Follow the Rules for AFG Success

The number one reason why AFG applications are denied prior to peer review is failure to follow the rules.

Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently released 59 pages of instructions in the form of the guidance document , in addition to the regional workshops that were recently completed.

However, reading this document can be both tedious and confusing, so here is a framework of key points to ensure your grant's success.

This article provides only a general overview of the guidance and is not designed to take its place. But it can be used as a map, helping you to understand the guidance document, funding priorities and all the "rules."

When looking at a guidance document, the best bet is to go through it three times, looking for items that are "must do's," "should do's," and "could do's."

The must do's are the items that can cause immediate elimination and absolutes. These include stipulations that your department must be either a non profit or municipal-based fire department or non-affiliated EMS agency, that you must have a DUNS number and that you must comply with all NIMS and NFIRS requirements.

Important changes
There are also some important changes this year to the must do's. The biggest are that you are now able to apply for a vehicle even if you were awarded one last year, and that you can apply for multiple vehicles if you are an urban or suburban department.

In addition to applying for multiple vehicles, departments can submit up to two applications, i.e. one under operations and safety and a second application under vehicle acquisition. Additionally, a department could submit a third application for a regional project.

Financially, much has stayed the same. There is a total of $547 million available; no more than 25 percent can go to vehicle awards and no more than 2 percent can go to non-affiliated EMS organizations.

Departments serving less than 500,000 people may not receive more than $1 million, those serving between 500,000 and 1 million people may not receive more than $1.75 million, and those serving more than 1 million people may not receive more than $2.735 million. There is still a cost share of 20 percent for those departments serving more than 50,000 people, 10 percent for those serving between 20,000 and 25,000, and 5 percent for those serving less than 20,000 people.

The should do's are the ones that will make you competitive during the peer reviews. In order to score competitively, the application should meet at least one, if not more, of the stated AFG funding priorities: enhancing national capabilities, risk-based prioritization and/or interoperability.

Direct effect
These priorities are throughout the document, and will have a direct effect on who receives grant funding, specifically in DHS's choice of using risk-based funding.

This is a recent change and means that high priority will be given to areas with large populations and/or call volumes along with significant critical infrastructure.

This may be very bad for small rural or urban departments, but you can counter that by outlining any significant critical infrastructure such as power generation plants, gas lines, and major highways or rail lines that may be in your jurisdiction.

The AFG's purpose is to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighters from fire and fire-related hazards. This is the original intent of the grant that is now being overridden by the funding priorities, and will cause a bit of confusion and require us to have a balancing act in creating our grants.

If you have read the guidance documents over the years, you will have seen a continuing shift in focus. This means that the scoring is also changing. This year, they explicitly outlined the scoring process, and have provided us with a great way to organize our narratives.

The peer review process will evaluate the following equally so that each carries one-fourth of the weight:
1) The clarity of your proposed project, including the project's budget detail.
2) The organization's financial need.
3) The benefits that would result from an award relative to the cost.
4) The extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations, and/or how the grant will positively impact an organization's ability to protect life and property.

If your grant does not answer those four areas, it will not be scored competitively.

The could do's are the items that will receive higher ranking, but are not necessarily required. For example, any type of vehicle could be proposed within your grant, but pumpers are rated highest in all types of departments. Another example is that training that will bring your department into compliance with national regulations or standards is rated highest, but other types of training that lead to national certifications can also be proposed.

If you look through the guidance document for must do's, should do's and could do's, you can develop the most competitive grant application possible. For additional help, please visit our friends at Chief Grants and remember the biggest must do:  All applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 EDT on May 4.

Follow the directions, be creative, and apply for what you need. I give you my best wishes and I hope you get everything you need.