It is the final month of federal grant season, and the IAFF is encouraging Locals to use all available resources to assist with their applications.
This article will help you navigate the FY 2024 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application period, which closes Dec. 20. The tips also carry forward.
“These federal grants help our Locals get the resources they need to do the job and stay safe. In no uncertain terms, these grants save lives because when fire fighters are safe, the communities we protect are safe, too,” General President Edward Kelly said. “I encourage our affiliate leaders to reach out to IAFF Grants staff for support with the application process.”
AFGs can be used to purchase operations and health and safety-related resources such as training, apparatus, personal protective equipment, and fire station modifications. IAFF programs eligible for grant funding are the Wellness-Fitness Initiative, peer support training, Fire Ground Survival, Fit to Thrive, Responding to the Interface, and IAFF Resiliency.
For FY 2023, fire departments represented by IAFF affiliates received 393 AFG awards totaling $109,713,000 and 62 SAFER grant awards totaling $250,055,000.
How to get started
It is important to have a pre-established, positive labor/management relationship because most federal grants, including the AFG, must be submitted by fire department management. Additionally, reviewers want to see that labor and management are working collaboratively to develop a more efficient and effective department by using the resources they are applying for in the grant.
Union members can ask to be a part of the grant writing and submission process. And it should be noted that IAFF members are often the appointed grant writers for the departments.
Orange County, CA Local 3631 President Chris Hamm said a clear partnership between labor and management was helpful in securing their nearly $6 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
“Our fire chief has made it clear he wants the same things we do: adequate staffing and resources to keep us safe on the job while delivering the best service to the community,” Hamm said. “One of our most dire needs was additional boots on the ground. We worked closely with our chief and the IAFF to make the case for 15 more fire fighters and it worked.”
To prepare for filling out the grant form, veterans of the process recommend gathering relevant data. That might include financial/budget information, average call volume, staffing levels, and deficiencies, as well as fire fighter and civilian death data.
And if you need help, guidance is available.
Where to find guidance
The IAFF’s grant assistance staff is a great resource.
The team can help members with a variety of services, including generating support from the fire department or local government for applying for the grant; reviewing the filled-out application; and offering advice on changes and edits before submission.
Members can contact the IAFF’s grant staff at [email protected] or (202) 824-1559. In addition, grant writing training opportunities are regularly offered at the IAFF’s training events such as the Affiliate Leadership Training Summit.
A second resource comes directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which manages grant dispersal for SAFER and AFG.
South Strand Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics Local 4940, a small affiliate in South Carolina, used the IAFF’s grant services to secure an AFG last year to fund a diesel exhaust system in the fire houses and other equipment needs.
“The residue left behind by our apparatus permeated every room in the station. It was a critical need for us,” said Bradford Bemis, South Strand’s president. “The IAFF made its staff available to us throughout the process, which ultimately led to our success.”
Bemis also said it’s helpful to reach out to other similarly sized departments that have gone through the process. Grant writers from those departments can provide concrete examples of what worked for them and what did not.
FEMA also puts out a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) guide for each grant. It provides full details – from eligibility and how to apply to what happens after the grant is awarded. The guide also provides information on what items or programs are considered high, medium, and low priority.
If possible, it is important to match the department’s needs with priority items listed in the guide.
The NOFO for the 2024 AFG can be found here.
Additionally, FEMA has a series of webinars scheduled throughout the application process to provide additional information on the grant application process as well as to give prospective applicants the opportunity to ask questions and receive clarification. The schedule for upcoming webinars can be found here.
“As you might suspect, FEMA will typically fund the higher priority items first,” said Tom Bell, Vice President of Chesapeake, VA Local 2449, who received IAFF assistance and attended grant writing training classes. “We were not meeting NFPA 1710 compliance requirements for safe firefighting, so we were considered high. This helped us get the nearly $4.5 million needed to fund 18 new fire fighters.”
Bell also said it was a combination of resources that better prepared his Local to properly present its needs and secure the grant.
Best practices
There are four narratives – statement of effect, cost benefit, project description, and financial need – around which departments can make compelling arguments for receiving grant dollars.
Bill Mastroianni, a member of Euclid, OH Local 337, is a trained grant writer who has worked with his department and Local to successfully apply for two SAFER grants and four AFGs to better resource his department.
“Explain why your situation is bad and why it deserves funding. But, keep in mind, you can only use three to four thousand characters, so do not over explain. For example, the reviewers will be fire fighters so you will not need to explain what a National Fire Protection Association standard is.”
Other tips include:
• Tell a good story, emphasize what makes your situation unique and what sets you apart in this request.
• Tie your request to fire and public safety.
• Be clear and concise.
• Explain your project and financial need in simple, digestible terms.
• Tell the reviewer why you need the resource(s) and why your department cannot afford it.
• Tell related “war stories” to provide real-world examples of why you need your request.
What to avoid
Just as there are best practices to follow when writing grants, there are also things to avoid, including:
• Don’t wait until the last minute to get started, especially if there is a lot of information to gather. Your grant will probably require several drafts before submitting a final.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to send the IAFF your grant to review.
• Don’t use AI. Be unique with your writing and use your own voice.
• Don’t use someone else’s work from previous successful grants.
Visit iaff.org/grants for more information.
