Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program has been extended again to September 23rd. This is the second extension offered this year. From what I am hearing, there have not been an abundance of grant applications this year.
As a fire service, we have a duty to make sure every attempt is made to utilize these grants. If we do not, the funding might not be there next year. Plus, free money? Who doesn’t want that. Maybe you don’t even know where to begin when writing a grant. There are several grant writing firms out there. Some offer customized grant writing, others offer samples of successful grants. What is $50 – $2000 (the higher for custom grant writing) when you could recieve thousands and maybe tens of thousands of dollars in grant money?
Yeah, I said $50. It could be that cheap. Currently, Firehouse Grants is offering two great deals on Daily911Deals.com. The deals offer twenty one (21) AFG narratives, 3 narratives per topic. The topics are: PPE (structural turnout gear), SCBA, Exhaust Systems, Pumper Apparatus, Radios, Rescue Tools, PPE Washer/Dryers. One of the deals is offering each individual topic (3 narratives) for $59 which is a 40% discount. The other deal offers all 8 topics (21 narratives) for $399 which is a 50% discount.
You can get started now! As soon as you purchase the deal, the narratives will be emailed to you. You don’t have to wait. These deals end soon!
Fire Chiefs and Administrators owe it to their firefighters to apply for these grants.
If you are a firefighter who cares about your department, and have identified a need within your agency, you owe it to your fellow firefighters to forward the above information to your Chiefs. Ensure they are aware of this opportunity.
The Secret List put it so eloquently:
Let’s make this REAL clear:
THE associations YOU pay dues to such as IAFF, IAFC, NFPA, NVFC and many others have all busted their organizational tails to get and maintain this program. If we don’t get applications in, the non-supportive politicians will use the lack of applications to cut these programs-leaving our supportive politicians empty handed. Read more
The following is from FEMA:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announces that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application period will be extended for one additional week. The NEW deadline for AFG applications is September 23, 2011 at 5:00 P.M. EST. The earthquake that affected so many communities in the eastern United States, as well as the continued responses related to hurricane Irene, tropical storm Lee and the active wildfires in southwestern United States have had a direct impact on organizations ability to prepare and apply for grant assistance under the AFG program. We hope this extension will provide valuable time required to complete and submit your application.
The AFG Program Help Desk is ready to assist with any questions applicants may have and can be reached by calling 1-866-274-0960 or email at firegrants@dhs.gov.
The current AFG application deadline is September 23rd
Links to more AFG grant information and guidance:
- IAFC – GR Issue: Grant Funding
- IAFF
- NVFC – National Volunteer Fire Council – Grant Writing Resources
