Grants Clearinghouse Grant Writing Handbook 2013 Cycle. Find us at:

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1 Grants Clearinghouse Grant Writing Handbook 2013 Cycle Find us at:

2 GRANTS CLEARINGHOUSE WORKSHOP TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 2 OVERVIEW 3 THE CALIFORNIA FIRE ALLIANCE AND GRANTS CLEARINGHOUSE 4 NATIONAL COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 5 FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES 6 PARTICPATING AGENCIES 7 BENEFITS 8 CLEARINGHOUSE GRANTS WHO CAN APPLY 10 SHOULD YOU APPLY FEDERAL GRANT RULES 14 WHAT S NEW ELIGIBLE PROJECTS STEPS IN THE CLEARINGHOUSE CYCLE 21 TIMELINE INITIAL SCREENING AND SCORING CRITERIA 24 PREPARING A COMPETITIVE APPLICATION THE GRANT APPLICATION STEP-BY-STEP SETUP ONLINE ACCOUNT 32 APPLICATION SNAPSHOT ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION 36 BACKGROUND AND CAPACITY FISCAL SPONSOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION, MATCH AND IN-KIND PROJECT DESCRIPTION WORKPLAN PROJECT OVERVIEW PROJECT LOCATION FUEL TREATMENT PROJECTS BUDGET DETAIL AND MATCH THE REST OF THE APPLICATION, HELP & NEXT STEPS 97 FINAL THOUGHTS

3 GRANTS CLEARINGHOUSE WORKSHOP TABLE OF CONTENTS TAB APPENDIX I GRANT PROGRAM AND REQUEST FOR APPLICATON 1 REQUEST FOR APPLICATON (RFA) 2 NATIONAL COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2 CALIFORNIA S FOREST AND RANGELAND 2010 ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY GUIDANCE 3 SCORING CRITERIA 4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 5 ACRONYMS LIST 6 FEDERAL GRANT RULES WEBSITES 7 CALIFORNIA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION APPENDIX II GRANT APPLICATION PLANNING TOOL 8 PLANNING TOOL/SAMPLE APPLICATION 9 COST SHARE AND MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS 9 CAL FIRE CREW AND CHIPPER COST ESTIMATES APPENDIX III SAMPLE INFORMATION 10 FISCAL SPONSOR CRITERIA 11 SAMPLE LETTERS OF COMMITMENT AND COVER LETTER 12 INSURANCE INFORMATION 13 SUCCESS STORIES 14 SAMPLE PRE-AWARD REPORT: MAP INSTRUCTIONS, FORM AD 1048 & NIMS CERTIFICATION 15 SAMPLE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE QUESTIONAIRE 16 USING A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL FORESTER

4 Thank you for your interest in the California Fire Safe Council s Clearinghouse Grant Writing Workbook for the 2013 Grant Cycle. This workbook contains the slideshow from the Grant Writing Workshop as well as appendices with supplemental materials. In addition to reading these notes, please check out the 2013 Request for Applications (RFA) document and the 2013 Planning Tool. Both of these items are included in the back of this workbook and available online at org This workbook may also be found online at as well as a prerecoded Webinar of the Grant Writing Workbook presentation. For help with any of the terminology used in this presentation, an acronyms list can be found in TAB 5 and the two websites below may be useful. Glossary of Grant Terms from Grants.gov: Glossary of Fire Terms from National Wildfire Coordinating Group: 1

5 In this course we will tell you about.. A summary of new and updated items for the 2013 grant cycle. Executive Director Margaret Grayson will provide a short report on why items have changed and how this affects the grant process. The relationship between the California Fire Alliance, the California Fire Safe Council and the Grants Clearinghouse. Grant eligibility types of organizations and projects. And the application and award process. For many of you this will be a review, but as you are applying for funding, it is good to keep in mind the larger context that you re working in when you get a grant. That can help shape the way that you present your projects. Also there are quite a few changes this year. When you apply for and receive a grant, you are extending the resources of your organization and creating a partnership with the public who has provided funding, and is the beneficiary of the work you will do. Just like you track the accomplishments and financial processes within your own organization, you will be reporting on the financial activities and accomplishments of your partnership, your grant, throughout the grant period. 2

6 The California Fire Alliance includes, The US Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS), FEMA The Department of the Interior agencies included are: Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), State, Local and Nonprofit agencies included are: TheCalifornia Departmentof Forestry andfire Protection (Cal Fire), the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), local government fire agencies (represented by Los Angeles Co. Fire Dept.) Cal Chiefs Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) and the California Fire Safe Council (CFSC). The Alliance members coordinate efforts to improve preparations for wildland firefighting and help communities reduce wildfire risk. The California Fire Safe Council is a statewide non governmental, California non profit corporation that works through a network of public and private sector organizations, including local Fire Safe Councils, that share a common interest in reducing losses from wildfire. CFSC s Mission is: Mobilizing Californians to protect their homes, communities and environments from wildfire. We are headquartered in Glendora, with a field office in Sacramento. The Fire Alliance Originally Created the Grants Clearinghouse to help achieve the goals of the National Fire Plan by facilitating an open, collaborative process for grant funding. The National Fire Plan sunsetted in 2010 and has been replaced by the newly developing National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. The Grants Clearinghouse is intended to be a single place where organizations could easily learn about and apply for National Fire Plan grants. Italso makes grantapplicationsapplications available to all of the federal wildland fire agencies so thatthey they can coordinate their grant awardsfor fire protection planning. The Grants Clearinghouse is operated by the California Fire Safe Council. It is an on line grants application process, and it is located at the address at At this website Applicants can sign up for a user name and password, complete a grant Application, and submit it to the Clearinghouse for consideration for funding. 3

7 What is the Cohesive Strategy? A national, collaborative approach to addressing wildland fire across all lands and jurisdictions. Developed with input from wildland fire organizations, land managers and policy making officials representing all levels of governmental and non governmental organizations What federal agencies were involved in the creation of the Cohesive Strategy? In 2002, the Wildland dfire Leadership Council il(wflc) was established dby the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to support the implementation and coordination of the Federal Fire Management Policy. This means the WFLC is comprised of staff from USFS, BLM, NPS, FWS, USGS and BIA. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior were charged by Congress to develop a Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, aka the Cohesive Strategy. What is the Vision of the Cohesive Strategy? Safely f l and effectively extinguish i hfire, when needed; dduse fire where allowable; manage our natural resources; and as nation, live with wildland fire. How do Fire Safe Councils fit into the Cohesive Wildland Fire Strategy? The Strategy is an all lands approach to managing natural resources and fire WFLC identified three primary factors that need to be addressed to meet the challenges of wildland fire in the U.S. One of those was factors was Fire Adapted Communities that s one area where Fire Safe Councils have a key role to play. Where can I find more information on the Cohesive Strategy? See for updates and documents. 4

8 Fire Safe Councils play a key role in one of the elements of the Cohesive Strategy the Fire Adapted Communities. Some of you have been working on this element for many years, through planning documents such as CWPPs, through community engagement projects such as Defensible Space Education Visits and through fuel reduction projects or countywide chipping projects. Will CWPPs still be the planning process for non federal lands project identification? CWPPs are a very important planning tool. The Cohesive Strategy recognizes them as such and there are no plans to do away with CWPPs. Will the Forest Service continue to fund projects on non federal lands? We don t see funding for nonfederal lands being abolished. We are all in this together and we must continue to work collaboratively to leverage all resources to reduce the risks associated with wildland fire. 5

9 The four federal agencies that have historically used the Clearinghouse for their grant Application and Selection process are the: US Forest Service State Fire Assistance grant program Bureau of Land Management Community Assistance grant program National Park Service Community Assistance / WUI grant program Fish and Wildlife Service WUI / Community Protection grant program There are detailed program descriptions in the RFA behind Tab 1 in your workbook. 6

10 One application process, one deadline: no submitting applications with different requirements to different agencies on different timelines. Less research, less writing: All program requirements are found in the RFA, and the standard on line application minimizes preparation. One application is used for all federal funding sources using the Clearinghouse; federal agencies delegate funding decisions to CFSC There is ONE grant selection process: all applications are judged by the same criteria. Unfunded Applications live on: Applications not selected for funding initially are retained in the Clearinghouse in case additional funding becomes available within the grant cycle. This has happened numerous times since our first grant cycle in 04. There are also benefits for the agencies involved in the Clearinghouse. They can support local projects without the required recordkeeping and other duties involved with managing federal grants. They can prioritize federal projects adjoining Clearinghouse funded projects on non federal lands to achieve a wider sphere of fuel reduction. 7

11 Here are some of the funding totals from recent years. Average grants are right around $100,000 but our Applications have varied from less than $10,000 up to over half a million (in previous grant cycles). This year, grant requests will be capped at $200,000 total per organization. We ve added these new restrictions to provide for a better geographic distribution of grant funds in CA. As grant funding becomes more scarce, we make every effort to spread these monies around the state. So funding will be cappedat at $200, perorganization organization. We estimate the following funds will be available this year: USFS State Fire Assistance $3,632,925 available with 50/50 or dollar for dollar match USFS State Fire Assistance X $894,000 available with 50/50 or dollar for dollar match. Projects must be aligned with the 11 guiding principles and core values of the National Cohesive Strategy for Wildland Fire Management. 8

12 Here are examples of types of organizations that can be eligible for Clearinghouse grants. (Joint Powers Authorities (or JPAs) are governmental agencies made up of several governmental agencies working together for a single, narrow objective, such as an Airport Authority.) 9

13 If you are considering applying for a grant, you should ask yourself if you are eligible and if you are ready. Staff Workload: Does your organization have the staff time and the project management and technical expertise necessary to manage and complete the grant project? Financial Management System: For profit and Non profit organizations must be incorporated and have a federal employer ID#. If you do not meet these requirements, you may be able to partner with another organization that does to serve as your fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor organizations will be accountable for the grant funds and how they are spent. The actual grant agreement will be in their name. Fiscal sponsors must sign a letter certifying that they intend to serve as a fiscal sponsor for the groups they represent. There s an example of that in Tab

14 Once you have a grant, there are specific rules about how grant funds are spent and tracked. The system that the Clearinghouse uses for processing Applications, and the requirements that we have of our grantees in terms of reporting and documentation, are generated by the standards that apply to any federal grant program. Different rules apply based on what type of organization you are but they are very similar. 11

15 These are the Office of Management and Budget Circulars and Federal Regulations that will apply to your organization if you accept federal grant funds. They cover topics including reporting requirements, payment procedures, purchasing standards, property management, and many other issues relating to federal grants. If you have not had a grant before it s a good idea to look them over to see if you will be able to comply with all of them. See Tab 6 for the addresses of Internet websites where these rules can be found. A link is also provided in the RFA. 12

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17 This year, the maximum amount of funding an organization may receive is $200,000 either 000 ih through hone grant or 2 grants. A fiscal sponsor may submit 2 of its own application(s) and receive up to a maximum of $200,000. The fiscal sponsor may fiscally sponsor up to 5 organizations and they may submit 2 applications each. The maximum grant funding a fiscal sponsor may manage is $400,000 ($200, max. for the organization(s) )they fiscally sponsor and $200, for their own application(s)). The Request for Applications (RFA) document has been updated this year. It contains information applicants will need re: funding descriptions, how to apply for funds, deadlines, the Clearinghouse timeline, scoring criteria, etc. The Grant tapplication Planning tool lhas been updated dtdthis year. It is a Microsoft Word file that includes all of the questions in the Application. Applicants can work with this material offline on their own computers, then cut and paste into the text boxes in the online Application. The Scoring Criteria for use by the Grant Review Committee has also been revised and is contained in Tab 3 14

18 Here are examples of the types of projects that will be eligible in the 2013 cycle.. Most of the projects the Clearinghouse funds are fuel reduction projects, especially those in communities at risk with a CWPP and that tie into adjacent fuel reduction projects on federal lands. The Clearinghouse makes grants for Community Wildfire Protection Plans and fire prevention education projects. CWPP development is eligible IF there is an emphasis on an interdisciplinary and interagency collaborative process. Cost sharing or matching requirements for the USFS this year is 50/50 or Dollar for Dollar. Applicants are encouraged to meet this match requirement to make their project more competitive. So while we encourage the maximum possible match, please make sure it is achievable. 15

19 Here are more types of projects that there is funding available for. You may want to propose a project that has potential to have an impact beyond the project itself, like producing wood products for sale. Although the project may have benefits beyond the initial goals. Maintenance projects will also be considered in this cycle. Some clearinghouse grants fund equipment purchases and you may want to propose an equipment purchase as part of your grant if that is the best option for you. Purchase of equipment is strongly discouraged due to need for storage, training, maintenance and insurance as well as complicated and long term tracking of equipment condition, depreciation, etc. 16

20 This is the grant cycle. We ll start with Application Phase and follow the steps around: 17

21 Application Phase: We are in the application phase now where you should be considering the things listed in the first box. This is when we hold the grant writing workshops. Other steps to take during this time are: 1. Ensure you have legal standing *, or if you don t, that you have a fiscal sponsor that will accept the funds on your behalf. You will be asked to record the fiscal sponsor fee on the budget detail page. 2. Align your project priorities with your relevant fire plan or CWPP or National Wildland Cohesive Strategy. 3. Research budget costs and get preliminary bids if necessary; and 4. Confirm your organization has the staffing, infrastructure, and capacity to manage a new grant or grants. *Legal Standing: By definition, state and local government organizations have legal standing. However, if you are a Non Profit, For Profit, or Other organization, you must be incorporated to do business in the State of California and have a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). If you don't, then you must identify an organization with legal standing that will act as your organizations fiscal sponsor to administer the grant funds for you. Application Submission Next comes the Application submission along with the accompanying documents. 1. Submit Application by online deadline: July 31, 2012 at midnight 2. Letters of Commitment: Mailed to your Grant Manager postmarked by July 31, Use the sample forms to guide this preparation. 3. Fiscal Sponsor Agreement, if applicable There are examples of letters of commitment and a fiscal sponsor agreement in the tabs After Applications are submitted they are reviewed and selected for funding 18

22 Preliminary Award: Applicants whose projects were preliminarily selected to receive grants are notified when all funding arrangements are confirmed. If you receive this notification you will be required to submit the following: 1. Revised Application if necessary 2. Tax exempt status confirmation letter (if applicable) 3. Maps if your project is ground disturbing 4. Proof of Insurance (may be purchased with grant funds) 5. Board of Directors Contact List 6. Copies of two years most recent tax forms 7. Any recent audit reports and findings 8. Copy of by laws (non profits only) 9. Copy of Drug Free Workplace Statement 10. If fire protection agency, certification of NIMS adoption 11. Certification of debarment status on form AD A few other items please review the Pre Award report in the Appendices Failure to submit complete documentation by the deadline may result in the delay or termination of your grant project. During this period the CFSC is creating the Subaward for your grant project. This may take anywhere from 4 12 months from initial notification of funding status. You cannot begin work on your project until the Subaward agreement is signed and all other prework requirements are met. You are also required to attend a Pre Award dworkshop during this time. Award: After you have returned the signed subaward agreement and Estimated Payment and Match Schedule, you may begin certain administrative and planning activities, including accumulating matching funds associated with these tasks. However, you may not begin any ground disturbing activities until federal environmental compliance is complete. You also will not receive your initial payment distribution until the CFSC receives payment from the federal agency. You will start submitting periodic Progress Reports as per the schedule on your sub award letter even though you may not have received grant funds or started work yet. There won t be a lot to report right away but you will probably have quarterly match and budget information to include. Once environmental clearance is received and funding is released from the agencies, it will be distributed to grantees. 19

23 Close out: Then we reach the closeout of the grant. To complete your grant, you will submit these things: 1. A final Progress Report 2. A mandatory Grant Close Out Report and an optional Confidential Questionnaire 3. Photos from photo monitoring work, if applicable 4. Copies of all education and outreach materials created with grant funds 5. Any unused surplus funds must be returned. 6. Interest in excess of $250 must be returned ($100 if you are with a public/government agency) 7. A CD containing the complete grant file 8. Documentation regarding disposition of property, if applicable At close out, all grant files should be properly stored until such time that we are able to notify you that CFSC s master grant has closed. You are required to maintain your records until 3 years after CFSC s master grant closes, not 3 years after your sub award closes. 20

24 The clearinghouse application process has two phases. Step 1: Grant Application collects information needed to make a funding decision Step 2: Once a project is selected for funding, successful applicants will be asked for additional information, such as project maps, verification of non profit status, proof of insurance, etc. Applications must be are submitted on line no later than midnight, July 31, Letters of Commitment must be submitted by mail or delivery service, and postmarked no later than July 31, E mails and faxes will not be accepted. td Further information on Letters of Commitment is in the Request for Applications (RFA). 21

25 There will be an initial screening of your application to be sure that it is eligible. It must fit these ten criteria to be considered by the reviewers. Important Note: Failure to meet any of these requirements disqualifies the application from further review. Your Application is on time, you are eligible and the project is one of two or less. Letters of Commitment must contain a commitment from the cooperator to provide matching funds, goods, or services of a specific dollar value. We ll talk more about this later too. The applicant organization must also submit a Letter of Commitment for any contributions it is making. All the letters must be submitted in a package, along with a cover letter listing the individual contributors. 22

26 Scoring System The Application scoring system is used to document the rationale for funding decisions. During the Application Review period, a variety of subject matter experts will review each application. The CFSC Grant Managers also review and comment on projects, but do not rank or score them. The Grant Review Committee uses the Scoring Criteria to score the projects, but that is not the only determining factor. Final project selection decisions must fit agency yprogram requirements and budgets, and also provide for a reasonable geographic distribution of grant funds. Who is the review committee? Answer: The review committee is a panel of volunteers who have expertise in reviewing grants and in wildland fire protection issues. It includes members of state and local government, private companies, Calif. FSC board members, and local FSCs. Federal agency personnel act as technical advisors to the review committee but do not select projects for funding. What if my project scores high and another project that scores lower gets picked for funding? Answer: Scoring is a management tool used as partof the grantselection process. The final decisions made by the grant review committee are based not just on the score, but also how the project fits agency grant program requirements, the available grant funds, and the spread of dollars around the state.) Remember federal field reviewers will be reading the applications as they ve done in the past. It is still important to keep them informed of and collaborate on your projects. Although they are able to comment on projects, they do not make funding recommendations or decisions. 23

27 Here is how you ensure that your grant has a good chance of being funded. Again, we receive many applications that are missing important information. Be sure to complete and proofread your Applications and submit them on time. Completeness in your workplan and budget are critical. Discuss your project with your regional Grant Manager; they can review your Application in advance if you allow sufficient time. Last minute requests are usually declined! And be sure to coordinate and discuss your efforts with local, state and federal fire protection agencies. 24

28 Let s review the online application form section by section. What type of data is needed for each answer? Where you can find more information to help you complete the questions? What can you do to make your application as successful as possible? The first step is to go to the Clearinghouse website. 25

29 This is the California Fire Safe Council home page In addition to the grants Clearinghouse, it contains resources for local fire safe councils, and a list of upcoming events and workshops. 26

30 This is where you sign into the Clearinghouse. These fields are case sensitive so remember that when you create your password. If you signed up already to use the Clearinghouse, no matter when you signed up, your user ID and password are still valid. DO NOT create another user ID and password. If you create more than one account, it can be confusing for both you and others from your organization who may be working on creating your application. It can also cause confusion with your Grant Manager later on if you are approved for a grant and need to find the location for your online progress report. If you can t remember your password, or User ID click here or call a Grant Manager. You register right here if this is your first visit. You click to register and it takes you to the next screen 27

31 This is what the form looks like to sign in for the first time. You just enter some basic info and username and password. This screen is very important if you are applying for a grant. The address you provide here is the one that will receive any updates regarding your application. Even if you already have grants and have changed your address with your Grant Manager, you need to make sure your information in this screen is current. Also make sure the current personnel who will be working on the grant, and their contact information, are up to date. We recommend each organization has only one account and one authorized user. It is not possible to share or swap applications between accounts, so please do not use multiple accounts to submit applications. Keep it simple. 28

32 The information that we went over in those first few slides is included right here on the website Once you ve registered you will go up to the top and sign in. 29

33 When you log in to the Clearinghouse, you will come to your own home page. The Brush Bash 2013 is our example Application in Tab 8. The toolbar takes you to your account information and has links to the grant program info. This is also where you can log out. There is a place here where the CFSC can post messages to you. This is where your Applications will be listed. If you have a funded grant, you will also access your progress reports from this page. 30

34 This is an example of a home page with several projects on it. The third column has an ID number that is unique to that Application. i Many projects have similar il names, so this gives us a quick way to find your Application when you contact us. Your Application will be assigned this number once you hit the final submit button. The fourth column is the status of the Application. We use the status box in combination with the message center box to communicate to you about where your grant Application is in the process and what will happen next. You can click the link at the top of the home page to add a blank grant Application to your account. Every account automatically has a blank grant Application added when we start a new cycle. Anytime you see yellow text, that means you can click on it and it will take you somewhere. It will open your Application or take you to instructions for answering a question once we re in the Application. Your Application title will be an active link until you submit it. In other words, you can still make changes to it. Then it will be inactive and saved for review; no further changes can be made. At that point the message Received by Clearinghouse will appear in red. Once the grant decisions are made, your Application will either have the message, Chosen for funding or Unfunded. If it is chosen for funding, there will be additional information for you to submit and we ll contact you. If your 2012 project was previously unfunded, you can move the Application to the next cycle once the Application period opens for the 2013 cycle. You do that by choosing the link under Status. You can delete papers by clicking the trash can icon on the right, so make sure you really want to delete because they don t come back. 31

35 The Application Snapshot is a new question on the application this year. It s simply a summary of your project so the reviewers can quickly identify your project. Some of the fields, such as funding request and project acreage will auto fill if the question is repeated later in the form. 32

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37 You will be asked to list a Project Contact and an Administrative Contact. The Project Contact is the person who will be managing the project and can answer questions about its status. The Administrative Contact may be someone who only oversees financial correspondence. Sometimes these contacts are the same person but if not, please let us know. 34

38 If you are a nonprofit you will enter the IRS code that you are incorporated under, and if you re a 501 (c)(3) you will enter the number from your IRS determination letter. A DUNS number is required to apply for a Clearinghouse grant. You are not required to have a CCR number at this phase but if your project is selected for funding, you will need to get a CCR number before receiving funds. Enter your D&B DUNS number. For more information, please see: and Enter your CCR number. For more information, please see: 35

39 QUESTION EIGHT AND 16 (FISCAL SPONSOR) CAPACITY This question is broken into 3 (a c) parts. You must answer all 3 parts. a. When was your organization formed or incorporated? Identify the month and year your organization was formed or incorporated. We ll need to know if your organization is a group of volunteers with no formal incorporation or your group is awaiting formal incorporation approval from the state or federal government. b. Describe the roles and responsibilities of key staff, board members and volunteer staff. Please tell us briefly how your organization is staffed (contractors, employees or all volunteer), what roles board members play and if you utilize services from volunteers. c. Describe 2 major accomplishments from federal and non federal grants. If you ve received past Clearinghouse grants or other federal grants, please describe 2 major accomplishments (such as your chipper project provided service to 50 homes and chipped 2 tons of biomass). If you ve received non federal donations, grants or membership fees, please indicate 2 major accomplishments completed with those funds. 36

40 The next set of questions relate to those groups that have a fiscal sponsor. If you don t have a fiscal sponsor, answer no to move on to question 16. Remember that you are not your own fiscal sponsor. If it s just your organization applying for the grant, don t fill this out. If you do have a fiscal sponsor, you will answer the next series of questions which are just like questions 2 8 but they will be answered for your fiscal sponsor organization. Questions 9 14 identify your fiscal sponsor. 37

41 Again, we want to know what your fiscal sponsor organization has done and what their capacity is, so these questions are just like same ones for the applicant organization. Question 10 is a new question. Fiscal sponsors play a variety or roles for organizations they sponsor. Some sponsors provide staffing, or project management and financial management leadership. These services may be provided free of charge for your organization or a % fee may be included in your budget to cover these services. Please describe the role your fiscal sponsor will play in the grantproject project. Later on in the budget detail page you ll be asked to report the charges associated with fiscal sponsor management. If you are considering being a Fiscal Sponsor for a grant applicant, be sure to review the Fiscal Sponsor Criteria behind Tab

42 When you reach the bottom of each page of your application you should save your progress. If you try to move to another page, it will also ask you if you want to save. You will get this window if your work has been saved. If your online session timed out and you were working offline you will get this window. If you do, click connect and then click the save progress button. 39

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44 For question 17 enter the amount that you are requesting in whole dollars. Remember the $200,000 limit. This is auto filled from Question #1d. If it is incorrect, you will need to change it in #1d first. For question 18 enter the amount of match provided by all the organizations that are eligible. Remember to list match from your own organization as well as others. This is autofilled from Question #1e. If it is incorrect, you will need to change it in #1d first. The next two questions will be computer calculated by the Clearinghouse. Question 19 shows the total project cost which is the grant amount requested plus the match contribution. Question 20 calculates the percent of the total project cost that is represented by the match. The majority of the dollars available from the clearinghouse will require at least a 50 percent match. The match is calculated as a percent of total project cost. 41

45 This is a general list of the criteria that your match contributions need to meet. For in kind donations, if someone is giving you a discounted rate for a service or material, you may count the additional amount it would have cost without the discount as match. We ve provided a new document in Tab 9 on Cal Fire operating costs for use of Cal Fire Chippers on grant projects. You should always contact your local Cal Fire conservation camp for the most appropriate costs (and to determine if they are available for this project), but this document will give you a good background. Any match must be for things that support the completion of the project. They must be relevant. Things like feeding volunteers while they work are fine, but if someone donated shovels for example and the project is for education, you can t count the shovels. All contributions must be verifiable and must be included in the budget. If you are funded for your project, we will require you to complete quarterly Match Forms that verify a) the type of match (cash or in kind) b) the source of match (board member, volunteer etc) c) how the match was used (cost category) and the d) date the match was expended. A copy of this form is included in the appendices. You will also be required to maintain backup source documentation for your match and expenses should CFSC or you be audited by the Forest Service. You can t count the same match for more than one grant. And finally, any match must be allowable (no alcohol for example). The grant rules (CFRs & OMB circulars) contain details about the items in this list. 42

46 Now we ll talk a little about in kind contributions because those can be more difficult to document than cash. If another organization is making a contribution they should provide a dollar value associated with their contribution in their commitment letter. If the in kind donation is being made by people within your organization for example they are donating theirlabor or providing transportation, the value of those contributions must be documented. There are several places to find that information. 43

47 For your volunteers you need to keep records of their contact info, how many hours they worked, dates that they worked and what they were doing. This information will need to be submitted with your in the Match Form with your progress reports, if your project is selected for funding. You may also want to include mileage driven or travel for grant purposes either as a cost of your grant or as match. Rates for those are available at these web addresses. You can search under General Services Administration and get there without having to type all of that mess, but that will get you directly to it. 44

48 Now that you ve determined where your match is coming from and its value All the contributors of match listed in this section, including the applicant organization, will need to submit letters of commitment which will be collected in a packet by the applicant organization. The letters should include who is making the contribution, what is being donated, its value, andwhen it is beingdonated donated. It must be on the contributors letterheadandsigned and by a person with authority to commit the organization s resources. Those letters will be mailed together with a cover letter from the applicant organization to your region s Grant Manager. The cover letter must include a list of all matching funds and in kind contributions being counted toward the matching contribution of the grant. These letters can only be submitted by mail and must be postmarked by the application deadline. They cannot be faxed. Faxed letters will not be considered! If you want confirmation of delivery, purchase that service from your shipper. 45

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50 QUESTION 21 Summarize the problem. This space for your answer is limited, so be sure to stay focused on the question. In the past groups have written pages of fire history and background about fire behavior. The reviewers are familiarwith the state and with fire science so chances are they know what issues communities are facing on a broad scale. It would be good to include here more specific information about why THIS project became a priority. Try not to use local acronyms in the project description. QUESTION 22 It is becoming increasingly important to engage the public in your projects. As grant funding becomes scarcer, funders want to make sure your projects are being advertised so the community has a chance to become engaged. 47

51 Question 23 asks for specifics on what will happen once the grant period ends. Will you implement an ongoing community awareness program? Are there plans to physically maintain any fuel reduction that has been done? You should note WHO will be involved and HOW future activities will be funded. You need to provide specific details; get another grant is not a good response! Though in some funding cycles our funders do allow maintenance projects, for most Clearinghouse grants, the focus is to get communities through the initial investment needed to make up for years of fuel build up and lack of awareness. Once that has happened, the community should understand its fire prevention needs and be able to maintain and continue the work that they have done without depending on grants year after year. It is far less expensive to maintain the work that was funded by the grant than to do the initial fuel reduction work. Now, if you do plan to apply for another grant in the same area, you should describe the situation, and explain why it is the best option. Maybe your project has two phases or there may be such a huge need in the community that future grant funding is the best way to leverage local efforts. Just be aware that grant funding is not guaranteed each year and you run the risk of not being funded if your idea of sustainability is get another grant. Question 24 emphasizes the importance of aligning your project with the National strategy for wildland fire. These grant funds are closely tied to the Cohesive Strategy and it s important for your organization to be involved in that process. 48

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53 Here is an example of the workplan. Many groups like to start their application by completing the workplan first this helps them think the project through in specific steps. This is a great management tool it describes your project by tasks, and then the budget breaks down the project by dollars needed. Yours will probably be longer than this! The workplan does a couple of things: It breaks the project you described into sequential tasks so that the reviewers can understand what steps need to be taken toward project completion. Some of the tasks that you describe here will only require a few words. Other may need a sentence or two. For the project timeframe you ll be giving an idea of how long tasks will take, and during what part of the grant period they will occur. Depending on the start date for the grant, activities may shift because of weather, or if key people aren t available during fire season, and so forth. You will list the responsible party and you can also include who will be participating. Like project coordinator and volunteers. In describing the outcomes (results), if your project calls for hiring a contractor to cut down trees for six hours, the result could be something like trees thinned to 15 foot spacing on 5 acres. Again, the tasks should be broken down enough so that you can describe the results in a relatively simple sentence, but grouped together in such a way that you aren t separately listing each single task for the entire project. It should also be something measurable. If you write something like fire hazard reduced that s great, but it could mean a lot of different things. If you say something like one billboard installed, that s measurable. Make sure you include Administrative activities in the workplan. 50

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55 Question 26 asks how many fuels projects you will conduct with grant funds. Fuel treatment projects may be split by a variety of conditions, such as location, treatment type or landowner. This is a new question. Question 27 gives the total acreage of your project. We collect acres by treatment type in another question, but this is just the total project area. This is autofilled from Question #1. For question 28 you will list the materials and results that will be produced by your grant and what the federal cost will be to produce those. We have added a new column for you to report which deliverables will be paid for with matching funds. Many projects rely on matching funds to extend acreage for fuel reduction projects or to coordinate educational components. This grand total of this form should equal the total funding request. There are four general categories and those are: Community Assessment and Wildfire Planning, Information and Education, Fuels Treatment and Values Protected 52

56 Here is the new column for the Matching Cost Category. 53

57 For Community Assessment and Wildfire Planning there are two types of documents that may be produced. A Community Risk Assessment, an analysis of community values at risk, levels of protection and fire hazards to the community. This might be something you would do in preparation for creating a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, or to determine what types of projects or outreach are needed. Community Wildfire Protection Plans CWPPs, help prioritize fuel treatment projects across jurisdictional boundaries in a manner envisioned in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, National Fire Plan and 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy for National Fire Plan Implementation. Those documents are where you find the intent of CWPPs. The three major components of a CWPP are: (1) collaboration betweenlocal gov t t, firedept s s, andthe state agencyresponsible for forest management, (2) prioritized fuel reduction, and (3) treatment of structural ignitability. One of the things we look at with these grant projects is whether it is listed in an existing CWPP or approved equivalent, and whether it fits the priorities of that document. 54

58 Next are the Information or education products. These are workshops, mailings, billboards, videos, etc. Again there are specific instructions in the links within the online Application. These are typically counted as 1 for each type of product. For example if you made one radio ad and one evacuation route map to mail out, each of those would count as 1 for a total of 2. If you are doing a workshop or training, it s a good idea to include some funds in your budget for advertising. i If you are planning to developing an education or outreach program consider networking with other fire safe councils or local groups in other areas because they may have already done some of the work you are planning and can give you at least a structure or templates for projects. A good example is the Butte County Fire Safe Council s packet of teaching materials for sixth graders. Other organizations have adapted these materials for their communities. Another good example is the Yosemite Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council s pamphlet about living in the foothills ; they make the template available to any groups who want to create a similar document tailored to their own area. You are required to submit before, during and after photos of your project as a condition of funding. You will be doing photo monitoring on this one grant project for which you are requesting funds; the number to enter in this space is 1. It s a goodidea to add an education component to all projects. 55

59 If you are doing a fuel modification project, under fuels treatment you can select from these main categories: Preparation for treatment Mechanical treatment Prescribed fire Other (like grazing or spraying) In the Application these are broken down into more specific descriptions of treatment type like chipping, hand piling, masticating, etc. For fuels projects, you will list acres based on treatment type. For example if you have a 10 acre project and you are going to graze the whole area and then do hand piling on half of it, you would fill in 10 under grazing, 5 under hand piling, and the total at the bottom would automatically tally to 15 acres, even though your total project area is just 10. Preparation acres also need to be counted. This may seem like double or triple dipping, but is actually an accurate measurement of the number of times each acre is touched during your project. So your project might turn out to be 30 or more legitimate acres! Preparation might include such activities as flagging site boundaries marking hazards, identifying protection zones and/or sensitive plant species, marking trees, taking down fencing, spreading paper to cover piles for pile burning, etc. 56

60 The last category is probably the most difficult to quantify. Some groups are not sure how to determine when a home is protected, and they are right to point out that a home can only have degrees of protection. Even after fuel reduction has been done a home s survival still may depend on the weather and the fire behavior and the construction. You may also count the homes that would be downwind of a wildfire that would also benefit from your project. So checking those boxes doesn t guarantee that a home won t burn, but if the likelihood of that home surviving a fire has been increased, then that result should be counted. This also doesn t mean that once you have counted these homes as protected that you won t be able to apply for future funding for additional fuels treatment around them if that is the most effective option. 57

61 Because this funding originally came out of the National Fire Plan, part of which was a focus on community planning, there has been an incentive for projects that are being funded through these grants to be listed in a CWPP or another equivalent planning document. The National Fire Plan has now concluded and details on a successor document are not available at this time; we are proceeding on the assumption that priorities are likely to be similar. We ve added a new question about your CWPP. We would like to know when your CWPP was last updated. Some organizations update their plans annually, other groups update it every few years. Your project area may be mentioned in a plan from your local fire protection district or Cal Fire unit, or even the local utility company so you should talk to the agencies doing fire planning in your area and find out. For the next question we just want to know what priority the project is given in the plan and where the project is mentioned. 58

62 Please be aware that some of the information we collect is for the purpose of evaluating and awarding grants and some of the information that we collect is for the purpose of reporting the potential impact of these projects whether they are funded or not. Please note that Communities at Risk is an official list, which can be found on the California Fire Alliance website; although you may consider locations in your project list to be at risk you may not include them on this question unless they are on the official CAR list. In the case of question 31 listing as many communities at risk as possible does not necessarily make your grant more competitive. This is an evaluation tool that can show how communities at risk are being served by the projects that are funded, and what the potential benefit would be if additional funds were made available. For question 31 you will list communities here within three miles that would experience an impact from your project if a fire were to come through the area. Then for question 32, you can include communities that are not listed as communities at risk, but will still benefit from your project. 59

63 Questions #33 34 are new questions. Funders are requiring we gather more data on the effects of the grant dollars. In #33, we are asking you to give us a NUMBER of how many communities are directly affected by specific components of your project. Since these are estimates of how may communities are projected to be affected, please be conservative. If your education programs impact the same number of communities as your fuels project and planning component, thenstate that. In #34, again we are asking you to estimate how many people you will contact about specific components of your project. There are a variety of methods to reach your audience. Consider how your lists, direct mailings, workshops or other events will reach your community members. Please be conservative with estimates. 60