California Consulting is pleased to announce the FEMA SAFER Grant will be released March 26, 2018. Please see grant information below:
FEMA SAFER GRANTDeadline: April 27, 2018, @ 5 pm EST (Release Date March 26)
Available funding for the NOFO: $345,000,000
Projected number of Awards: 300
Period of performance: 12-48 Months
Projected period of performance start date(s): 07/01/2018
Projected period of performance end date(s): 06/30/2020-06/30/2021
Links:
Summary:
SAFER Grants are offered to support projects in two activities. This NOFO provides potential eligible applicants with application requirements and details for processing and evaluating applications for financial assistance for both of these activity areas.
* Hiring of Firefighters Activity is to hire new, additional firefighters to improve staffing levels.
* Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity is to assist fire departments with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response.
Eligible Applicants:
* Hiring of Firefighters Activity
Volunteer, combination, and career fire departments are eligible to apply for funding. National, state, local, or federally recognized tribal organizations representing the interests of volunteer firefighters are not eligible to receive a SAFER Grant Award under the Hiring of Firefighters Activity.
* Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity
Volunteer and combination fire departments and National, state, local, or federally recognized tribal organizations representing the interests of volunteer firefighters are eligible to apply for funding.
Career fire departments are not eligible to receive a SAFER Grant Award under the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity. Volunteer fire departments and combination fire departments may apply for funding under both activities; separate applications must be completed for each activity. Applicants are limited to one application per activity, per application period. If an applicant submits two applications for the same activity during a single application period, both applications will be disqualified.
Municipalities and fire districts may submit applications on behalf of fire departments lacking the legal status to do so, such as those under the support of the municipality or district. The municipality or fire district may submit only one application for hiring per application period for each eligible fire department within the municipality or fire district.
Ineligible Entities:
The following entities are NOT eligible to apply under this announcement:
* Federal fire departments and fire departments under contract to the Federal Government whose sole responsibility is the suppression of fires on federal installations or lands;
* For-profit fire departments and organizations (e.g. fire departments that do not have specific nonprofit status or that are not municipally based); Page 5 of 58 FY 2017 SAFER NOFO
* Ambulance services, emergency medical service organizations, rescue squads, auxiliaries, dive teams, and urban search and rescue teams;
* Non-federal airport or port authority fire departments whose sole responsibility is suppression of fires on the airport grounds or port facilities, unless the airport/port fire department has a formally recognized arrangement with the local jurisdiction to provide fire suppression on a first-due basis outside the confines of the airport or port facilities;
* Fire stations that are part of, controlled by, or under the day-to-day operational direction of a larger fire department or agency, or that are not otherwise independent; and * State and local agencies, such as forest service, fire marshals, emergency management offices, hospitals, and training offices.
Cost Share or Match:
* Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity Page 6 of 58 FY 2017 SAFER NOFO Recipients of SAFER Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity grants are not required to contribute a Cost Share or Match (non-federal funds).
* Hiring of Firefighters Activity Recipients of SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity grants are required to contribute non-federal funds subject to a Position Cost Limit and a Cost Share, as described below. All recipients should ensure that they are thoroughly familiar with FEMA’s cost sharing requirements identified below, as well as the appropriate cost principles as identified at 2 C.F.R. § 200.101(b)(1). The recipient is not required to have the cost share at the time of application. However, before a grant is awarded, FEMA may contact potential awardees to determine whether the recipient has the funding in hand or if the recipient has a viable plan to obtain the funding necessary to fulfill the cost sharing requirement.
Position Cost Limit (No Waiver Available):
The amount of federal funding provided to a recipient under the SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity for hiring a firefighter in any fiscal year may not exceed:
* in the first and second years of the grant, 75 percent of the usual annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department at the time the grant application was submitted; and
* in the third year of the grant, 35 percent of the usual annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department at the time the grant application was submitted.
“Usual annual costs” includes the base salary (exclusive of overtime) and standard benefits package (including the average health cost, dental, vision, FICA, life insurance, retirement/pension, etc.) offered by fire departments to first-year (i.e. entry-level) firefighters. Please refer to Appendix B regarding eligible and ineligible costs for SAFER Hiring of Firefighter Activity grants. The Position Cost Limit is automatically calculated by the eGrants system in the Budget section of the application. There is no waiver available for this requirement.
Cost Share (Waiver Available):
Under the SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity, grant recipients are required to contribute a Cost Share toward the actual cost of hiring firefighters under this program. The Federal portion of the costs of hiring new firefighters under this grant may not exceed:
* 75 percent of the actual costs incurred in each of the first and second years of the grant; and
* 35 percent of the actual costs incurred in the third year of the grant. Page 7 of 58 FY 2017 SAFER NOFO
Therefore, the recipient is required to contribute at least the following in non-Federal funds:
* 25 percent of the actual costs incurred in each of the first and second years of the grant; and
* 65 percent of the actual costs incurred in the third year of the grant. A Cost Share of non-federal cash is the only allowable recipient contribution. Grant recipients can apply to waive this requirement.
If you or your entity would like California Consulting to write this application, please contact our Southern California office at (323)728-9002.