Triad continues to invest in their employees by sending them to valuable training sessions specific to grant writing programs as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This specialized training has yielded exceptional results for our client, the City of Wildwood, NJ. With help from Triad Associates, the Wildwood Fire Department received $1.3 million from three separate grants from FEMA over the past year!
Todd Noon, one of our Senior Associates here at Triad, attended a 16-hour workshop last year on Grant Writing for First Responders, and had this to say about the grant training: “I have written several FEMA grants since the training and each one has been funded. Learning what to write and how to write for these grants, including knowing what components get extra scrutiny by the reviewers, has paid big dividends for our clients.”
Among several grant opportunities that FEMA offers for first responders are the Aid to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER).
Each year, the AFG program receives about 12,000 applications nationwide, while SAFER receives approximately 1,500. In both cases, FEMA typically makes awards to fewer than 20% of applicants, which makes these programs some of the most competitive grant opportunities available to fire departments.
Just last week, the City of Wildwood was awarded $350,400 in SAFER grant funds to recruit new volunteer firefighters. This follows an additional SAFER grant to the City a few weeks ago of $481,984 to hire new career firefighters.
“We tried for so many years to win a SAFER grant, but were never successful,” said Wildwood Fire Chief Daniel Speigel. “This year, Triad really came through for our department and helped us win not only one SAFER grant, but two. This is a great achievement for our department and the City of Wildwood.”
In 2016, the City was awarded an AFG for a new Pumper Truck for the Pine Avenue Volunteer Company in the amount of $467,762 – one of fewer than 170 Vehicle Acquisition awards nationwide.
Trusting in a company that has nearly 40 years’ experience and one that continues to train its staff in ways to make its clients’ grant applications stand out from the rest makes good sense. If your fire department is in need of equipment, gear, training or a new vehicle, give Triad a call today to discuss putting our expertise to work for you when the FEMA programs open later this year.
Who knows? Maybe your community will be the next $1 million Success Story.
