Grants Administration

While IAFF affiliates cannot directly apply for most grants, you can make decision-makers aware of the grant process, generate the support you need, ask to be part of the writing process and offer IAFF assistance in developing the application. Many IAFF members are designated as the grant writer for their department and have full access to the application, while others assist the department in developing the application and narratives.

The IAFF is prepared to assist the designated point of contact to complete the application to maximize your chances for funding. In many cases, we work collaboratively with your grants committee to work towards the common goal. What is often overlooked is that this consensus building is a great opportunity to further the labor management relationship.

While the official online application is only open for a four-week period, we have prior paper versions of the grant that you can work so that you can obtain the needed information before the grant officially opens. It is critical that you first ensure your SAM and DUNS registrations are valid and the information is current. Successful grants often go through multiple drafts and reviews before submitting so starting early is always better. Please contact grants staff at [email protected] or (202)-824-1559 with any questions.

The application period for federal grants is typically open for four weeks, with the guidance documents usually available for a week or two before the application opening. To find out exactly when documents and applications periods will occur, as well as receive other important grant information from FEMA, sign up here. The IAFF will also send email blasts to affiliate leadership to notify them of grant application openings.

The FEMA Assistance to Fire Fighters Program has three main components. SAFER grants are used for personnel (salary and benefits). The AFG Training and Equipment Grant is used for any non-personnel requests, including training, equipment, health and safety, and vehicle projects, within certain limitations. The Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) is used for fire prevention and research funding.

Before deciding on what project(s) to pursue, each department should perform a vulnerability analysis and consider the grant priorities listed in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). If you have questions about which project(s) would be most successful, please see the guidance documents for each grant program, or contact IAFF grant staff.

Fire departments that have received turndown notices are encouraged to contact FEMA for feedback on your application. FEMA staff can provide additional details regarding your application and point out where the application was deficient. Call FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE Act) Help Desk at (866) 274-0960 or email [email protected]. The IAFF is also prepared to assist your department once you have this information (see below).

​The IAFF provides grant application reviews both prior to, and after, grant submission. Having the review completed before grant submission is preferred; however, in some cases this is not possible due to conflicts with management or other issues. To request assistance, affiliate presidents or their appointed point of contact must provide a copy of the complete grant application, along with FEMA’s comments (if available). Local presidents must be copied on the email and provide approval before any assistance can be provided.
During the review process, IAFF staff who served as peer reviewers will grade your entire application (both automated entry/data and narrative sections), suggest areas for improvement and provide other feedback using the self-assessment guide. With this comprehensive review process, we have assisted many departments with markedly improving their application and submitting successful applications, which were then funded.

We ask that applications be submitted as soon as possible, and for departments to allow for at least a 72-hour turnaround for a full review. The further into the grant application window, the busier the department is, so please be sure to start early. We suggest that if your department is considering applying for a grant that you begin the process immediately by speaking with IAFF staff at (202)-824-1559 or emailing us at [email protected]. See below for details on how to access and print your application.

The IAFF participates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during its annual Criteria Development Panel (CDP), a panel of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) representing major fire service organizations, responsible for recommending fair and consistent application criteria and program priorities to FEMA for the following grant programs:

• Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG)
• Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
• Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S)

Subsequently, the IAFF provides a number of peer reviewers who serve as evaluators and provide objective comments and qualitative judgment on the merits of each application’s component activity requested and score the project(s) based on pre-established criteria.

To request to be a peer reviewer on behalf of the IAFF, candidates must be a member of an IAFF affiliate and must be in good standing with their local president and district vice president. Priority selection is given to past and present union officers. Candidates should send a letter of interest, along with a letter of support from their respective IAFF local presidents, through their district vice president to General President Edward Kelly for review and consideration. Letters of interest must address the program-specific criteria described below.

The IAFF makes a recommendation to FEMA; IAFF does not directly appoint individuals. FEMA requests various numbers of reviewers for various application reviews throughout the year. Appointments may be revoked at any time.

Questions on the programs and process can be addressed to Dr. Joshua Smith, Assistant to the General President, Grants Administration and HazMat Training Division at [email protected] or (202) 824-1564.

Submitted grant applications are available directly from the FEMA grants portal. You will need the user ID and password. To print the document, log in and locate the “Print Application” tab on the left-hand menu. Please submit the document as a PDF electronic file for easier tracking of incoming applications.

Please note that when you print out the SAFER application, it does not print out the NFPA 1710/1720 staffing chart. We will need this chart to perform a full review. To access the NFPA staffing chart:

• Expand the “Request Details” tab/section of the application: Request Details > View Details (lower right corner of screen) > Update Button (the upper “update” button across from the hiring of fire fighters line).
• Now print the page with that starts with the NFPA 1710/1720 chart at the top.
• Send this along with the completed printed application.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER) was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer fire fighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” fire fighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA (NFPA 1710 and/or NFPA 1720).

The Guidance and Application Kit will be posted on the SAFER Assistance to Firefighters website near the start of the application period. All SAFER applicants should read the Guidance to fully understand any changes to the program, award criteria, funding priorities and important special application instructions for completing the application.

The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped fire fighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

The Guidance and Application Kit will be posted on the AFG Training and Equipment Assistance to Firefighters website near the start of the application period. All AFG applicants should read the Guidance to fully understand any changes to the program, award criteria, funding priorities and important special application instructions for completing the application.

The Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and support projects that enhance the safety of the public and fire fighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.

The Guidance and Application Kit will be posted on the FP&S Assistance to Firefighters website near the start of the application period. All FP&S applicants should read the Guidance to fully understand any changes to the program, award criteria, funding priorities and important special application instructions for completing the application.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of solicitations from private grant writers and grant writing companies looking to establish grant-writing services for fire departments. There are many considerations when hiring any outside vendor that will provide services for your department.

The first question should be whether your department needs to hire a grant writer. Researching and writing grants is time consuming and requires some level of research and writing skills. Experience with grants and grant writing can make the odds better for receiving an award, but that shouldn’t scare you off, as much of the research needed is already familiar to department members, and comes in the form of department annual reports, strategic plans, NFIRS/NFORS data, CAD data, etc.

FEMA also provides easy to use tutorials, handouts and self-rating sheets that enable someone who has never written a grant to gain an understanding of the process and successfully apply for and receive grant funding. Often, the necessary skills exist elsewhere in your jurisdiction and can be borrowed to help guide you through the first application. Perhaps there are individuals or departments with grant experience willing to lend a helping hand and guide your department through the process.

If your department lacks the personnel or other resources to develop a solid grant application, or wishes to invest resources identifying and applying for other less visible grant opportunities that are available, such as private foundation grants, you may wish to hire a grant writer.

There are many qualified grant writers with significant experience that can provide references and previous examples of successfully funded departments that have used the grant writer’s assistance. While the IAFF maintains a grants department to assist with grant review, we do not write the grant application. The main difference is that we will assist with developing your application; whereas, many of the private grant writers will write your application from scratch.

If you are starting from scratch, you can search these sources for listings of consultants, including grant writers:

• The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) offers a Consultants Directory on its website that can be searched by specialty, name or geographic area.
• The Grants Professionals Association has a national list of member consultant services.

• FEMA: “Writing a Good AFG Narrative​”
• USFA Funding for Fire & EMS​
• FEMA’s AFG website (see “Program Tools” under each grant for videos and other tutorials.)

Funding Alternatives for Emergency Medical and Fire Service

Contact us at (202)-824-1559 or [email protected] with any questions. ​