Grants - Where to start?

[Sleuth]

We elected a new Chief last night, and he started out by delegating (something the old chief would never do) jobs. I won (?) the position of writing grants! I found the FEMA site, where else can I learn about grants: sources, grant writing, etc.
Thanks in advance.

[cmjones]

If you are a rural area w/ pop. 10,000 or less:

check with your state foresty commission (not sure what it is called in your state) on the VFA Title II grants and the VFA Title II National Fire Plan grants

In my state (SC) both grants are as simple as completing two forms w/ basic info about your dept such as budget, population, etc. No narrative to write.

[July36]

Thats the same as in Arizona CMS...
And Sleuth,i would try for the VFA grants if i was you,being in the type of area you are in...and that particular area needs all the funding they can get and i know that area is well under 10,000 in population which in turn would decrease your budgeting.We was going to try for a FEMA grant some time ago but decided it would be more of a waste of our time...just by the thought of getting turned down and becuase we really needed the funds so we applied for the VFA grant instead and have had contacts on it within a week of applying.I will set you up of who to Contact in the Maricopa County Regional Office of the VFA.
Also,a Chief buddy of mine from Whittman FD informed me of a group in Maricopa County that will do eveything but beg Companies to apply for thier grants.We have not yet applied for this one becuase we are still researching the group but Chief Welch has ALOT of good things to say about them and that they are all the time calling him asking if he needs grant money.The groups name is AEMS(Arizona Emergency Management System in Pima County i believe.I think he even saidthey have a website but i will ask him again to be sure and ill also have him send me the literature or i will pick it up next time i go down to see him.
I will be emailing you soon on the info about the VFA grants tho.

Donna C
Fire Chief
Bridge Canyon VFD

http://cms.firehouse.com/dept/SeligmanAZ

[dragonfyre]

Crawl before you walk

Before you start applying for grants you might want to look into how to write a grant. There are several places on the internet to help you.

You can start by going to Rodney Slaughter's website, www.dragonflynet.com He is the grant guru for the firehouse.com web site also. Rodney has several successful narratives, including 2 of mine, that you can look over to see the style and substance you need.

You can also go to theideabank.com but most of what they have is what they took from Rodney when he used to work for them.

You can check both the sights for upcoming classes. It never hurts to go to one. Since I attended Rodney's class 4 years ago we have received over $130,000 in grants. Not bad for a $250.00 investment.

Also try to find out if there are other companies in your area that have won any kind of grants, not just FEMA's. Talk to them and see what they did that was so successful.

Like the others said don't limit yourself to FEMA. Check with your local state reps to see if there are any state and local grants you can apply for. Check with local major corporations to see if they have any programs.

Just remember that when you write the grant don't dwell on the negatives, how poor you are, lack of equipment, etc. Dwell on the positives of how winning the grant and purchasing the needed equipment will benefit not only your company but the community your serve and other companies, mutual aid. This makes the grantor think they're getting more bang for their buck.

Good luck.