By Kevin Kehoe
ISFCA Secretary/Treasurer
Now that we have all had the time to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and let the belt out a notch or two, it seems like a fine time to recap some of the events of our recent yearly conference in Meridian, ID. Our President, Jim Olson, did a fantastic job of putting together a conference loaded with great vendors, excellent speakers, and presentations that were relevant and very informative to all departments and districts. A lot of hard work and time went into setting this conference in motion and the first-class results attest to this outcome, THANK-YOU JIM OLSON!
All the various speakers and presentations were top notch, each having particular points of interest to all in attendance. I found the Grant Writing Seminar that was hosted by Sarah Wilson of FIREGRANTSHELP to be particularly informative and interesting. Sarah managed to keep everyone engaged and very much awake throughout her presentation. Sarah obviously is not new to interaction with an audience, is a gifted speaker and very comfortable in sharing her wealth of information. I will attempt to put forth a brief synopsis of her presentation and also provide contact information for both Sarah and the FIREGRANTSHELP Company.
As the mission statement sets forth, FIREGRANTSHELP is set up to provide members of the first response community with a comprehensive resource for grant information and assistance. Sarah initially went through the audience to ascertain the various “needs and wants” of departments and districts throughout the state. There were many different items that came up for possible funding assistance, and eventually the list was prioritized to that of “needs” rather than “wants”.
Then the various types of funding assistance that are available were discussed. Grant funding is considered one of many funding options for departments to consider. Other options that could be considered may include the following: loans, guarantees, donations, and contributions.
The grant “time cycle” was addressed as well, and there are a few key “pre-planning” points that the applicant needs to take a close look at in the process. These “pre-planning” points are: Risk Assessment, Demographic Profile, Public Relations Program, Grant Research, and Looking 12 plus Months out for future opportunities. These specific points will also provide the applicant considerable information regarding questions that may come up and need to be addressed in the formal grant application.
There are a multitude of various sources for grant funding, which include the public, private, and corporate sectors. In her presentation, Sarah addressed some specific points on a number of the most popular grant funding programs, both in the public and private sectors. The website www.firegrantshelp.com provides a very complete listing of all of these various resources. There is no cost incurred to register on this website, and the site lists the many federal, state, private, and corporate resources available. In addition to this service there is also grant assistance services that may be obtained.
Grant writing and application have been, and continue to be, a vital part of all of our departments. As an association, the ISFCA is committed to assisting all of our departments and districts in this critical funding area. Currently the association is exploring the possibility of setting up a grant assistance workshop within the state. We welcome your feedback on this topic, as this information will assist us in choosing the date, time, and location for such an event. In the meantime, all of you are more than welcome and encouraged to contact Sarah Wilson directly at the following:
Sarah Wilson, Grants Program Manager
sarah.wilson@firegrantshelp.com
Toll Free 866-463- 7792
Hoping all have safe travels and fair weather.