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Volunteer Fire Capacity 2023

Grantor:
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Portal ID:
25094
Status:
Closed
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) Program is a Federally-funded grant program that allows California to provide local and rural fire departments with minor firefighting, training, communications and safety equipment for their volunteer firefighters. The VFC Program is not intended for major equipment (fire engines, vehicles, etc) or Capital repairs. 

 

Description:

The Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) Program is a Federally-funded grant program that allows California to provide local and rural fire departments with minor firefighting, training, communications and safety equipment for their volunteer firefighters. The VFC Program is not intended for major equipment (fire engines, vehicles, etc) or Capital repairs. The VFC Program has a 50/50 match requirement which means that the applying department must be able to meet the intended grant award, dollar for dollar. Awards for departments are set at a minimum of $500 with a maximum of $20,000. Amounts may be adjusted based on the grant funding available.

Funding for departments must meet at least one of the following qualifications:

 

1.    A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 or less.

 

2.    Area fire departments (fire districts, townships, etc.) may serve an aggregate population of greater than 10,000 as long as the service area of the fire department includes a rural area or a rural community having a population of 10,000 or less. The VFC funding must be used to benefit the rural population.

 

3.    A single county or town with a population over 10,000 which is served by two or more fire districts operating entirely within the bounds of the county or town may qualify as long as the service area of a given fire department includes a rural area or a rural community or the population of the fire department's jurisdiction is 10,000 or less. The VFC funding must be used for the rural area.

 

4.    A single community with a population greater than 10,000 and having a single fire department with one or more fire stations may qualify. The fire department must have a service area that includes a rural area or community that does not exceed 10,000 population. Also, a single community with a population greater than 10,000 which also provides fire protection to an adjoining rural community of 10,000 or less population by contract may also be eligible provided the VFC funding is used entirely to support the rural community.

A single community fire department serving a population greater than 10,000 and not providing protection to a rural area or to a rural community is not eligible for VFC financial assistance.  

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

Area fire departments including Native American tribes 

Eligible Geographies:

Rural areas or rural communities 

Matching Funding Requirement:

No amount of unpaid “contributed” or “volunteer” labor or services shall be used or consigned in calculating the matching amount “actually spent” by the awarded.

The awarded fire department shall not use VFC Funds as matching funds for other federal grants, including Department of Interior (USDI) Rural Fire Assistance grants, nor use funds from other federal grants, including USDI Rural Fire Assistance grants, as matching funds for VFC Funds.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
August 2023
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
08/2023 - 6/2024

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$1,363,636
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$500 – $20,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
50%
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • Federal

Funding Source Notes:

California has been approved as a passthrough agent of the United States Department of Agriculture, (USDA), Forest Service for the purpose of administering the Volunteer Fire Capacity program in California, hereinafter referred to as VFC, authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act (CFAA) of 1978 (PL 95-313, 92 Stat 365, 16 U.S.C. 2101-2114), as amended.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Awarded must bill CAL FIRE via e-mail no later than September 1, 2024 in order to receive the funds. The bill submitted must clearly delineate the projects performed and/or items purchased. A vendor’s invoice and proof of payment to vendor(s) must be included for items purchased.

 

 

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Megan Esfandiary, 1-916-894-9845, Megan.Esfandiary@fire.ca.gov

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