Chief, a nationwide supplier of public safety equipment and apparel, is offering a new grant consultation service.

“Chief Grants” is a free consultation service aimed at assisting fire, EMS, and law enforcement departments in obtaining grant funding. As part of the program, Chief created www.publicsafetygrants.com to guide public safety agencies through the bureaucratic maze of grant writing. A consultant is on hand 12-hours a day, five days per week to answer grant-related questions.

Chief kicked off the program in conjunction with the opening of the application period for the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program offered by the Office for Domestic Preparedness. According to Chief, 16 fire departments used their services extensively to apply for a total of $1.9 million in funding during the 2004 AFG application period.

“In 2004, there will be $1.2 billion in grant monies available to law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency services, and local and state governments,” says Kurt Bradley, Chief’s new grant writing consultant. “Properly researching and writing a grant is a time-consuming process and public safety professionals’ primary responsibility is the protection of and service to their citizens. That is why we are here to help make the grant writing process more effective, more productive, and most importantly, more successful,” adds Bradley, who is a retired police lieutenant.

Preparing for next year

While the application period for 2004 AFGP is closed, it’s not too early to begin preparing for next year’s application period, Bradley said. He offers the following tips to be successful in your AFGP and other grant applications:

1) Start preparing now. Don’t become victim to the time-crunch syndrome. “If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail!”

2) Identify your most critical needs.

3) Gather statistical data regarding your department’s runs and how they relate to the need for that particular equipment.

4) Document, document, document everything that you do! If you didn’t document it, you never did it, according to FEMA.

5) Identify the “critical infrastructure” for which you are responsible.

6) Identify your department’s role in your state’s Emergency Management Plan.

7) Know the demographics of your city. Get familiar with the U.S. Census Bureau reports for your area and what information your county and local government may have regarding your populations served.

8) Grants are generally programs, which have a series of goals and objectives that you must meet. Plan these programs in advance and think them through thoroughly.

9) Seek out and obtain professional grant-writing training. The expense of training will be returned to you, many times over, in money you can obtain for your department.

Chief is owned and operated by BHC, a diversified public safety corporation headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. For more information, visit www.publicsafetygrants.com or the Chief company site at www.chiefsupply.com.