-----Original Message-----

From: firegrants@dhs.gov [mailto:firegrants@dhs.gov]

Sent: None

To: Mark Bradford

Subject: Re: EMW-2007-FV-05829

Dear Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Applicant:

On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), thank you for applying for a grant under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. As you are aware, the AFG is an extremely competitive program. In FY 2007, the Department received over 20,000 applications, requesting over $3.1 billion in Federal funds. This extremely high number of applications and finite amount of funding available resulted in many worthy applicants not being funded. I regret to inform you that we will not able to fund your AFG request for the FY 2007 program.

Although it is not possible for us to provide a detailed account of how each application was rated, we can tell you that your application was not among those that were selected for the second phase of competitive review.  During the second phase, those applications that best address AFG's established funding priorities for each eligible activity are approved and forwarded for peer review. The objective of peer reviewing those applications is to further ensure the best use of these limited funds to the fire community.  Information explaining these priorities was published in this the FY 2007 Program Guidance, which is posted on our website at www.firegrantsupport.com.

To best improve the competitiveness of your next application under the AFG Program, we recommend that you review the portion of your application in which you answered specific questions about the activity areas proposed for funding under your request. Compare the activity priorities of the FY 2007 AFG Program Guidance with the answers to these questions in your application. If your answers deviated from the higher priorities, your application did not score well in its competition with other applications.  Additionally, each activity in a program area is scored independently of any other activities and the scores are then weighted based on the dollar value of each activity. If your application had a high dollar item or activity that was a low activity priority, that item or activity may have adversely affected your scoring and thus, may have taken the application out of the competitive range for peer review.

If you applied for a vehicle, please be aware that almost two-thirds of the applications for vehicles were not forwarded for peer review. By statute, AFG limits the amount of funding awarded for vehicles to twenty-five percent (25%) of appropriated funds. For the FY 2007 program, that funding limit was approximately $135 million. In contrast, in FY 2007, there were over 7,800 requests for vehicles amounting to over $1.8 billion in Federal funds. This level of demand requires that the number of applications forwarded to peer review is limited to those meeting the highest priorities.

The work already done to support your FY 2007 AFG application could be a useful resource for any future requests for assistance that your department may submit.  I encourage you to keep a copy of your application for your records. You may be able to use it as a reference for a future grant program, or even share it with your community as the basis for and outline of a strategic plan for the enhancement of your department.  Please check our website often at www.firegrantsupport.com for information on the grant program and for future funding opportunities.

Your interest in the AFG clearly demonstrates the need and resourcefulness of America's fire service. The Department of Homeland Security will continue to work closely with fire service organizations to support the vital work of our nation's firefighters.

Thank you again for your dedication and commitment.

Sincerely,

Andy Mitchell

Assistant Deputy Administrator for Outreach

National Preparedness Directorate