first time fema grant

[Bar-B-Que]

First time doing our dept fema grant and I was looking to see if there is any info that can be done up before the grant is opened, so I can just cut & paste it in. Or if there is a sample of the grant out there so I know what I need to put in.

[onebugle]

First time doing our dept fema grant and I was looking to see if there is any info that can be done up before the grant is opened, so I can just cut & paste it in. Or if there is a sample of the grant out there so I know what I need to put in.

The first thing to do is to get yourself educated about the process. The first step is to go to firegrantsupport.com. Click on AFG and you will find resources to review. Start with program docs and read the 2010 program guidance which will provide the blueprint on the process, priorites, requirements etc. Review the FAQ's.

Workshops will be scheduled in your state; attend one. If possible attend a seminar; Brian or Kurt are the 2 best in the country.

There will be alot of data collection for the grant such as call volume, demographics etc. Most of this info is relatively straight forward and easy to obtain.

There is no sample grant out there to review. Check with a neighboring department that has done these types of grants maybe they will give you a copy or look at it to review.

Check with your Regional FPS as well; they might be able to help as well. You can find their info on "Contact Us" at the top right of the AFG website.

Lastly; these forums are a wealth of info. Just post a question and you will get a response.

Good luck.

[Bar-B-Que]

firdt time fema grant

how much info is in the narrative? How indepth must I go to get my message accross?

[jhl81791123]

first time

First time doing our dept fema grant and I was looking to see if there is any info that can be done up before the grant is opened, so I can just cut & paste it in. Or if there is a sample of the grant out there so I know what I need to put in.

Hello there, Bar-B-Que.

Here is a good link with plenty of information...

http://minnesotafireservice.com/gran...Narrative_Tips

Good Luck

[LVFD301]

how much info is in the narrative? How indepth must I go to get my message accross?

What onebugle said. Sit down with last years program guidance. Read it. You have to write your grant application to answer what the program guidance asks. Seems simple, but it is a big thing that is often not done.

Take a class. Kurt and Brian offer classes. They are both very good.

[ktb9780]

Bar-B-Que don't know where you are located but I have one class left to go before AFG opens again this year. it is being hosted by Ft Mitchell FD in Phenix City , AL on April 16th-17th, 2011.Details here:

http://firstrespondergrants.com/page..._view/class/27

[onebugle]

how much info is in the narrative? How indepth must I go to get my message accross?

The narrative can make or break your grant application. The key to an outstanding narrative is to be concise, to the point and not leave the Peer Reviewer with unanswered questions. Unanswered questions will reduce the score of the narrative. So avoid general statements as they leave the PR wondering.

A good litmus test is to apply: Who, What, Where, Why, & How Much to any statement. For ex. The XYZ’s SCBA are old and costing a fortune to maintain.

Questions that could arise:

1) How old are they?
2) What edition to NFPA 1981 are the SCBA’s compliant to?
3) How much is it costing to maintain the SCBA?
4) Have any SCBA taken out of service?
And so on.

There are 4 sections to the narrative that need to be addressed. The one section that by far reduces the overall narrative score is the Financial Need section. Just stating the department’s budget cannot fund the request is not enough justification. That would be true to any one applying for an AGF grant. Here is a small sample of areas to explore and explain.

1)Internally: What is the department’s budget? Where is the funding going to? Are there any extenuating circumstances affecting the budget? Has the department funding been cut, if so how much, how long?

2) Locally: Are there infrastructure changes that are taking away funds? Has the economy affected the town/city’s tax revenue? What has happened to the overall budget gone up, down etc.?

3) Regionally: Have there been major layoffs to industry? What is the unemployment rate? Has the unemployment rate been going up or down?

4) State: Has tax revenue to the city/town been cut? How much? How long?

[ktb9780]

If we had to boil it down to one sentence on how to make your case, it would be this:

What is unique about your situation that makes it worthy of funding?

The questions above all feed into successfully answering that question.

Good point guy but if I might expand upon your statment just slightly, as it applies to any good grant application; it is a "unique solution, to a unique problem, in a unique community".