Congratulations 2014 SAFER Grant Recipients!
- Clark County Fire & Rescue, Ridgefield $620,360, under the leadership of
Chief Dennis Mason
- Whatcom County Fire District 8, Bellingham $144,643, under the leadership of
Chief Dean Whitney
- City of Tacoma Fire Department, 3,446,180, under the leadership of
Chief Jim Duggan
- City of Yakima Fire Department, $518,871, under the leadership of
Acting Chief Bob Stewart
- Clallam County Fire District 2, Port Angeles, $168,000, under the leadership of
Chief Sam Phillips
- Orcas Fire & Rescue, Eastsound $674,794, under the leadership of
Chief Kevin O’Brien
Congratulations to the Town of Concrete for their grant to build a new Fire & Life Safety Facility! Kudos to Chief Rich Philips and former mayor and firefighter Judd Wilson for their $1,000,000 grant plus $875,000 legislative direct-appropriation.
To learn more about fire station grant funding contact Chief Philips at (360/853-8401), or Chief Don Fortier at Grant County Fire District #3 (509/787-2713) who was successful in obtaining grant funding for their recently completed fire station out in George.
FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Grants – is Washington State Getting Our Share of the Grants?
Assistance to Firefighter (AFG) Grants
AFG 2011
Nationwide: 1730 awards totaling $343,878,723 (average award $200,045).
WA State: 41 awards totaling $7,341,963 (average award $179,072).
AFG 2012
Nationwide: 2,490 awards totaling $282,600,797 (average award $113,540).
WA State: 56 awards totaling $8,010,337 (average $143,042).
AFG 2013 (as of 7/3/14)
Nationwide: 794 awards totaling $92,352,229 (average $116,459)
WA State: 13 Awards totaling $2,063,119 (average $158,701)
201 grants were submitted from WA State
Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants
SAFER 2011
Nationwide: 296 awards totaling $334,036,692 (average $1,132,328)
WA State: 17 Awards totaling $16,139,921 (average $949,407)
SAFER 2012
Nationwide: 292 awards totaling $316,446,050 (average $1,087,443)
WA State: 17 Awards totaling $13,293,630 (average $781,978)
SAFER 2013
Nationwide: 234 awards totaling $289,910,370 (average award $1,244,250)
WA State: 6 Awards totaling $5,572,848 (average award $928,808)
65 applications were submitted from WA State (26 of these were R&R; 2 of which were funded)
Fire Protection & Safety (FP&S) Grants
FP&S 2010
Nationwide: 193 awards totaling $35,130,319 (average award $182,970).
WA State: 6 WA awards totaling $462,848 (average award $77,141).
FP&S 2011
Nationwide: 202 awards totaling $34,861,447 (average award $173,440).
WA State: 6 WA awards totaling $512,520 (average award $85,420).
FP&S 2012
Nationwide: 268 awards totaling $34,849,319 (average award $130,522).
WA State: 9 awards totaling $718,208 (average award $79,800).
1,176 grant applications were submitted nationwide (26 of these were from WA State)
What determines how many grants are awarded?
There are three schools of thought on this:
- Expertise and writing ability of the grant writer
- Demographics of the Fire District/Department
- Politics and funding appropriations made in Washington DC
Who determines the amount of funding for these grant programs? Congress. I’ve been told repeatedly by our delegation that “if we hear from 3 or more of our constituents, than we take the issue seriously and look into it”. If you are concerned about the trends in these grant appropriations and awards, perhaps a call to your Congress person is in order.
Successful AFG/SAFER/FP&S Grant Writing Workshop Enhanced Participant Skill Levels
Recently a day-long Grant Writing workshop was held in Eastern Washington (George). It was uniquely designed for Fire District/Department personnel in Washington State. Workshop participants shared their experiences in this interactive workshop and joined in group discussions of grant writing issues. Real grant proposals were reviewed and critiqued during class.
As the Workshop Instructor, I provided training on the ‘nuts & bolts’ of preparing FEMA grants. In addition, several Fire Chief ‘s made special presentations, these included: Lessons Learned While Serving on AFG/SAFER “Peer Review” panels by Arnold Baker, Fire Chief, Chelan County Fire District #5, It’s all in the Details: Lessons learned from a SAFER Grant Mentor by Mike Bucy, Fire Chief, Stevens County Fire District #1. The workshop was hosted by Grant County Fire District #3. Fire Chief Don Fortier shared his grant funding success story for the recently completed George Fire Station, where the workshop was held. Watch for future workshops to be held in different regions across the state in the future. Contact me if you are interested in hosting a workshop, or if you want to be put on the mailing list to receive information about future workshops. (Michelle@ResourceSolutionsNow.com)
Watch for “Tips on Preparing Firefighter Grant Applications” in Next Month’s Newsletter.
Michelle Mazzola is a successful fire service grant writing consultant who has acquired millions of dollars for fire district projects in Washington State. She is passionate about helping fire districts obtain the grant funding they need to be successful. Ms. Mazzola is the owner of Resource Solutions, LLC (www.ResourceSolutionsNow.com) a grant writing, grant administration and strategic planning consulting firm located in Leavenworth, Washington. Feel free to contact Michelle with your questions at Michelle@ResourceSolutionsNow.com