For Grant-seekers  (see also "Scholarships" tab for educational grants)

• General info, directories, 
• specific grant opportunities
• Other tips

TIP: Clicking on these links won't open a new window -- you'll have to use your browser's "back" button if you want to return to this page.  You can also open up a new browser and copy/paste links into the new address bar!  

General info: 

There is a very nice 18-page guide compiled by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office at 

http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/download/grant-guide-fire-grant-funding-opportunities .

The gateway to US government grant information is at http://www.grants.gov  .  It offers one-stop shopping for information on applying for grants at all federal agencies. The Web site includes information on over $350 billion in grant funds administered by over 900 grant programs at the federal government's 26 grant-making agencies.

USFA publications has the "Guide to Funding Alternatives for Fire & EMS Departments" and other funding information at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/grants/index.html   and USFA's parent site, http://www.fema.gov  . You may also want to check out http://www.firegrantwinners.com , which has FEMA grant writing tips and helpful links. (Some info free; they also sell some of their guides.) 

For those of you in NY State, the State Library
(http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/grantres.htm ) has a grantsmanship center in Albany. It is a central distribution point for grants information to regional libraries, regularly hosts workshops, and helps fundraisers in person by appointment. Call the Center at 518-474-5355.  NYSL also   has  a helpful list of resources with links at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/reference/grantsref.htm 

The Academy Library owns (and can lend) the VHS "The Secrets of Successful Grant Writing"  by IdeaBank. (See description at http://www.theideabank.com ). That same site also includes a "Grant Insider" with news of specific grants opportunities (such as WalMart's), an online course and more. TheIdeaBank has also posted full text of 12 proposals on its site. To view, please go to:
www.theideabank.com/onlinecourse/samplegrant.html  .  The sample proposals are for thermal imaging cameras, a quick attack vehicle, multiple casualty incident trailer, a firefighter fitness/wellness program, and a public education programs and more.

The Academy Library's online catalog http://afs.mlasolutions.com/oasis/catalog/?installation=AFS
will help you find recent books, articles and more on grants and grant-writing. 

There is a comprehensive list of grant-related links at http://nnlm.gov/funding/  .  Many are health-related, but some are general grant-writing guides.

There is a "Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal" online at
http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/hintsone.pdf  which has lots of
nice tips and links, and a “Writing a Successful Grant Proposal” online tutorial at http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/writing.htm

We can search the "Big Online America" database for you through the NY State Library.  Big Online contains information on the largest private and public foundations, as well as grants from U.S. government and Canadian government, foundations and corporate donors.  If you are a NYS employee (even as an SFI) we can arrange for passwords for you to have direct access.

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Specific sources of funding:

Every year FEMA (under the Dept. of Homeland Security) distributes funds under the FIRE Act and other programs.  Money is available for fire prevention, firefighter training, equipment, staffing, recruitment, vehicles, PPE, wellness/fitness programs, cooperative agreements and contracts, and administrative needs. See information posted at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/grants/index.html

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is at http://www.cfda.gov will let you type in a keyword (like "fire") to search all types of federal funding and grants.  Also, look for the document "Developing and Writing Grant Proposals".

The Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Fire Station Construction Grants (FSC) will provide financial assistance directly to fire departments on a competitive basis to build new or modify existing fire stations in order for departments to enhance their response capability and protect the community they serve from fire and fire-related hazards. See
http://www.firegrantsupport.com/docs/2009AFSCGguidance.pdf ,
http://www.firegrantsupport.com  for applicant tutorial .

Information on the State's Low-interest Loan program is available on the OFPC website at http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/services/loan/ 

The US Dept. of Agriculture administers two programs: the “Community Facilities Loan Program” and the "Rural Emergency Responders Initiative.” 

• Community Facilities Grant Program
   Applications are filed with the USDA Rural Development field offices. Contact your Rural Development State Offices for detailed information and applications. For Rural Development State Office contacts visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html.  Community Facilities program grants assist in the development of essential community facilities in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 in population. Grant funds may be used to assist in the development of essential community facilities. Grant funds can be used to construct, enlarge, or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and community and public services. This can include the purchase of equipment required for a facility’s operation. A grant may be made in combination with other Community Facilities financial assistance such as a direct or guaranteed loan, applicant contributions, or loans and grants from other sources. Projects will be selected based on a priority point system. Projects that will receive priority are those that: (1) Serve small communities (with the highest priority going to projects located in a community with a population of 5,000 or less); (2) Serve low-income communities (with the highest priority going to projects serving communities with median household incomes below the higher of the poverty line or 60% of the State non-metropolitan median household income); and (3) Provide healthcare, public safety, or public and community services. For examples of essential community facilities visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/essent_facil.htm. Examples of projects that have been funded in the past are available at www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/cp.htm.
  Contact Information
  Housing and Community Facilities Programs National Office
  14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW
  Room 5037, South Building
  Washington, DC  20250
• USDA also runs the "Rural Emergency Responders Initiative” http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/cf/Emerg_Responder/rural_emergency_responders_initi.htm  for this type of community. For more information on either program, contact any Rural Development Office listed in the phone book.

The Volunteer Fire Assistance Program (formerly the Rural Community Fire Protection Program) distributes grants from the US Forest Service to rural communities (under 10,000 population).  See http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/2510.html and http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/2364.html 

Grants of up to $50,000 are available to local governments (incl. fire districts) for records improvement projects.  Visit http://www.sara.nysed.gov  or send an inquiry to
recmgmt@mail.nysed.gov .  Also, there's a nice guide you can download at http://www.albanycounty.com/achor  called "To the Rescue: Records Management for Fire Districts."

There is a related article, GPS Devices Help New York Firefighters Pinpoint Calls
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=46&id=51722  "A $36,000 State Archives grant helped the department purchase four Global Positioning System devices in February..."

A private (for-profit) company is making available grants to "foster and support the integration of GIS technology."  According to their website, the "Community Development/Public Works Grants for Livable Communities" gives away "100 grants of software and training representing an investment from ESRI of more than $400,000.  Applications and background information can be found at http://esri.com/localgov  or you can e-mail info@esri.com .  [Ask if this is a "matching" fund program or dependent on contracting with ESRI for services not covered by the grant.]

The Foundation for the Health and Safety of American Firefighters will consider "proposals that have significant national impact on the health and safety of our firefighters".   The Foundation's giving in recent years runs approx. $75,000 per year.   They may be contacted by e-mailing their President, Dennis Smith at dennissmith@mindspring.com .  Their mailing address is 71 East 77th St., NY NY 10021.

 The Prudential Helping Hearts Program will provide grants of up to $1000 to qualifying volunteer rescue squads and volunteer fire departments to help defray the cost of purchasing a
semi-automatic cardiac defibrillator. They also sponsor a Spirit of Community" award to honor volunteers.  Visit http://www.prudential.com/community   for more information or call
your local Prudential Insurance representative.  

Helping Our Own was founded to assist poor, rural US fire departments receive equipment  donations from more affluent departments.  Over $3.8 million worth of equipment has been
acquired through their service.    They also run "Habitat for Fire Departments," which helps financially strapped departments locate storage space (or funding to build storage space) for their vehicles and equipment.  Call 417-679-2828 or go to http://www.helpingourown.com  or
http://www.members.nbci.com/hlpingourown/habitat.htm

There is some SARA $ available for GIS mapping and related applications.  You could try

NYS Cyber Security & Critical Infrastructure Coordination
NYS GIS Clearinghouse
30 South Pearl St., 11th Floor
Albany, NY 12207-3425
Phone: 518-474-5212

For other SARA grant info, try http://www.nysarchives.org/altformats/accessible/OTR13/ga_lgrmif_appl_2004_5accessible.shtml 

New York State Archives
Grants Administration and Program Support
9A81 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Phone: 518-474-6926
Email: archgrants@mail.nysed.gov 

Dunkin Brands Community Foundation
The Dunkin’ Brands Community was created in partnership with the franchise owners of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins to support emergency response organizations before a crisis occurs. The foundation’s goal is to help ensure that those depended on during a disaster have the training, equipment and resources they need to rise to any occasion. The Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation helps to strengthen capacity and leadership for organizations that serve communities in times of crisis, from the people on the frontlines in the heat of a disaster to the silent heroes who rebuild communities after the limelight fades. Through its charitable grants and partnerships, the foundation helps emergency response organizations: (1) provide safety training to responders; (2) develop rapid-response preparedness plans; (3) update and improve emergency-response infrastructure; (4) purchase and maintain emergency response equipment; (5) raise public awareness of resource needs; and (6) encourage the public to get involved and show their support. The foundation supports emergency response organizations by providing financial assistance, building capacity, developing partnerships, encouraging volunteerism, honoring local heroes and much more. Recent grants are provided at http://www.dunkinbrands.com/Foundation/page.aspx?section=about&page=grants. Letters of inquiry are accepted on an ongoing basis. The request for proposal process is as follows: April: the foundation researches/reviews letters of inquiry; June: contacts organizations for full grant application; August: proposals are due; September: presentations are made by selected organizations; December: the foundation announces grants for the upcoming year.

Contact Information:
Leslie Klein
Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation
130 Royall St., 2 West B
Canton, MA  02021
foundation@dunkinbrands.com

Firefighters Charitable Foundation
Applicants should fill out the Apply for Grants Form at http://www.ffcf.org/phpforms%5Cgrantform.php
The Firefighters Charitable Foundation continues to provide assistance to those in need. Grants are given to assist local fire/disaster victims, fire prevention education, volunteer fire department equipment purchase, and community safety programs. The Firefighters Charitable Foundation provides funding that: (1) Assists fire and disaster victims; and supports Volunteer Fire Departments. (2) Supports outreach programs for fire safety, first aid education and aids children in need. (3) Delivers grants to other charitable organizations that help victims of fire. The following grants are available that meet specific grant requirements: (1) AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) - available nationally to an organization that would like to implement an AED program for their community. Local fire department should be contacted to assist with determining what brand AED to buy and to arrange CPR/AED training for those that will administer it. (2) Fire Department Equipment Program - available for Volunteer (and Paid) Fire Departments to purchase fire fighting equipment and vehicles. It also provides assistance to acquire necessary tools, clothing and other procurements. (3) Community Smoke Detector Program - available for Volunteer Fire Departments, Safe Kids Coalitions, Social Service Agencies to assist with implementation of a smoke detector, battery replacement program in their local community. (4) Juvenile Firesetters Program - available for any Fire Dept. (Volunteer or Paid) or a Social Service Agency wishing to imple-ment a Juvenile Firesetters Program. The grant includes a $500.00 cash award to help offset the initial costs of setting up the program with items such as Audio/Visual Equipment, Printing, etc. and a copy of the Broward Co., FL Fire Marshall’s Office - Juvenile Firesetters Program Implementation  Guide.
Contact Information:
Firefighters Charitable Foundation
One West Street
Farmingdale, NY  11735
ffcf@ffcf.org

Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program  (Alabama, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York)
The Leary Firefighters Foundation
Letters of inquiry and applications are reviewed as received. Fire Department representatives
should first send a letter of inquiry (not to exceed two pages) which includes the following information: description of the organization seeking support; overview of project to be funded and grant amount requested; problem/challenges project will address; timeframe for implementation of project; summary of other sources being approached for support of project. In addition to the letter of inquiry, a project budget should be included. Applicants considered for funding will be contacted and asked to complete a full grant application form. The Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program, named in honor of Denis Leary’s cousin who perished in a catastrophic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts, provides financial support for the training and equipment needs of uniformed firefighters in board-designated geographic areas. The purpose and objectives of this program are very specific in nature.
Contact Information
The Leary Firefighters Foundation
594 Broadway, Suite 409
New York NY  10012
info@learyfirefighters.org

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Other tips:

If you’re hoping to fund a special item (such as an AED or a thermal imaging camera) the manufacturer may be able to put you in touch with grant sources.  Some have even put boilerplate application forms and narratives on their websites, just to improve your chances to buying their equipment. 

Can't offer much information on these sites, but worth a try???

http://www.fdncenter.org 
http://www.nonprofits.org 
http://www.technologygrantnews.com 
http://www.tgci.com 
http://www.human.com:80/inc/ 
http://www.nih.gov 
http://www.nonprofit.gov  (15 US govt. agencies)
http://www.fundsnetservices.com 
http://www.gih.org    (Grantmakers in Health)
http://www.ems-c.org   (pediatric EMS)
http://www.ega.org   (Environmental Grantmakers Assn.)
http://www.philanthropy.com  (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Some individual private foundations are at:
http://www.att.com/foundation 
http://www.gf.org:80/ 
http://www.sloan.org 
http://www.carnegie.org