(Aerial <76’)
Quint(Aerial 76’ or >)
Fire Boat
Rescue
Pumper
Aerial
Quint (Aerial <76’)
Quint (Aerial 76’ or >)
Fire Boat
Brush/Attack
Pumper
Brush/Attack
Tanker/Tender
Quint (Aerial <76’)
2
Command
HazMat
Light/Air
Rehab
Command
HazMat
Rescue
Tanker/Tender
HazMat
Rescue
Light/Air
Aerial
Fire Boat
Quint(Aerial 76’ or >)
3
Foam Truck
ARFFV
Brush/Attack
Tanker/Tender
Ambulance
Foam Truck
ARFFV
Rehab
Light/Air
Ambulance
Foam Truck
ARFFV
Rehab
Command
Ambulance
Fire Apparatus Priority Matrix
Fire Grant Program Areas
Notes:
Fire-based EMS requests must be
included in Fire Operations request.
Fire Prevention has a separate
application period this fall.
Preparedness for CBRNE was
emphasized as an eligible activity in
2004 and will carryover for 2005.
Regional Projects
Regional Applications
 Fire departments or non-affiliated EMS
organizations may act as a “host
applicant.”
 Host must be an eligible applicant.
 The host will be responsible for all
aspects of the grant.
Regional Applications
Designed to address issues of
interoperability
Designed for large-scale or regional
projects
Examples:
County or region-wide
communication system
County or region-wide
standardization of breathing
apparatus.
State Technical Review of
CBRNE Applications
State’s homeland security office will
review CBRNE applications.
If a State representative determines that
an application is either inconsistent with
the State plan or duplicates the State’s
assistance, that portion of the AFG
application will not be funded.
Application Evaluation
Phase One
 Answers to activity-specific questions are
used in the initial assessment.
 Applications with a clearly-defined project
and answers to questions consistent with
grant priorities have a better chance of
reaching the competitive range.
Application Evaluation
Phase Two
 Highest scoring applications in Phase One qualify for
the “competitive range.”
 Applications from “competitive range” will be
evaluated by panel of at least three peer reviewers.
 Panelists review:
 Project narrative
 Answers to the general questions
 Activity-specific questions.
Stick to The Priorities
The most successful applicants stick to
the AFG priorities.
Requests for items in multiple activities
will be scored separately and separate
scores prorated.
Scores will be prorated based on the
relative cost of each activity.
Prorating Scores
For example:
Operations and Safety Program request
for $9,000 in training and $1,000 in
equipment
Training will represent 90 percent of
your score.
Equipment will represent 10 percent
of your score.
Stick to The Priorities
Effect:
If you requested a low priority Training
project and a high priority Equipment
project ;
90% of your score will be assigned as a
low priority.
10% of your score as a high priority.
Federal Share of Grant Based
on Population Served
Maximum Federal Share: $1,000,000
Populations less than 500,000
Maximum Federal Share: $1,750,000
Populations from 500,000 to 1 Million
Maximum Federal Share: $2,750,000
Populations greater than 1 Million
Matching Funds Based on
Population Served
 Organizations serving populations of 20,000
or less make only a 5% funding match.
 Organizations serving populations from
20,000 to 50,000 make only a 10% funding
match.
 Organizations serving populations greater
than 50,000 make a 20% match.
Questions?

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Eligibility
Program Areas
Activities
Federal Share
Matching Funds
Application Evaluation
www.firegrantsupport.com
Narrative Development
Critical Narrative Elements
Linked to the Program Guidance
Effective narratives are based
upon addressing the gap between:
Community Risk Assessment
&
Department Capability Assessment
Identifying Risk
Successful applicants match their greatest
risk to program priorities.
The Risk Assessment identifies gaps in
organization capability.
AFG is designed to fill capability gaps.
Match gaps to AFG priorities.
Grant Funding
Risk ----gap---- Grant Priority
Identifying Risk
Example:
Current risks identified by department:
Roof of station needs replacement
Training videos (self taught courses) need
replacement
Personnel are currently wearing 1989
PPE
Identifying Risk
Roof – Critical; however, not eligible
Training important; however, self taught
training is one of the lowest priorities in
Training Activity
 PPE for personnel that is:
 old, worn
 does not meet current standards;
is a high priority
Identifying Risk
 Select the PPE for active firefighters.
 Seek other funding strategies for roof
and training videos.
 Selecting the videos will weaken your
overall pre-panel score.
Program Narrative Overview
Discuss the four elements of an
effective narrative.
Stress the importance of objective third
party review.
Remind the importance of good
grammar and composition.
Four Elements of the Narrative
Project Description
Financial Need
Cost/Benefit
Operational Outcomes
Components of
Project Description
Problem Statement
 Short, compelling statement that
explains the problem
 Linked to risk-assessment
 Includes budget explanation
 Itemizes costs by category
Components of
Financial Need
Why does your fire department need the
money?
Justify federal assistance
 List how much money you spend in a typical
year.
 List how much funding you receive in a typical
year.
 Provide information about savings or reserves.
 Explain increased risks and/or population.
Components of
Cost / Benefit
Frequency of use vs. cost
Interoperability
Regional approach
Consequences of not receiving award
Components of
Operational Outcomes
 How will the AFG grant enhance dayto-day department operations?
 How will the AFG grant enhance
protection of lives and/or property?
 What are the measurable results?
Organizing Your Narrative
Organization
 Project
Description
 Financial Need
 Cost/Benefits
 Operational
Outcomes
Need for Good
Composition & Grammar
Sentence structure
Avoid fragments and run-ons.
DO NOT CAPITALIZE THE
NARRATIVE.
Be concise and clear.
Be yourself -- don’t embellish.
Helpful Hints
 Plan application submission early; don’t wait until
the deadline to submit application.
 Download and study carefully Program Guidance.
 Develop application team and assign tasks.
 Write narrative off-line and print it out before
submitting. Ask someone else to read it. Bullets
and other fonts won’t transfer.
Helpful Hints
(Cont.)
 Never leave the panelists wondering.
 Use all available help resources:
 Online tutorials
 FAQs
 Help Desk (866) 274-0960
 Avoid templates -- narrative must accurately reflect
applicant’s condition.
2004 Success Stories
Go to Fire Grant Website
http://www.firegrantsupport.com
Click on AFG Success Stories
Grant Recipients Must:
Comply with DHS requirements – NIMS/ICS
(New this year)
Report to National Fire Incident Reporting
System (NFIRS) if you are a fire department.
File progress reports every six months.
Maintain current contact email in grant.
Grant Recipients Must:
Follow local established procurement
procedures.
Maintain grant records for three years.
Submit to audit or program review.
2005 Pre-Registration
Who Should Pre-Register?
Organizations who have never applied
Organizations who previously applied but
do not have a username or password. (Call
Help Desk at 866 274-0960.)
 Who Doesn’t Need to Pre-Register?
Organizations who previously applied and
do have a current username or password.
2005 Pre-Registration
Information needed to register and apply:
EIN Number
DUNS Number
Organization Address
Two Phone Numbers for Primary Contact
One Email Address
2005 AFG Schedule
Late January
February/March
Mid- February
February 21
March 7 - April 8
Publish Final Rule,
NOFA, Program
Guidance
Workshops
Online Tutorial, CDs
Available
Pre-Registration
Application Period
(tentative)
2005 AFG Schedule
April/May
Peer Review Panels
Conducted
May
State CBRNE Review
May/June
Technical Review
July
Award Announcements
Begin
Top Reasons Why Applications
Do Not Make it to Panel
5. Call volume too low to substantiate request.
4. Request for new mission area.
3. Inconsistency or incomplete information
throughout grant application.
2. Request for low priority project or project
with no statutory requirement.
1.
COMPETITION!
Top Reasons Why Applications
Are Not Funded at Panel
5. No clear vision of project.
4. Mistakes (which would have been detected
by third-party review).
3. Insufficient details (project, budget, etc.).
2. Unreasonable request (high volume request
for a low volume department).
1. Lack of financial need details.
Contact Info for FY2005
Program
Applicant Assistance:
AFG Help Desk at (866) 274-0960
07 March 05 – 08 April 05 (0800-2000
EST daily)
E-mail [email protected]
http://www.firegrantsupport.com
SAFER 2005
(Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response)
SAFER
FY2005 HS Appropriation provides $65
million to SAFER Program
Two Activities:
 Hiring firefighters
 Recruiting and retention of volunteer
firefighters
SAFER
Application Period
May 2, 2005 through May 27, 2005
(tentative)
Awards in August, 2005
 Will Follow AFG Model
 On-line application
 Computer scoring
 Highest rated to peer review
SAFER
Applicant Assistance
 On-line Tutorial
 Program Guidance
 Help Desk (AFG)
 FAQs
Monitor our website at:
http://www.firegrantsupport.com/
Questions?
Help Desk (866) 274-0960