News

With the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant period scheduled to open on November 16 and grant-writing in general such an important component of many volunteer fire departments’ fundraising efforts, the NVFC has released several resources to help departments in their grant-writing efforts.

 

The NVFC partnered with Columbia Southern University (CSU) to release a video podcast of the NVFC’s Grant-Writing Workshop. Led by Jeff Cash, NVFC Second Vice Chair and Chief of the Cherryville (NC) Fire Department, the workshop goes through the steps for preparing grant applications and offers tips to improve the chance of success.

 

CSU recorded the workshop at the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association convention in Myrtle Beach on July 18. The workshop is one in a series that the NVFC held throughout 2009 thanks to support from the Department of Homeland Security.

 

The focus of the workshop is on the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, which includes AFG, SAFER, and Fire Prevention and Safety Grants. The podcast is divided into two segments and covers topics such as what projects are most likely to be funded, how to fill out the application, and writing a successful narrative. The podcast is available to NVFC members and CSU students. To access the Grant-Writing Podcast, login to the members-only section of NVFC web site and click on Member-Only Resources.

 

The NVFC also partnered with Firehouse.com to record a SAFER Grant-Writing  Audio Podcast, which provides tips and information for preparing a SAFER grant application and narrative. The podcast features Jeff Cash, NVFC First Vice Chair Jack Carriger (OR), NVFC Massachussetts Alternate Director Joe Maruca, and Jason Wofford of the Cherryville Fire Department. The participants offer their advice and guidance for writing a SAFER grant application based on their own experiences preparing successful applications and serving as peer reviewers during the application selection process. The podcast will soon be available on the Firehouse.com web site and on the NVFC web site.

 

In addition, the NVFC created an online AFG and SAFER Grant Narrative Resource Center to assist departments applying for these grants. The Resource Center includes copies of narratives from successful past grant applications as well as a grant-writing guide created by DHS. The model grant narratives are to be used for example or reference purposes only and are not to be directly copied. The Resource Center is available to NVFC members in the Members-Only section of the web site.

 

Learn more about the SAFER grant and access the Program Guidance at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer.