Who is eligible to apply for funding in the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters?
Nonprofit volunteer and combination fire departments and State and local interest organizations that focus on the interests of volunteer firefighters may apply for funding.
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What are some examples of incentive costs that are eligible under the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters activity?
Applicants who propose to initiate a recruitment and/or retention plan as a part of their application will receive equal consideration for the recruitment activities and the retention activities. Proposals in this activity may include providing incentives for volunteer firefighter members to continue their service in a fire department. Examples of the type of initiatives that may receive assistance include but are not limited to the following:

• Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
• College education cost reimbursement
• Reimbursement for lost wages while attending training
• Marketing program costs to recruit new volunteer members
• Staffing needs assessment
• Explorer, cadet, and/or mentoring programs
• Tuition assistance for higher education and professional certifications
• Workers compensation
• Length of service awards and other retirement benefits
• Initial physicals may be eligible if the applicant can adequately demonstrate that providing the physicals would enhance the applicant’s ability to recruit and/or retain volunteer firefighters
  

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I'm applying for a recruitment and retention grant. May I use SAFER funds to pay for training of firefighters recruited under the program?
The limited funding available for SAFER activities precludes the award of funds for operational activities such as equipping and training newly hired or recruited firefighters. Therefore, costs for providing training to the firefighter minimum-staffing level, as offered in the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant program, are not eligible for funding under SAFER. Training above and beyond the required initial certification training is eligible for funding under SAFER.

While operational activities will not be funded by SAFER, in an effort to support successful SAFER awardees, applicants receiving SAFER funding will receive priority consideration in applying for funding under subsequent cycles of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. In order to be reviewed by the AFG peer evaluation, AFG funds must be used to support SAFER-funded activities.

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Do Recruitment and Retention grantees need to submit training certificates to the Program Office?
No, Recruitment and Retention awardees are not mandated to have firefighter training completed within a designated period of time. However, applicants that indicate in their application that the newly recruited firefighters will have the minimum fire and EMS certification requirements prescribed by the locality or State completed within twelve months of appointment to the department will improve the competitive disposition of their application.

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If I apply in the Recruitment and Retention Activity and only request assistance in retention, how do I respond to the fourth requirement in the narrative portion of the application that reads as follows: A statement relating to how the applicant will ensure to the extent possible, that they will seek, recruit, and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women for the new firefighter positions to increase their ranks within your department.
Since you will not be "hiring" new firefighters (you are only requesting assistance in the "retention" activity), you should discuss your department's past recruitment practices. For example, how has your department pursued and recruited new members from racial and ethnic minority populations and women in the past?
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Can I submit a payment request for pre-award expenditures?
Pre-award expenditures are only allowable in the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity. Grantees may be eligible for funding if they meet the following criteria:

• The expenditures occurred after the end of the application period (June 27, 2008) but prior to award;
• There was an urgent and compelling reason for the expenditures;
• The expenditure is consistent with the grant's approved scope of work; and
• The request must be approved by DHS on a case-by-case basis.

Pre-award expenditures are not allowable in the Hiring of Firefighters Activity.

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Is there a matching funds requirement for the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity?
No. There is no local match requirement for this activity and there are no maximum Federal share limits

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If I apply for both SAFER Program activities-Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters-do I have to write two narrative statements?
No. You have a choice of dividing your narrative into two separate parts and addressing each activity or combining your requests into one narrative statement.
If you choose to combine your requests into one narrative, you may discuss the four items (shown below) required for both the Hiring of Firefighters Activity and the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity.

1. A statement that describes why the applicant needs the grant funds, i.e., how the recruitment of new firefighters and retention of current firefighters will be used within the department and a description of the specific benefit these firefighters will be to the fire department and community. This statement should include specifics about the recruitment and/or retention plan and what specific benefit the efforts would provide to the community.
2. A statement regarding how the community and current firefighters are at risk without the needed firefighters, and to what extent that risk will be reduced if the applicant is awarded.
3. An explanation of the applicant's inability to address the need without Federal assistance.
4. A statement relating to how the applicant will ensure, to the extent possible, that it will seek, recruit, and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women to increase their ranks within the department.

There are two additional items (shown below) that also must be discussed in the Hiring Firefighters activity.

• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the match requirements for the 5 years required under the grant award. This statement should include any long-term plans to retain the new firefighter positions.
• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the requirement to ensure that firefighter positions filled under the SAFER grants are not discriminated against for, or prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.

You may choose to discuss the four items for both activities in the early portion of your presentation and add the two additional items for the Hiring Firefighters activity at the end of your narrative. Remember, you are limited to six pages for your narrative. It is recommended that you type your narrative offline in a word processing document and paste it into the space provided. Please check it to make sure all your text is shown in the six pages provided.

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