< PreviousA contractor is someone who performs a specific function within the project, but they do this same type of work for various clients. It’s their job. These are totally different roles with their own rules. So, you shouldn’t use the terms interchangeably. Our grants (assistance awards) usually follow Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) regulations, and Contracts (procurement) usually follow Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) regulations. Navigating and interpreting these regulations can be challenging. There are a lot of nuances like that. Getting familiar and comfortable with grant terminology is going to make your life easier. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a four-week course that will give you the Senior Manager of Grants and Contracts for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). MYSTERY 1: WHY DO GRANTS SEEM TO SPEAK THEIR OWN LANGUAGE? Pruitt: Grants are very acronym- heavy, and there’s a lot of terminology. Understanding the technical differences between direct cost versus indirect cost, or grant versus contract, and second tier roles like “contractor” versus “sub- awardee” are a few examples. A sub-recipient or sub-awardee is an organization that is “substantially” contributing to the prime recipient’s scope of work, and the prime laws and regulations are flowed down in the sub-awardees’ agreement (but not flowed to Contractors). T he process of grant- seeking seems to occupy its own little world of specific language, rules, and strategies that only those with specialized training know how to use. Grant managers are in high demand, specifically because they possess this training and can “speak grant” fluently. That said, there’s no reason for this process to intimidate those who depend on grants for their programs and initiatives. Having a strong grasp of why and how grants work the way they do will make our fire and EMS leaders far better prepared to take full advantage of all the funding opportunities available to them. To provide you with that insight, we connected with Akilah Pruitt, FEATURE \\ Demystifying Grants: Cutting Through the Chaos With An Expert’s Insightsure the whole team understands what needs to happen and when. I break it down. We can then take the process step by step. Applying for grants doesn’t have to be overwhelming just because it’s complicated. It’s a lot to manage, but if you follow a good standard operation procedure (SOP) or an organized process with respected internal deadlines, it won’t be nearly as overwhelming to then follow each step and manage the work one task at a time. When you’re mindful of the post-award stage while at the pre- award stage, that prevents a lot of issues at the post-award stage. You might still feel overwhelmed — it’s a lot to deal with. That’s normal. Just don’t let it stop you from moving forward. iCHIEFS: Understanding why each grant’s requirements exist and how every step fits into the final selection process will break your work down into a far more manageable format. For those in the fire service, this means familiarizing yourself with the specific mindset of federal, state, and local government stakeholders who are awarding money entrusted to them by the public through their representatives. The complexity of the process is a byproduct of the high need for accountability and transparency. Approaching your application from this angle can help clarify your purpose and make the process more intuitive for you. MYSTERY 3: WHAT MAKES AN APPLICATION STAND OUT? Pruitt: Number one: follow all the requirements of the NOFO or RFP. These are the announcements inviting organizations to apply for a grant and laying out the process to follow for your application. Two: come up with a creative idea to address the problem the sponsor is trying to solve. Show your experience and tell the story of why you’re able to handle this money. Share any relative grants you’ve won in the past. Three: make the effort to show supporting data. Metrics are is equipped to not misuse or abuse the grant funds. You also need to remember that everyone reports to someone, including the agency or organization awarding this money. Even an agency as big as FEMA is reporting to Congress, and they have to be able to justify the choices they make with the taxpayer money they’ve been given. This is why compliance is so important. When I help an organization get the money, I am also trying to make sure they keep that money year over year. If you don’t provide enough detail, then you aren’t proving yourself to be a good investment compared to other organizations applying for that same opportunity. The problems we’re looking to solve are complicated; the solutions are going to be complex, too. You’re being asked to show every part of what your project entails and every part it will play in solving whatever problem the sponsor is trying to address with this grant. iCHIEFS: It’s important to acquaint yourself with the grant life cycle, if you’re not already familiar with it. This cycle is divided into three main phases: pre-award, award, and post- award. The pre-award phase includes the announcement of the funding opportunity, usually through a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and the submission of proposals. The award phase consists of the evaluation and selection of a proposal (or proposals) by the funding agency. The post- award phase is the implementation, compliance, and reporting phase. The recipient receives the funds and begins implementing them according to their approved proposal. Pruitt: When I get a grant notification that seems to align with the company’s mission and/or strategic plan, I’ll share the RFP/NOFO with senior leadership. If they want to potentially apply, I set up a meeting with the programmatic team to lay out the terms and conditions. Then I organize all the information and make a really strong introduction to grant terminology and both pre-award and post-award management. It’s called Fundamentals of Grants Management Course and is available via FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI). I highly recommend it. Another great resource for federal grants is a training company called Management Concepts. They offer excellent certificates and certification programs in grants management. For those interested in grants, the important thing is to be open to learning and give yourself grace as you go about that learning process. You don’t have to memorize everything — create yourself a toolbox with links and resources that you can refer to when you need them, and take it from there. iCHIEFS: Visit the website https:// grants.gov for a comprehensive glossary of grant terms and their uses. Resources like this are easy to access and simple to navigate. If you’re interacting with grant proposals or literature, it’s a good idea to bookmark a few, and share them with your team. MYSTERY 2: WHY ARE GRANT REQUIREMENTS SO COMPLICATED? iCHIEFS: The grant acquisition process can be extremely intimidating for those who aren’t familiar with it — especially for those looking to win federal grants, such as those included under the Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFGs) program or FEMA. Many of these taxpayer-funded grants come with 100-page-plus documents detailing the eligibility and application requirements. How do you even begin to navigate such a dense, complicated landscape? You can start by reframing it. Pruitt: It’s complicated because we’re dealing with taxpayer dollars, which is money that’s highly regulated and requires a lot of accountability. The sponsor is not only evaluating your proposal application for quality assurance and sustainability, but they are also making sure your organization Continued on page 14to be able to give your proposal this deeper level of attention to make sure it’s truly a reflection of what we, both my organization and the sponsor agency awarding the money, are trying to do. Those last-minute asks were difficult because I’m a very detailed oriented person who wants to dot my I’s and cross my T’s carefully, and we also didn’t have a formalized proposal process in place. You can’t properly prepare various large grant proposals at the last minute. Deadlines are strict, especially federal grant deadlines, and they give you plenty of time to meet them for a reason. They announce these opportunities months in advance. If you try to start a large grant proposal a week before the deadline, you’re going to end up with late nights and early mornings, and possibly garbage. Our programs aren’t garbage, and I wasn’t going to treat them like they were. Last year, I led two initiatives to improve the workflow for awards and proposals. I developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help us work more efficiently, allowing us to focus on reviewing and submitting proposals with attention to detail and excellence. For post-award management, I implemented a system where all notifications and award terms and conditions for grants are routed to a centralized inbox. This fit together. We can also see if your proposal’s content and format does the best job of communicating that fit to the agency receiving it. MYSTERY 4: HOW CAN I MAKE THE PROCESS LESS STRESSFUL? iCHIEFS: If the grant proposal process is a source of major stress for you, it probably comes down to two issues: unfamiliarity and overwhelm. The first issue can be remedied by learning from those accustomed to grants and grant writing, whether you do it through direct conversations with an experienced fundraiser, videos, books, courses, or blogs. The second isn’t as easy to resolve, but it can be improved by contextualizing the grant process in a way that makes logical sense and honoring internal deadlines outlined by the proposal team. Pruitt: My first year here at the IAFC was chaotic because I was new to the fire service, and people were sending me things at the eleventh hour they wanted funded — everything was a fire, basically. It’s like they brought their fieldwork into an office setting … but this isn’t a fire you’re trying to put out. You truly can’t rush the process for large proposals. I have to take time to read through everything and analyze it, I have to make sure it follows all of the relevant grant laws and regulations, and I have hugely important. If they aren’t as strong as you hoped, you can give context to that. Tell them why you’re improving, explain that your team is growing, and show that you’re making an effort to expand the resources you have. That human element is important: emphasize the strength, expertise, and competence of the team you have. Show that you and your team understand each phase of the grant life cycle. For the writing part of the process, you can stand out by being clear, concise, and backing up your writer with the technical expertise of someone directly in the field. For example, if you’re a fire chief, you can pair your grant specialist writer with a firefighter who’s participated in or will participate in the program you want funded. Let the people at the heart of the mission give your proposal writer the narrative as they see it. When you bring these different people together, you can create magic. Having someone like me review your proposal can make sure the budget, narrative, scope of work, and everything else flows. Some of the changes I suggest may be small but can make a big difference in how the proposal is received. In rare instances, for not well thought-out applications, I’ve recommended not submitting a proposal. iCHIEFS: One area that’s often neglected is the form and formatting used in the proposal. Font, spacing, margins, and the physical layout of a proposal all play a role in how your words and data are interpreted by the funding agency’s reviewers. Pruitt: An experienced grant reviewer can see how your writing and your format mix and spot any issues that might come up when you go to send in your application. Having a grant manager who fully understands the organization’s policies and mission as well as the sponsor’s policies and mission means you have someone who can clearly see how the two will Continued from page 11 “Having a grant manager who fully understands the organization’s policies and mission as well as the sponsor’s policies and mission means you have someone who can clearly see how the two will fit together.” — Akilah Pruitt, IAFCdepartments and the fire service as a whole. When you choose to get educated about the grant process, you’re showing grant sponsors that your mission is worthy of respect, time, and effort. But when you choose to avoid the process, go into it unprepared, or try to get by with last-minute applications, you tell the same sponsors that your project is an afterthought. It’s up to you to decide which of these realities will define you and your department’s potential. rewarding yet it can be time consuming. Time is respect. Firefighters follow protocols established before they’re in the field — they have proper training, equipment, and roles. Grant processes are similar; there’s no reason to be last minute. Being proactive is key because being reactive is going to stress out you and staff. SUCCESS STARTS HERE Grants have become crucial in funding programs that support allows me to communicate clearly with the relevant program staff. I also review, redline, and negotiate terms and conditions to help minimize risk and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. Additionally, a centralized inbox serves as a helpful strategy for business continuity in the event of staff changes. I love the work I do and the people I work with. iCHIEFS: All in all, grants management is a wonderful skill to have. This type of work is very preparedness?” It’s simple enough to measure the impact of a wildfire after it’s wreaked havoc on an area, but preparedness is, by definition, a matter of what’s done before those first embers fall. Resilience doesn’t always equate to preparedness, of course — at least not in the context of measuring the impact of something as far-reaching as wildfire. Still, it’s generally safe to assume that a prepared community is also a resilient community and vice versa. Resilience is far more quantifiable, though gathering that data can be deeply unpleasant. Resilience is a matter of what remains during the “after.” It lives in the answers to questions like: How many people were lost or injured? How many homes were destroyed? How many livelihoods were and other stakeholders involved in wildfire protection, prevention, and mitigation. They indicate the priorities at the heart of the two biggest funders of fire service programs, projects, and initiatives in the U.S. These priorities go on to define the way departments of all sizes operate in and beyond the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). If resilience is one of those priorities, it must become a major focus for all fire service leaders. The question is, who defines resilience, and how can it be measured? That answer has changed in recent years, and our perspectives are changing, too. THE METRICS OF MITIGATION How do we measure a concept as qualitative as “community I n communications regarding the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines one of its key objectives as the “support [of] community resilience.” The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has repeatedly emphasized the importance of developing “fire- adapted communities,” or FACs, as a foundational element of the National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy, which is itself “the key framework for addressing wildland fire challenges across the nation,” according to the USFA website. One of the tenets of this strategic vision is to “collectively learn to live with wildland fire.” The terms these agencies use are vitally important for fire departments FEATURE \\ A Measured Response: Redefining Resilience In Wildfire’s New Agecommunity, they do it as much by preparing that community as they do by facing emergencies once they arise. When a chief talks, people listen, and that’s a powerful thing. Your job is now to relay the messages data is sending you by translating it into terms and actions your community can understand. This is a duty you’ll share with officials and collaborators from all corners of service and industry. A modern fire chief, especially those leading departments in areas with high wildfire risk, is more than a leader of firefighters. He or she is also a leader of communities, and responders must become advocates as well as personnel. Firefighters are positioned to gather more useful data on wildfire than any other entity, as long as their leaders provide them with the right tools and training to do so. These leaders must learn to identify the metrics of resilience and share them with the public in actionable terms. As this role has become more and more central to the fire service’s mission, resources like the Ready, Set, Go! program and its ready-made communication plans, outreach support classes, and Achievement Management System have evolved to prepare chiefs and officers for effective community planning. The National Fire Protection Association and National Fire Administration have shifted their priorities to match these new, community-led approaches to wildfire preparedness. Data is the foundation on which these new programs are being built. Empathy and social capital are the impetus that will make them effective. Preparing the public is no longer just a matter of “fighting” fire, but learning to live with it as an unavoidable part of our changing environment. This will be a collective effort requiring an unprecedented level of innovation and collaboration between countless different people. But these are unprecedented times. In this new world, the call starts years before you see so much as a flicker in the brush; the “scene” is everything worth saving when the inevitable happens. You’re already there. So start fighting. Another town looked like this and, well, now it doesn’t exist anymore. One neighborhood evacuated early while another lost five residents. The difference starts as a series of numbers, and we transform them into insight. This is where subjectivity strengthens us, motivating us to keep facing a problem that’s getting bigger every time we look. How can we do better? How can we save more lives, literally and figuratively? Maybe the council in Town A adjusted their building codes while Town B prioritized rapid development. Perhaps Neighborhood A had been participating in their fire department’s Ready, Set, Go! Program for months, while the people in Neighborhood B didn’t even know such a program existed. We ask what makes a community resilient, and then we work backwards from there. What we discover is preparedness. The equation might come out to something like Resilience ÷ Features x Decisions = Preparedness. We extrapolate from there, identifying the features of and decisions made by a resilient community and codifying them. Where we find those features, we find resilience — and so we also find preparedness. Preparedness is thus a “score” that represents the difference between a community recovering from a wildfire or being devastated by it. It’s literally a life or death calculation. You — fire chiefs, data analysts, program developers — are being asked to make it. DEFINING DUTY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES Data is actionable, and it doesn’t get weighed down by emotion. In the right hands, it can also be very, very good at saving lives. In this red-hazed new reality, fire service leaders must learn to reach out their hands and treat data as the most vital tool in their arsenal. The ways you do so will be varied and unique. In many ways, you are being asked to redefine firefighting on a fundamental level. If a firefighter’s duty is to preserve life and property, then it’s a duty they fulfill in community centers and classrooms as much as on scene. If a fire chief’s duty is to protect their lost, and what is the monetary cost of all that loss? Fire, after all, is a science. And as with any science, numbers tell the story. Resilience is the differential between what could have been lost versus what was; it’s the measurement of who comes back once the soot settles and what they do with whatever is left after the ash is cleared away. To measure resilience, we have to look at its ugly mirror image. What does it look like when a community is not prepared for wildfire? What are the numbers like when a community doesn’t come out of a wildfire intact… or at all? The raw data is compared, stored, and weighed. Then, we compare. We try to be objective and evaluate success or failure from the standpoint of, “Could it have been worse? How much worse? Why are these numbers the ones we ended up with, and what would have made them higher or lower?” We gather up countless data points, often painstakingly, until they form a more or less complete picture. Here’s what happened. Here’s how we succeeded — or failed. That objectivity gets a lot harder to maintain when you were the one on the fireground. We have to do it anyway. This is the fire service mantra. Finally, we evaluate. This town did that and preserved 80% of its structures. Fiscal Year (FY) 2028 and their sunset dates were extended until September 30, 2030. In addition, the law authorized $95 million for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) through FY 2028 in order to complete the development of and transition to the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS). • The SIREN Reauthorization Act (P.L. 118-84): This law reauthorized a grant program for rural fire and nonprofit EMS systems through FY 2028. The law also removed a ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 118TH CONGRESS It is important to recognize the significant accomplishments of 2024. We managed to pass the following laws: • The Fire Grants and Safety Act (P.L. 118-67): This new law prevented the expiration of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs in September 2024. Instead, the programs have funding authorized through T he 118th Congress ended in a rush right before Christmas and left quite a lot of work to finish. In January, President Trump returned to Washington with a Republican- lead House and Senate to finish last year’s business and pursue an ambitious agenda. As the 119th Congress gets to work, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) will be working to meet the needs of America’s fire and emergency services. Welcome to the 119th Congress Ken LaSala, IAFC Director of Government Relations and Policy Legislative Update: REPORT FROM WASHINGTON \\Administration (OSHA). In the late fall, OSHA held an administrative hearing to examine some of the issues relating to the standard in more detail. Chief Matt Tobia, the fire chief of the Harrisonburg (VA) Fire Department, represented the IAFC at the hearing on November 12. Chief Tobia summarized the IAFC’s written comments, and urged OSHA to adopt the IAFC’s recommendations, including extending the implementation period for 10 years and addressing the cost concerns relating to the proposed standard. PRIORITIES FOR 2025 While the IAFC works to take care of the unfinished business from 2024, we also have legislative priorities for 2025. Our top legislative priority will be protecting the federal First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The IAFC was a leader in the creation of FirstNet, which is a nationwide broadband network dedicated to the needs of public safety. After the tragedy of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers at 9/11 and communications difficulties with the response to Pentagon at 9/11 and later during Hurricane Katrina, it was clear that the nation’s fire, EMS, and law enforcement organizations needed to be able to communicate together effectively. FirstNet was created in 2012. It currently has more than 29,000 public safety agencies signed up and more than 6.4 million connections. Last year, the FirstNet Board of Directors agreed to invest $2 billion to increase funding for the AFG and SAFER programs and the USFA in both FY 2025 and FY 2026. Congress also must address the problems of fires caused by the lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micromobility devices. Last Congress, Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act. The bill would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to set standards for the lithium-ion batteries and their charging components in e-bikes and other e-mobility devices. The bill passed the House, and a deal was reached to pass the bill in the Senate. Unfortunately, time ran out and the bill was removed from the final continuing resolution that ended the 118th Congress. The IAFC and its allies will work to pass the bill this year. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act is another important piece of unfinished business. The bill would grant eligibility for the Public Safety Officer’s Benefits program to the families of public safety officers that die or become disabled from job- related cancer. The bill was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but no action was taken in the House. In addition, we need to find a new House sponsor for the bill, because Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr., passed away. While it is not a legislative item, the IAFC will continue to be engaged in any action regarding the draft Emergency Response Standard by the Occupational Safety and Health local matching grant requirement. The bill also provided training for treating patients with mental health and substance use disorders. • The Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act (P.L. 118- 147): This law reauthorized funding for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) National Firefighter Registry for Cancer. The law authorized increased funding ($5.5 million) for the program through FY 2028. • The Social Security Fairness Act: This bill repealed the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision for first responders, other state and local government employees, and their survivors. The legislation will allow affected fire and EMS personnel to receive the benefits that they deserve for paying into the federal Social Security system. The bill covers benefits payable after December 2023. These new laws are important because they signify Congress’ long- term commitment to their respective programs and intention to fund them. As the Republicans look to pay for President Trump’s proposed tax cuts and increased border security spending, they may eliminate unauthorized federal programs. So, last year’s new laws were not esoteric exercises. UNFINISHED BUSINESS FROM THE 118TH CONGRESS The 119th Congress has a lot of work to complete from the last Congress. Most importantly, the new Congress must fund the federal government for FY 2025 after March 14, when the current continuing resolution expires. The House passed $367.5 million each for the AFG and SAFER programs and approximately $78.3 million for the USFA in FY 2025. Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed $360 million each for the AFG and SAFER programs, and more than $80 million for the USFA. The IAFC will be working While the IAFC works to take care of the unfinished business from 2024, we also have legislative priorities for 2025.Next >