SAFER Hiring IN BRIEF

Brought to you by the FireGrantsHelp Team

What is SAFER? (We’re so glad you asked!)

SAFER Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response

The goal of SAFER is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies and ensure that communities have adequate protection from fire or fire-related hazards.

SAFER is offered by FEMA and has $345 million available in FY2016 to support fire departments nationwide!

SAFER Hiring • Financial assistance to help fire departments

hire new firefighters • SAFER positions will receive grant money to

pay the salaries and benefits for 3 years • This year the match requirement for

the first and second year is 25% and the third year 65%.

Who can apply?

– Career fire departments – Combination fire departments – Volunteer fire department

Only full-time firefighter positions will be funded (includes job-shares) Full-time positions means at least 2,080 hours per year (e.g., 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year)

Funding Priority

This year only hiring of new firefighters is applicable

Limited to operational positions where at least 51% of duties are fire suppression (including staffing a fire suppression vehicle)

Key Dates Application Opens: 1/09/2017

Application Deadline: 2/10/2017

Award Notification: anticipate all notices will be issued by June 1, 2017

8 Simple Rules to Get Started

Rule #1: Identify the Legal Applicant

For Hiring Applications, this is typically the entity that issues your paycheck

– City, town, township, county – Fire Protection District

Obtain the DUNS Number & EIN from your Finance Office

Your DUNS number will look something like this

Your EIN will looks something like this

Rule #2: Check SAM Registration

The Legal Applicant must have an active SAM.gov Entity Record

• When you apply • When you are awarded • Throughout the duration of your federal

award If the Legal Applicant is not registered in SAM.gov, ask your Finance Office to create an Entity Record

Rule # 3: Access the FEMA Portal Your organization must have an active FEMA registration status - you can’t apply to SAFER without one

Has your organization ever received a FEMA grant?

Be sure to use the same Portal Account! (get help if you don’t know or are locked out)

Money doesn’t grow on trees…that’s why we have grants

Rule #4: Know Your Facts

Ask these questions: • What are the department’s current staffing

practices? • Have you conducted a risk and/or staffing needs

analysis? • What NFPA Standards are you trying to meet? • How will additional firefighters help protect the

community? Data and facts make for a strong application!

You’ll need to provide: Access to the budgets from 2001, 2002, and 2003, and if so, to provide the total operating budget numbers

Legal Applicant’s financial situation

• How does it impact your organization budget?

• What other costs or revenue challenges are straining the budget?

Rule #5: Financial Details Required

If you’re still using one of these to do math, click for help

Rule #6: Know your Needs Has it become difficult to respond to fire-related incidents within established time limits? Is your department meeting NFPA Standards for response time and staffing levels?

Rule #7: Understand How Applications are Judged

The review process consists of: • Computer Scoring –application data is crunched

by a computer • Peer Review – 2 reviewers read and score your

narrative • Technical Review – FEMA staff checks

administrative items are in order before issuing an award

tip: Make sure any old AFG, SAFER or FP&S awards are closed out before you apply!

Rule #8: Plan Accordingly

Narratives are important BUT the Narratives are only read if your application passes Computer Scoring The moral of the story: There is no room for error

Still have questions? We can help! Our Grant Writers: • Have a combined 40+ years

of grant writing experience • Many are active members

of the public safety community!

• Helped fund more than $102 million in grant awards!

• Have a grant success rate of 60% higher than the national average!

Contact us for grant writing help today!

To work with the best of the best