Assistance to Firefighters Grant banner with DHS logo https://admin.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/USDHSFEMA/2012/03/75359/arrow_original.png https://admin.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/USDHSFEMA/2012/03/75359/arrow_original.png From: FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) [mailto:fema@service.govdelivery.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 6:37 PM To: Cargo, Sharon Subject: Important Update to the FY 2011 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Application IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THE FY 2011 FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANT APPLICATION APPLICATION PERIOD HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012 IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THE FY 2011 FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY (FP&S) GRANT APPLICATION YOU MUST BE SURE TO USE THE UPDATED FP&S APPLICATION AND ANSWER THE QUESTION ON FINANCIAL NEED. We recently discovered that when the FY 2011 FP&S Grant application was deployed, a question about Financial Need was not visible to applicants. This question—“Please describe your organization’s need for Federal financial assistance,” must be answered by all applicants because it is critical to your application’s evaluation--it is worth 10 percent of your application’s Technical Evaluation Panel score. The application problem has been fixed in the e-Grants online application, but you must be sure to answer the question on Financial Need, which is found in the “Applicant Information.” • If you have not yet started your FP&S application: Please start your application as soon as possible! Information about eligible projects and items that can be requested is provided below. • If you have started your FP&S application: *First, be sure that you have updated your web browser (see instructions below.)*Once that is done, go to the “Applicant Information” section of the application and find the question, “Please describe your organization’s need for federal financial assistance. “ Enter your answer in the textbox provided. Be sure to SAVE your application data. • If you have submitted your FP&S application already: Don’t worry—it will be released back to you in the e-Grant Application System. You will need to log back into the E-Grant system. You will see that your FY2011 FPS Application is available for updating. Go into the “Update Application” section. Go to the “Applicant Information” section, which is the third section of the application, and find the question, “*Please describe your organization’s need for federal financial assistance. “ Enter your answer in the textbox provided and SAVE your application data. *YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR WEB BROWSER TO ENSURE ACCESS TO THE UPDATED GRANT APPLICATION* To ensure that you are working in the most recent version of the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant application, you must update your web browser’s settings. Follow the instructions below to update the settings: 1. Click on “Tools” and then click on “Internet Options.” 2. On the “General” tab, find “Browsing History” and click the "Settings" button.” 3. Under "Check for newer versions of stored pages,” be sure to select the button “Every time I visit the page," and click OK. You will return to the “General” tab screen. 4. Then click the "Delete" button under “Browsing History.” Check the options to delete your Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, and Form Data. Click “Delete.” You will return to the “General” tab screen. 5. Click OK again to exit the “Tools” window. 6. Close your web browser and any other open browsers. Then open a new web browsing screen. This will ensure that you access the updated version of the FY 2011 FPS Application. THE DEADLINE FOR FY 2011 FP&S APPLICATIONS IS EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012, 5 P.M. EDT. The deadline for submitting your grant application has been extended to May 4 to ensure that all applicants receive the information and time needed to update their applications. However, no applications will be accepted after this date and time. WHAT WILL A FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY (FP&S) GRANT PAY FOR? • Support for public fire prevention and safety projects: Eligible projects include fire prevention education, home inspections, burn prevention, injury prevention, media or public relations campaigns, and more. For ideas on the types of projects you could request, read some success stories of Fire Prevention and Safety Grants on the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants page of the AFG website (www.fema.gov/firegrants). • Personnel costs, including salaries and benefits, to conduct new projects or to hire for the first- time a Fire Prevention and Safety Officer to conduct current projects. The grant cannot be used to supplant funds already budgeted for other projects. For example, you could request a grant to cover the salaries and benefits of staff members or firefighters when they work overtime on a new fire prevention project. Or you could use the funds to hire a new fire prevention officer to deliver fire prevention, fire education, and related training projects. • Administrative costs (up to 3 percent of your project budget). You may request grant funds to help pay the administrative costs of your project. This could include office supplies, shipping costs, a computer, and software needed to report to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). • Support for up to three independent projects. Your organization can submit only one Fire Prevention and Safety Grant application, but you can request support for up to three independent projects in a single application. For example, in one application, you can request funds to launch a new public education project, a new fire code enforcement effort, and a project to fund arson investigator training. Each project will be evaluated separately. This means that even if you did not receive funding for one project, you might receive an award for one of your other submitted projects. • Additional eligible projects and items to request can be found in the FP&S Grant Guidance and Application Kit (Section I, Section II) on the FP&S web page at the AFG website at www.fema.gov/firegrants. • START YOUR APPLICATION ONLINE at the E-Grant Application website. TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR GRANT APPLICANTS • Review the online tools and resources, such as the FP&S Grants Tutorial with Narrative Worksheet, “Get Ready Guide,” Self-Evaluation Sheet, Video for Applicants, and FAQs. • Have questions? Contact the AFG Help Desk, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT, by calling toll-free 1-866-274-0960, or by sending an e-mail to firegrants@dhs.gov. Help Desk Specialists will be available during the application period. • You can also ask your Regional Fire Program Specialist—See contact information at www.fema.gov/firegrants/program/contact.shtm. AFG 2012 CALENDAR NOTE: All information, including dates and projected application periods are subject to change. When a conference is listed, the AFG Program either will be exhibiting and/or giving a presentation or workshop. RIL FY 2011 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants Application Period Application Period: Monday, April 2, 2012, through Friday, May 04, 2012, 5 p.m. EDT. G Workshop: “Successfully Navigating AFG Grants” at the 2012 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis.Visit AFG staff at exhibit booth 308. G Workshop: “Successfully Navigating AFG Grants:” Thursday, April 19, 2012; 1:30 to 3:15 p.m. G Town Hall Meeting: Friday, April 20, 2012; 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. 2011 SAFER Grants Applications Status: Applications are being reviewed and evaluated. y ion 20/20 Models in Fire Prevention Symposium y 4-6, 2012, Hyatt Regency Reston, Reston, VA Workshop: “AFG Grants and the Metro Departments” at the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Conference 2012, Galt House Hotel, Louisville, KY. “AFG Grants and the Metro Departments:” Thursday, May 24, 2012, 9:35 to 10:15 a.m. JUNE/JULY 2012 AFG Application Period tus: Program Guidance and Application Kit is under development. FY 2012 SAFER Grant Application period Status: Program Guidance and Application Kit is under development. AUGUST AFG Research and Development Grants Symposium (being held concurrently with Fire–Rescue International) August 1-2, 2012, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO Thank you.