« A 2010 Project Development for Fire Departments | Home | AFG Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2009 to Open on Tax Day! »
2010 Increasing the Odds of Approval in your Favor
The 2010 AFG Grants program is open now. There will be over 20,000 applicants along with yours filing for the free federal funds through the AFG program this year. Less than half will receive funding for their department. If your need is great make sure you emphasize it properly. A well thought out approach to attacking the application is needed.
Before beginning what is your game plan? What does your department need? If your department is not fully compliant in NFPA standards make becoming compliant part of your request. If all of the personnel in your department are not fully or properly trained, include this training.
Make sure all of your equipment is working properly and maintained or ask for help in this area also. Is there enough PPE for all personnel in your department? Remember people are a necessary ingredient in your department to function properly in times of an emergency. If they are not protected and become a casualty the situation will deteriorate.
The narrative is the crucial part and has to be addressed properly. Remember when writing the narrative that the reviewers read applications all day long. This is their job so make it easy to understand and informative but not to wordy. The size limit is 5 pages.
Do not run over because of electronic filing the computer will cut off everything after five pages. Have as many people inside and outside your department proofread your application narrative as you can find. The more input the better. There is only one shot at this funding a year so do your best. Follow and fully describe the 4 areas need. They are project description and budget, your financial needs and requirements, the cost to benefit ratio and what outcome this funding will provide that s beneficial to your jurisdictional area.
There are millions of dollars of free grant money to be awarded this year from the AFG program. Do your best in filing the application. Lives depend on it. For help in filling out the application, contact the sponsor of this blog, Ward Diesel. They are experts in how to apply to the Assistance to Firefighters Grants and they will assist you.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.