View FEMA Training Videos on Grants Portal here
A critical component of the Public Assistance (PA) Program National Delivery Model is standardizing project workflows with improved technology. Since 2016, FEMA has focused on developing a new information technology system to document PA projects in formulation with a seamless transition to grant obligation.
The result is a two-part platform—the PA Grants Manager and Grants Portal tool—that promotes transparency and accountability for all stakeholders involved in the PA grant process.The Grants Manager is used internally by FEMA specialists to formulate projects and conduct all other pre-award functions. The Grants Portal is the forward-facing platform used by state, local,tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments and eligible non-profit organizations to manage grant applications.
The Grants Manager and Grants Portal are built using agile project management principles and evolve through monthly development cycles known as sprints. This method promotes planning,evolutionary development, continuous improvement, and encourages rapid and flexible responses to changes identified by subject matter experts. Users identify issues and submit recommended changes through the Change Control Tool to improve functionality in the PA Grants Manager and Grants Portal.Overall, the Grants Manager and Grants Portal establish baseline data to measure performance and make informed adjustments to increase simplicity, accuracy, efficiency,accessibility, and timeliness in the PA.
Contact Your State Emergency Management Agency for Direct Assistance in Setting Up Your Portal Access - Use State EM List Here
The Fact Sheet below provides more in-depth review of the Grants Portal.
This course will provide in-depth training to Recipients and Applicants to bring clarity to the Public Assistance process, specifically regarding the use of the Public Assistance Grants Portal. The course will cover all information needed to substantiate a project in Grants Portal, including the documentation required for each phase of the Public Assistance process. By the end of the course, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Recipients and Applicants will be able to use Grants Portal as it pertains to the Public Assistance Program.
Alternatively, you can view a YouTube Video on Grants Portal - Direct Applicant Account Creation <
To access instructional other videos go to the FEMA PA Grants Portal/Grants Manager Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIJp91Ds2IaVlR1t8uXcEKg.
Upon completion of this course, participants (<
Course outline and transcript shown below:
Release date: March 23, 2020
This Fact Sheet supplements Fact Sheet: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Emergency Protective Measures and provides an overview of the FEMA Public Assistance application process for recipients and applicants requesting reimbursement related to federal emergency and major disaster declarations for Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). FEMA is simplifying the Public Assistance application and funding process to address the magnitude of this event and allow local officials to receive eligible funding more quickly.
FEMA is simplifying the Public Assistance application process. FEMA is developing a simplified online form applicants can complete, and on which they may explain work activities, answer basic questions, provide limited supporting documentation, and provide a cost estimate. FEMA and the recipient will review this information, follow up with limited requests for additional information if necessary, and award assistance. Recipients will have access to all projects in PA Grants Portal, consistent with the traditional PA process.
The national emergency declaration authorized Public Assistance Category B reimbursement for emergency protective measures. It does not include additional categories of assistance, such as infrastructure repair and replacement, which are needed after typical natural disasters. This enables FEMA to eliminate many application steps that are designed for those categories, including: eliminating exploratory calls, recovery scoping meetings, and most site inspections; and reducing documentation requirements to the minimum needed to support Category B reimbursement.
Recipients are states, tribes, or territories that receive and administer Public Assistance awards. Applicants are state, local, tribal and territorial governments, or eligible private nonprofits, submitting a request for assistance under a recipient’s federal award.
Applicants are empowered to drive their own recovery and directly apply for reimbursement without waiting for FEMA to assign a Program Delivery Manager. FEMA is simplifying the process so applicants may directly apply for assistance through the PA Grants Portal.
As FEMA and recipients implement these changes, FEMA will continue to process and fund Public Assistance projects. Funding is immediately available should state, tribal, territorial or local officials request expedited assistance. Prior to funding, recipients must sign FEMA-State/Tribal/Territorial Agreements, submit signed Federal Grant Applications (SF-424), and update Recipient Public Assistance Administrative Plans. Recipients should start setting up Grants Portal accounts for themselves and applicants at grantee.fema.gov so they can apply for assistance. Once an account is created, Applicants may submit Requests for Public Assistance to begin the application process.
FEMA is working to rapidly scale up the information, tools and technology necessary to provide assistance to all applicants. Eligibility guidance on what FEMA can fund will be updated on the Public Assistance Policy, Guidance, and Factsheets page on FEMA.gov and the COVID-19 page on FEMA.gov. Application support and tutorials are available on the resource tab in PA Grants Portal.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, five territories, and numerous tribes are working directly with FEMA under President Trump’s March 13, 2020, nationwide emergency declaration for COVID-19. Under this emergency declaration, and subsequent major disaster declarations, certain private non-profit (PNP) organizations are eligible to apply for funding through FEMA’s Public Assistance program. This fact sheet provides guidance for determining the eligibility of PNP applicants and work performed in accordance with the COVID-19 emergency and major disaster declarations.
To be eligible for Public Assistance, a PNP applicant must show that it has:
Eligible PNPs must also own or operate an eligible facility.2 For PNPs, an eligible facility is one that provides an eligible service, which includes education, utilities, emergency, medical, custodial care, and other essential social services.3
Private entities, including for profit hospitals or restaurants, are not eligible for assistance from FEMA under Public Assistance. However, state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities may contract with private entities to carry out eligible emergency protective measures. In these cases, FEMA will reimburse the eligible applicant for the cost of eligible work, and the applicant will then pay the private entity for the provision of services.
In accordance with sections 403 and 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. (the “Stafford Act”), eligible emergency protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency at the direction or guidance of public health officials may be eligible for reimbursement under category B of FEMA’s Public Assistance program.4 Emergency work is that which is necessary to save lives or protect public health and safety. To be eligible, work must be the legal responsibility of an eligible applicant.5
Measures to protect life, public health, and safety are generally the responsibility of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. In some cases, a government entity may be legally responsible to provide services and enter into an agreement with a PNP to provide those services (e.g., sheltering or food distribution). In these cases, Public Assistance funding is provided to the legally responsible government entity, which then pays the PNP for the cost of providing those services under the agreement.6
In limited circumstances, essential components of a facility are urgently needed to save lives or protect health and safety, such as an emergency room of a PNP hospital. In these cases, PNPs that own or operate an eligible facility and perform eligible work, such as providing emergency, medical or custodial care services for which they are legally responsible in response to the COVID-19 incident, may be eligible for reimbursement of costs as a Public Assistance applicant.
For PNPs, operating costs (such as patient care and administrative activities) are generally not eligible even if the services are emergency services, unless the PNP performs an emergency service at the request of and certified by the legally responsible government entity. In such case, FEMA provides Public Assistance funding through that government entity as the eligible applicant.
This website is intended as a national source of information about the delivery of financial recovery services. It includes resources on eligibility, procurement, grant management delivery, and issues related to various Federal Programs currently supporting FEMA Public Assistance program financial recovery for governments and non-profits. This website is not affiliated or endorsed or sponsored by FEMA or any other Federal grant program. The information provided in various webpage documents is derived largely from Federal published materials. In general, under section 105 of the Copyright Act, such works are not entitled to domestic copyright protection under U.S. law and are therefore in the public domain. The goal is to help navigate the various Federal websites and summarize grant information and requirements. It does not constitute legal advice or grant management advise and is provided for general informational purposes only. Only the Federal Agency responsible for grants can make determinations on eligibility and grant amounts. You should consult with your professional services advisors and State and Federal Grant Coordinators for more detailed guidance on specific FEMA Public Assistance financial recovery issues.
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