Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Application Season is in Bloom

The 2010 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application process opens Monday, April 26, 2010. As trees throughout Iowa are now in full bloom, so too is this important funding stream for fire departments across the country. 

A few notes of interest for your AFG planning:
1. $390 million in funding is available nationwide, compared to $520 million last year
2. Your application must center around the program purpose, "To protect public and fire service personnel from fire and all other hazards."
3. If your department needs a Priority 1 item, that is your best chance for potential fit and funding with the AFG program
4. Make sure each item you click on the online application process is very carefully selected, including how you categorize your department. Careful selection and a clear need calculated automatically by your question responses will make you more likely to get to panel review
5. Avoid using any model numbers or brand names in your application to demonstrate your commitment to a fair and open bidding process if your application is funded
6. Review your guidance document in detail at this link. Print out your application and carefully review it before final submission.
7.  Relate only local information in your narrative. Write concisely for your peers. Include a clear statement on the consequences of not receiving an AFG award. A two page narrative is ideal based on the volume considered at peer review


FlashPoint Fundraising provides grant writing services for AFG and other programs on a project fee, not-percentage basis. Contact Dawn Svenson Holland to discuss whether your department may be a fit for this program today!

Not a Moment's Hesitation - The Perpetual Motion of the Fire Service

This is Isabella. She's four. She is in a state of perpetual motion. Because of this state, the lens on my camera phone represents a moment's hesitation. The lens just doesn't open fast enough to keep up with her energy without creating the blur impact of the photo. 

Being a part of the Fire Service family means being in a state of perpetual "readiness" motion. Whether dinner's on the table or you haven't slept yet all night, the pager call must be answered. The only difference between your service and the limitations of this camera phone, as you know, is that moment's hesitation cannot exist.

At the recent Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference in Baltimore, MD, one of the keynote speakers was Lee Woodruff, who shared her inspiring experience of perseverance and family first in the aftermath of her husband Bob's traumatic brain injury while embedded with our brave troops in Iraq. She and Bob have started ReMind.org to raise awareness of and support the impact of traumatic brain injury in our US Military. 

Lee credits the medics who ignored the safety warnings while the convoy her husband was part of was attacked by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) with saving her husband's life. Throughout the experience, she felt gratitude for the reality that "No one hesitates." 

Those medics, all service men and women and the civilian medical personnel who go over for six month tours together form a cocoon of care for the most critical war times. Please pause as you read this and know you are part of the stateside cocoon of care at the most critical times here at home. 

Thank you, with extra thanks to those of you who have served with our military, too! The quality of life in our communities is stronger because you honor the call that, "No one hesitates."

50 Years of Providing a Critical Foundation - Here's to AFP!

This post is written from an intense, jam-packed Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. More than 3,500 fundraisers from five continents are gathered for relevant, helpful educational sessions and inspiring speakers including Lee Woodruff, Peter Thum, Archbishop Desmund Tutu and Jeff Salz.

What's particularly significant about this conference is the milestone it represents in fundraising.  In 1960 in New York City, three philanthropists gathered for lunch and discussed the need for ethics to be the foundation of the good philanthropic fundraising work our country and our world would need to move forward effectively.

That lunch became the genesis for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). The cornerstones of this calling to do good well are the Code of Ethics and the Donor Bill of Rights.  
Anyone generous enough to give any gift to a cause they feel connected to deserves nothing less.

Fifty years ago, AFP began with a focus on:
1. Honoring donor intent
2. Addressing the lack of ethics in percentage based compensation
3. Addressing reasonable and responsible fundraising costs 

Congratulations and thank you to the many amazing philanthropists who laid a critical foundation for today with the formation of AFP. If you're hiring for fundraising services, make sure your resource is an AFP member. 

A Picture Is Still Worth 1,000 Words

One NE Iowa Fire Department has a story consistent across rural areas of Iowa - the need for a new fire station. This department currently operates out of the community's original one room school house that was moved to its current location when the highway came to town. An addition was added in 1980 and overall the experience is much like the picture above - inches to spare on space.

Various avenues of philanthropic research has shown that images still matter to donors and prospective donors. Pictures are still worth 1,000 words in the realism they create in a community's collective mindset. Pretty pictures help people get their minds around need and potential. An example of need is illustrated above. An example of potential can be found in the YouTube 3D tour created from the construction spec sheet for this department's proposed new station.

This 3D tour was created using the free version of Google Sketchup, a comprehensive architectural software that utilizes Google Earth details and renders images based on two dimensional construction parameters. Although it takes some time to learn the details, this software is an excellent tool for your communications arsenal if your department's strategic plan includes a new or remodeled station. Students taking architecture courses at your local high school or college may be available to assist you with this important planning step.

Of course, pictures and 3D renderings are only the start of an effective case for your department's need. All efforts taken to carefully craft your needs in terms of benefits to your community and those who need your services will pay exponential dividends.  


What communication tools are working well for your department? What would you like input on from others? Share your ideas through the comments section below.


FlashPoint offers hourly fee, not-to-exceed based communications services to help strengthen your communications case. The first planning meeting to discuss your needs is always free. Contact Dawn Svenson Holland to schedule your meeting today.