The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting proposals for its Southern Area State Fire Capacity Hazard Mitigation.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/14/2023
Size of the Grant: $300,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
State Fire Capacity (SFC) Hazard Mitigation priorities are consistent with the goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy specifically as listed below.
- Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives.
- Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life or property.
Additionally, SFC priorities reflect the national USFS priorities of improving the condition of forests, and grasslands, promoting shared stewardship by increasing partnerships and volunteerism, and by being good neighbors and providing excellent customer service. SFC Hazard Mitigation application activities should clearly focus on identifying and creating fire adapted communities by:
- Reducing hazardous fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
- Developing, and implementing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs)
- Providing prevention and mitigation education, and/or
- By achieving Fire Adapted Community and Firewise programming and other community hazard mitigation activities.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,592,340
- Award Ceiling: $300,000
- Award Floor: $25,000
Project Period
The grant term is three (3) years, with one-year extensions possible for unique circumstances, for a total maximum term of (5) years.
General Grant Criteria
- Projects must be for a qualifying activity – if it is not, the application will be considered ineligible.
- Applicant must meet the 1:1 cost-share match requirement – if not the application will be considered ineligible.
- The cost-share match can be in the form of a cash or in-kind contribution.
- A cash match cannot be utilized from other federal funding.
- Funds cannot be used on federal lands, excluding Tribal trust lands.
- Each State can have a maximum of two internal and two external applications.
- Internal for this grant is defined as the State Forestry Agency.
- External for this grant is defined as other State Agencies, County/Local governments, or other Non-governmental Organizations (including private landowner associations such as HOAs).
- For profit entities are not eligible.
- Tribal entities are separate, not considered external, and tribal applications will not count toward a State maximum number of applications.
- State Forestry Agencies may support up to two external applications.
- External applicants (except for Tribes) must submit applications to the State Forestry Agency for review and potential State Forester support.
- Applications must be submitted to the appropriate State Forestry Agency no later than April 14, 2023.
- Applicants with supported proposals will be provided a letter of support from the State Forester which must be submitted along with the application in Grants.gov.
- Projects awarded to external applicants (excluding tribes) will received funding as a pass-through grant from the applicable State Forestry Agency.
- Supported external applicants should work with the applicable State Forestry Agency to determine if any Indirect Costs will need to be accounted for within their grant application.
- Tribes will submit applications directly in Grants.gov.
- Tribal projects will be scored with all other applications. However, Tribal applications will not count towards the state cap of four (4) and will instead be limited to two (2) Tribal applications per state.
- If a Tribal project is selected for funding through this process, the USDA Forest Service Southern Region will work directly with the Tribe on the grant award.
- Equipment purchases $5000 or more will require:
- Grant Equipment Justification Form,
- Detailed information within the application supporting the need and use of equipment.
Eligible Applicants
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- State governments
- City or township governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- County governments
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Special district governments
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
