What do we do with extra grant funds?

[LFDAC21]

I know this is a problem that others would like to have, but what happens if our equipment quotes come in a little cheaper than we had originally been quoted. Do we have to give the money back or can we spend it on accessories or other equipment? What does FEMA say about this?

[dragonfyre]

You can try to modify your grant through their web site at the "Manage My Grant" link. But I think you will most likely have to send it back.

It's a great predictament to be in.

[RescueOne]

I think I can answer that. We were faced with the same problem of buying cheaper than we estimated and had money left over. I talked to a FEMA Rep. by phone and was told to spend ALL your money. As long as what you buy meets the original program, there's no problem. Say, if you asked for bunker gear, use the leftover money to get more sets than asked for. Or get extra gloves. If you got SCBA, buy extra bottles. As long as it goes with the original request.

Don't try to buy new tires for your trucks if you asked for SCBA. We asked if we could add re-hab equipment and supplies to the cascade trailer since they were related, and they said no problem. But as long as it is related, I got the impression that you didn't even need to ask.

They did say to spend all your money. It would cost a whole lot more to cycle it back into the system than having you keep it. We were told to spend every penny.

Spending our second year in a row and having a great time. Hope this answers your question.

Don, Asst. Chief
Lakeview Heights FPD
Lincoln, MO

[quint1driver]

Exactly, spend it all in the scope of your grant. We had extra from last years grant, and this years was already starting. If you buy scba's, get some extra voice amps. Hose? Nozzles. Vehicle? Always need more tools or a maintenance program. How about an extra training class on the new equipment, or spare parts?

[LFDAC21]

How about this?

Anyone see a problem with buying helmets with leftover money from a SCBA grant?

[quint1driver]

I might see a problem with that. Unless your scba dealer is willing to bury that in the price somewhere .

[decou151]

You have three options if you have money left over:
1. Return the excess money to FEMA
2. You may use excess funds to create or expand a fire prevention program.
3. You may use the funds to continue or expand activities within the program and activity for which you received the award. This expansion must be related to the orginal scope of work.

There is a section in the FEMA web site "USFA:How do I begin to manage my grant" that has all the details.

[Ralif03]

10% of Grant

We were in that position this year. We called our grant specialist and they stated if it was under 10% of the grant award you could spend the remainder in the same area as the grant request without any amendments you just need to document this when you close your grant. If it was to exceed the 10% you would have to file an amendment. It is fairly simple to file the amendment. I would recommend calling your grant specialist it may be a little time consuming but well worth insuring you do things correctly. I talked to our specialist about our amendment also to get a feel on if our proposal would work and they gave me a lot of info. Our Amendment went through without a hitch. I find these forums very useful in keeping up to date with the grant process but with things that affecte our grant I preferred to get my info straight from the horse’s mouth.