Services - AFG Grant Program
Time for Grants Again, AFG for 2009!!
The 2009 Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program will be here before you know it. It is scheduled to be open for application beginning the third week of March, 2009 for a period of 30 days. If you need assistance with a grant project, please contact us at cmonroe@firerescuehelp.com for assistance. Don't delay, these proposals take time to develop so the sooner you contact us, the quicker we can assist you for this year. We always try and make space for clients, but to best assist you, contact us as early as possible.
The Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, which began in 2001, is a program managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Preparedness Directorate's Office of Grants and Training in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.
The program, is a competitive grant program and is designed to assist local fire departments in protecting citizens and firefighters against the effects of fire and fire-related incidents.
The appropriation has varied each year. The funding for 2009 is $550 million.
IT' Coming Again, AFG for 2007!!
The 2007 Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program will be here before you know it. It is scheduled to be open for application beginning the first week of March, 2007 for a period of 30 days. If you need assistance with a grant project, please contact us at cmonroe@firerescuehelp.com for assistance. Don't delay, these proposals take time to develop so the sooner you contact us, the quicker we can assist you for this year.
The Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, which began in 2001, is a program managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Preparedness Directorate's Office of Grants and Training in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.
The program, is a competitive grant program and is designed to assist local fire departments in protecting citizens and firefighters against the effects of fire and fire-related incidents.
The appropriation has varied each year. The funding for 2006 is $524.4 million.
IT' OVER for 2006!!!
If you missed out on this year's application period for AFG, do not fret. There are other programs out there.
The SAFER application period will open up in June.
Fire Prevention and Safety application period will be in September.
Contact us for help.
The grant guidance changes each year. The grant guidance for 2006 was released on March 3, 2006. The application period is Monday March 6, 2006 until Friday, April 7, 2006.
Fire Departments, no matter how large or small, may apply for this grant. One priority of this program is Regional Grants.
For more information on the grant guidance, go to the following website: www.firegrantsupport.com
TheFire Rescue Help Group assisted 35 departments last year that received grant awards. For a reference list, please contact us.
How can the Fire Rescue Help Group help your Department?
Our clients come from different areas: Departments who have never applied for a grant; Departments that have applied for a grant, but have never received an award; and Departments that have received an award.
We have found that many Departments never apply for a grant, for a number of reasons: they do not have access to the internet; they do not understand the grant process; they do not understand the grant guidance; or they are intimidated by the entire process.
For Departments that have applied for a grant, but have never received an award, we have seen a couple of the same issues: the Department missed a few things in the grant guidance that prohibited the application from moving to the peer review process; the Department’s request was inappropriate (i.e. too much funding, too much equipment); or the Department did not provide adequate information for an evaluator to determine the Department’s true need.
Department’s that have received an award in a previous year often do not want to go through the process again. They underestimated the amount of time the project administration required and they do not have anyone willing to put that much time into a project again.
The Fire Rescue Help Group uses our Project Management plan to assist a Department with an AFG project. This process begins by performing a needs assessment, then developing a project proposal. Because our service is a complete Project Management consulting service, we offer the preliminary service at NO COST. Before we begin any work, however, we do require the Department to sign a contract agreeing to hire us, for a fee, to be the Project Administrators once the project is funded. Since there is no pre-award expense, our consulting fee cannot be included in the grant as a grant writing fee.
We have some clients who contracted with us after they received their grant award, just to assist with the Administration of the project.
Once a grant award is received, we work on the Department's behalf to:
- Develop equipment specifications
- Work as the intermediary between the Vendor and the Department (providing a point of contact for the Department)
- Assemble the bid package
- Manage the Request for Bid process
- Ensure all federal and state purchasing guidelines are met
- Serve as an objective resource for technical questions about equipment
- Evaluate all bid proposals for compliance with specifications
- Once the bid is awarded, assist the Department with contract negotiations
- For apparatus purchases, perform final build inspections
- Once all equipment is received and paid for, perform all close out reports
- Submit incident information into NFIRS, for the one year required by the grant guidance
At each step of the process, the Department has final approval. For example: the Department reviews and submits the AFG application; the Department approves all bid specifications; the Department actually awards any purchasing contract; the Department reviews and submits all close out documents.
We have had tremendous success with helping departments secure funding through the Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program. While we cannot guarantee funding, over 60% of our Clients received funding in 2005.
Contact us for additional information and
ASK HOW WE CAN HELP YOU!
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