Being a volunteer fire department often means doing a lot with a tight budget. Grants can provide much-needed funding to replace aging gear, buy new equipment, or support special projects when your budget falls short. But where do you start in the grant writing process, especially if you don't have a dedicated grant writer on staff?
Don't worry - if your department doesn’t have an in-house grant writer, these tips will still help you succeed (and if you do have one, this will make their job easier). This post will walk you through the fundamentals of getting "grant-ready" in a conversational, step-by-step way so your department can confidently pursue funding opportunities.
1. Get Organized: Prepare Your Basic Information
Compile Key Contacts
Create a document with contact information for at least two people in your department (including the Chief). Most grant applications require a primary and secondary contact name, address, phone number, and email. Having this info gathered ahead of time means less scrambling when deadlines approach.
List Affiliations and Community Involvement
In that same document, note any organizations your department or Chief is a member of (e.g. state fire associations) and any community events or programs your firefighters support. Many grants like to see community engagement, so it's handy to have a list of your department’s partnerships and activities ready to reference.
2. Gather Key Department Data
Define Your Coverage Area
Be prepared to describe your primary response area and any mutual aid areas. How many square miles do you cover, and what’s within those boundaries? For example, do you protect a university campus, a shopping center, manufacturing plants, data centers, dairy farms, or just rural homes? This information helps paint a picture of your community’s risk profile and needs.
Document Your Call Volume
Record how many calls your department handles in an average year and break them down by type. How many are fire calls, medical/rescue calls, vehicle accidents, false alarms, etc.? Detailing your annual call volume and call types shows grant reviewers the scope of your operations and the demands on your volunteers.
(Tip: It might help to also gather other stats like the number of active volunteers, the age of your apparatus, or your annual operating budget vs. shortfall. While not every grant asks for these, having a “department fact sheet” means you can quickly pull any info that a grant application might request.)
3. Identify Needs and Prioritize Them
Dream Big, Then Focus
Start by asking members of your department a fun question: “If money were falling from the sky with no restrictions, what would we buy or upgrade?” Let everyone throw out ideas. This “wish list” exercise gets all the wants out in the open. Then, get practical and zero in on the must-haves on that list – the items that are critical to keeping your responders safe and your station running effectively.
Distinguish Needs vs. Wants
Once you have that master list, highlight the urgent needs – for example, replacing outdated turnout gear or an unreliable tanker truck. These are the things that, if not addressed, could impact safety or service. Separating true needs from nice-to-haves will focus your grant search on what really matters. (Grants are usually intended to meet identified needs, not fund extras.)
Prioritize and Plan
Rank your needs by priority. What needs replacement first? What can wait another year or two? By prioritizing, you know where to concentrate your efforts. This also means if one grant opportunity has tight restrictions, you’ll apply it toward your top-priority item and seek other funding for lower priorities.
Keep Grant Restrictions in Mind
Remember that grants often come with specific rules on how the money can be used. A grant might fund new wildland gear but not structural gear, or cover safety equipment but not building repairs. In fact, most grant programs are designed for particular focus areas and have strict eligibility requirements. Knowing your department’s needs upfront lets you match each need to the right kind of grant (and avoid chasing funds you’re not eligible for).
Avoid Crisis Funding
By identifying needs early, you won’t be caught off guard when equipment expires or fails. For instance, if your SCBA bottles or turnout gear will expire next year, put them on the needs list now. This gives you time to find grants for those items before they become an emergency. Being proactive about needs can literally create a runway of time to seek funding before something becomes outdated or unsafe.
4. Find the Right Grants for Your Needs
Survey the Grant Landscape
There are grants out there for almost everything, but each has a different purpose. Some grants support very specific initiatives – for example, the Volunteer Fire Assistance program offers funding focused on wildland firefighting equipment and training for small communities. On the other hand, major federal programs like FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) cover a broad range of needs such as apparatus purchases, protective gear, training, and more. Take some time to research what grant programs exist at the federal, state, and local level that align with your priority needs.
Match Your Needs to Grant Criteria
Once you identify some promising grants, read their guidelines closely. Ensure your project fits the grant’s intent. Each grant has its own mission and rules – you have to meet their definition of an eligible request. For instance, a wildfire mitigation grant won’t fund a new structural fire engine, and a safety equipment grant might not pay for building renovations. Checking the criteria upfront will save you from writing an application for something that the grant won’t cover. Always verify things like funding limits, application deadlines, and any matching fund requirements before you dive in.
Keep a List of Opportunities
Maintain a list or spreadsheet of grants that are relevant to your needs, with notes on what they fund, application due dates, and any prerequisites (like having a DUNS number or SAM registration). This “grant calendar” helps you stay organized so you can plan for each application in advance.
(Tip: Reach out to other fire departments or your state fire association to learn about grants they’ve had success with. Networking can uncover lesser-known grant opportunities, like local corporate or foundation grants, that might be perfect for your department.)
5. Plan Ahead for Grant Success (18–24 Months Out)
Timing is Everything
Most grants open only once per year and have a short window to apply. That means you should be looking and planning now for grants that might fund next year’s projects. Mark your calendar far in advance for the expected opening dates of key grants (many repeat annually around the same time).
Look 1–2 Years Down the Road
Develop a forward-looking plan for your department’s needs. What will you need to replace or purchase in the next 18–24 months? By anticipating needs (like that tanker truck in 2025 or new radios in 2026), you can start seeking grants well before those dates. This proactive approach increases your chances of having funding in place right when you need it.
Align Grants with Your Replacement Schedule
Coordinate your equipment maintenance/replacement schedule with grant opportunities. For example, if you know your engine’s gear pump will need overhaul in two years, research grants for apparatus maintenance or replacement now. If your turnout gear will age out in 2024, look for gear grants in 2023 so the new sets arrive in time. Don’t wait until equipment is failing or expired to begin the funding search.
Engage Your Team and Stakeholders
Good planning isn’t done in a vacuum. Pull in your department’s leadership and even community stakeholders to prioritize projects and plan grant applications. In fact, “Rule number one in grant writing is that you do not ask for a grant without first completing a comprehensive planning process that involves your organization and its stakeholders.”
By having everyone on the same page early on, you’ll gather supporting information faster and have broader buy-in for the project when it comes time to write the grant.
Stay Organized and Ready
As you plan ahead, keep updating that “grant info” document and your department data. When a grant opens up, you should be able to pull all required info (contacts, stats, etc.) in minutes. Preparation pays off – it reduces stress when you’re on a tight deadline to submit an application.
Explore regional grant applications
Consider joining forces with nearby departments on a single grant proposal. Pooling your requests into one shared application (for example, if three neighboring departments all need new hoses, they could collaborate on one grant) spreads out the costs and benefits, and grant makers often favor these collaborations for their broader community impact.
Ready, Set, Grant!
Grant writing might feel intimidating at first, but with some organization and foresight, even a small volunteer fire department can successfully win grants. The key takeaways are simple: get your information organized, know and prioritize your needs, match those needs to the right funding opportunities, and start the process early. Remember, persistence is crucial – not every application will win, and that’s okay. As one fire service grants guide notes, “with a little good old fashioned effort, planning and persistence, you should be able to secure funding for your project.”
Stay positive and keep trying. Each grant you apply for is a learning experience, and eventually your preparation and hard work will pay off in the form of new resources for your department.
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