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The Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program funds retention and recruitment efforts that can help volunteer fire departments thrive. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) spoke with Victor Esch from the Grants Office to learn more about successful SAFER applications and tips for securing funding for your department.

 

Before applying for a SAFER grant, it is important to understand the intention of the grant and the types of projects that are funded. SAFER grants are designed to give volunteer departments the tools to recruit new volunteers or to provide incentives to retain existing volunteers and increase their involvement in the department. SAFER grants can be used for recruitment campaigns, length of service award program, marketing initiatives, cadet or junior firefighter programs, incentives, and more. Ultimately, its primary focus is to get more firefighters on the fireground and protecting our communities.

 

When applying for a grant, it is important to note that grant-funded initiatives are only effective as of the date of the grant award. Retention and recruitment projects cannot provide incentives or benefits for service made prior to the award date. For instance, a department seeking to fund length of service award programs (LOSAPs) for department members as a benefit for service completed prior to the award date is not an appropriate SAFER project. SAFER funds are to be used specifically for the period of performance going forward.

 

One mistake departments often make when applying for a SAFER grant is failing to plan to promote the proposed retention and recruitment project once it is established. If department personnel and prospective new members don’t know the program exists, it won’t be very effective. Departments need to have a plan for getting the word out about the program or incentive it wants to implement.

 

While there are many innovative and exciting ways departments can utilize SAFER grants, departments should first become familiar with what is not funded through SAFER. Uniforms, t-shirts, food, give-away items such as pens and cups, and other such items are not funded as those uses are not effective for retention or recruitment. Read the full list of what is not funded, as well as funding priorities, in the Program Guidance at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer.

 

Many departments have come up with creative ways to meet their retention and recruitment needs through SAFER-funded programs. The key is to think outside of the box.

 

“With the exception of items that are specifically listed as ineligible, the success of an idea is only limited by the department’s need and the creativity of those who are implementing it,” Esch said. “You know your community, you know your members, and you know what will work best in your department. Sometimes the ideas farthest out of the box are the most successful. There are no stupid ideas. Just ask for it - if you don’t ask for something, you can’t get it.”

 

Esch says it is critical to match the needs of the department and community when developing a retention and/or recruitment program. A program that is very successful in one place may not be successful in another. When applying for a SAFER grant, you must clearly explain the problem your department is experiencing, and then explain how the proposed program is going to help.

 

“The magic of a project is really in the individual departments. You need to know why you are trying an idea and how it will be received in the department,” Esch says. For instance, if your department is developing an incentive program for existing volunteers, make sure the incentives are truly motivators for your members.

 

Keeping in mind that different departments have different needs, Esch provided some examples of past successful SAFER-funded retention and recruitment ideas and projects. These ideas can help departments think outside the box in relation to their own SAFER grant application.

 

Departments should create a program that makes sense for their department. Also note that just because a program has been funded before does not mean it will be again. These examples are intended to point out some of the projects grants have funded in the past and get people thinking of how a SAFER grant could help their department.

 

 

Some of most successful SAFER-funded programs have to do with getting young people interested in the fire service. If a department works with their local high schools to get youth aged 14-18 interested in the fire service, they will hopefully join as a full member when they reach the required age.

 

Establishing a junior firefighter program ensures the future of a department and is a great recruiting mechanism. SAFER grants can provide money for establishing a junior firefighter program (including cadet and Explorer programs), marketing a program, and recruiting for a program. Grants can also fund training efforts, including sending the youth to junior firefighter camps, where they learn to function as a team, rely on each other, and various firefighting skills.

 

Departments should forge a relationship with schools to have a successful program. One idea that has been successful is to partner with a school’s broadcasting and video program to establish a contest where the students develop a public service announcement (PSA) for the junior firefighter program. The award for the winner can be whatever the department thinks is appropriate. The department can set up a recruiting table in the school cafeteria every month or so and play the winning PSA as part of the exhibit. The exhibit can also feature posters created by students and/or junior firefighters and have junior firefighters on-hand to talk about the program. This type of project forms a connection between the department and the school, as well as with the students.

 

 

SAFER grants can fund marketing programs for fire departments to assist in recruitment efforts. If the department does not have any personnel who can implement a marketing campaign, the grant could go to hire a marketing person for the department. However, there is a very limited amount departments can get to hire a marketing firm to develop products such as ads and PSAs. Funding is intended more for placing the marketing products rather than developing them.

 

Most cable companies will produce an ad for a department for much less than a marketing firm. There have been dozens of successful recruitment ads produced all over the country thanks to SAFER funding, and these can be customized to meet the needs of other departments or serve as inspiration for other department’s ads. Contact the Grants Office to get the links to previously developed ads.

 

While any type of marketing can be successful given the community, cable TV and internet see the best results. Radio ads work in some communities where the listening audience isn’t too fragmented. Other types of marketing ideas include ads in newspapers, wrap-around ads on buses, flyers, banners, movie theater ads, among many others. Again, the department needs to determine what methods would be most successful for their community.

 

A tie-in idea for a department marketing initiative is to have a web site where all of the marketing materials can point. This allows prospective volunteers a single, cohesive place to go to learn more.

 

 

SAFER grants have helped departments hire a professional recruiter in some instances. On a broader scale, some counties or regions have used SAFER funds to hold retention and recruitment workshops or seminars. In these instances, a professional recruitment company teaches department leaders how to recruit and provides materials such as sample ads.

 

Departments need to have a marketing plan to back up the workshop and keep the recruitment program going. This could mean placing ads in newspapers or TV, or lower-cost methods such as putting up banners on main streets and a sign in front of the station.

 

 

In addition to getting new members, SAFER grants fund incentives to keep current members active and increase their productivity. The key with offering incentives is to make them participation-based. There would be a baseline level of participation a person has to achieve to qualify for the incentives, and then the incentives can increase the more a person participates. Often departments make a point-based system to keep track of participation.

 

For instance, a department may provide a stipend for training that its members participate in. The more training a person receives, the bigger the stipend is, or the more rewards they are eligible for (ie- money towards gas, gift cards to stores, assistance with utility bill payment, etc.). These incentives encourage the continuation of training among its members.

 

Some departments use SAFER grants to help volunteers financially as a token for the time they are putting in. In one small town, none of the store owners provided health benefits for their employees. The employees ended up working longer hours and second jobs to pay for their health insurance. The local department used SAFER funds to pay for the health benefits of their volunteers in exchange for the store owners letting their employees go when the sirens went off. The program resulted in a huge increase in volunteer firefighters in that town.

 

Other types of incentive programs that have been funded include workers’ compensation, death benefits, life insurance, and retirement plans, among others. Reimbursement programs have also been successful, such as for gasoline, food while on duty, etc.

 

Many departments use SAFER funding for LOSAP programs. Since the grant period is only four years, some departments set up the program so that they get the funds during the grant period and then the firefighters can cash it out once they reach a certain length of service. Other departments try to get the municipality to continue funding the LOSAP program after grant runs out.

 

 

College tuition reimbursement programs are very popular and have been quite successful. It is a great way to recruit younger members to the department. The department needs to establish a baseline for college students to participate to get the reimbursement. For example, for every year the department pays tuition, the student owes the department two years of service. Since it is a reimbursement program, the student would not get the reimbursement until the service was completed.

 

Usually it is best if a department does not limit the criteria too much for this type of program. For instance, some departments limit the program to students who attend a certain school or take fire science classes. Since the goal is to get more firefighters and higher participation, these criteria often are not necessary.

 

Another way departments have used college tuition reimbursement is to make it available to relatives of the volunteer firefighter. For instance, a person who puts in extra time could get reimbursement for their child or spouse to attend school. This helps get long-term members of the department to become more active and stay with the department longer.

 

 

Departments that don’t have stations with sleeping facilities have received funding for housing programs. To facilitate 24/7 coverage, grants have supported rent for a house or room near the station for firefighters to stay. Often this works well with efforts to recruit college-age personnel. The student can live at the house, solving their housing needs, and at the same time they provide nighttime coverage for the department.

 

 

There are many other programs SAFER grants have funded. For instance, babysitting programs help pay for babysitters so that the parents can participate in the department. Points rewards programs allow firefighters to get points for participation and then cash them in at the ‘points store’ for various prizes, which increase in value with a higher number of points. Trophies, plaques, and other forms of recognition programs have also been funded.

 

Any project can work, depending on the level of effort that is put into it. These are just some ideas to get you thinking. The programs highlighted here may not fit every department, but maybe they will spark ideas of something that will work in your community and get your creativity flowing. Remember, too, that even if you get a SAFER grant one year, you can reapply in the future to expand the program or enter another phase of the program.

 

The NVFC provides additional resources to help you prepare your SAFER grant and give you retention and recruitment ideas. Visit www.nvfc.org/afg and www.nvfc.org/rr. Learn more about establishing a junior firefighter program from the NVFC's National Junior Firefighter Program at www.nvfc.org/juniors. Also remember to read the SAFER Program Guidance carefully and access the Applicant Tutorial and more grant-writing tips on the Assistance to Firefighters Grant web site at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer.