The Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency invests in regional disaster preparedness as part of the National Preparedness System.

The strategic priorities of the program are Equity, Climate Resilience, Readiness, and Housing with priority given to projects that address the needs of disadvantaged communities. FEMA expects to award 5-10 grants of up to $3 million over a 36 month performance period. No cost match is required. Applications are due through Grants.gov by July 24, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

• States and territories of the United States in which at least one of the 100 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) is located
• Local governments that are either the principal city of or located within one of the 100 most populous MSAs. The applicant may either be the principal city or another local government in the MSA.

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds may be spent on:

• Management and administrative costs (Up to 5% of total award)
• Indirect costs
• Additional personnel or overtime pay
• Planning
• Organization
• Training
• Materials or supplies
• Rental of space/locations for conferences, meetings, workshops, and webinars
• Domestic travel

Grant funds may not be spent on:

• Public safety personnel
• Equipment
• Construction and renovation
• Maintenance and sustainment
• International travel

Goals

Goal 1 – Promote and instill equity as a foundation of emergency management

Goal 2 – Lead whole of community in climate resilience

Goal 3 – Promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation

Core Capabilities

Housing

“Implement housing solutions that effectively support the needs of the whole
community and contribute to its sustainability and resilience.”

Objectives

• Establish a resilient and sustainable housing market that meets the needs of the community, including the need for accessible housing
• Assess preliminary housing impacts and needs, identify currently available options for temporary housing, and plan for permanent housing.
• Ensure community housing recovery plans continue to address interim housing needs, assess options for permanent housing, and define a timeline for achieving a resilient, accessible, and sustainable housing market.

Community Resilience

“Enable the recognition, understanding, communication of, and planning for risk and
empower individuals and communities to make informed risk management decisions
necessary to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from future incidents.”

Objectives

• Maximize the coverage of the U.S. population that has a localized, risk-informed mitigation plan developed through partnerships across the entire community.
• Empower individuals and communities to make informed decisions to facilitate actions necessary to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from future incidents.

Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction

“Build and sustain resilient systems, communities, and critical infrastructure and key
resources lifelines so as to reduce their vulnerability to natural, technological, and
human-caused threats and hazards by lessening the likelihood, severity, and duration
of the adverse consequences.”

Objective

• Achieve a measurable decrease in the long-term vulnerability of the Nation against current baselines amid a growing population base, changing climate conditions, increasing reliance upon information technology, and expanding infrastructure base.

Evaluation

Applications will receive higher scores for clearly outlining:

• The disadvantaged communities who will be involved with the project and the factors that make them vulnerable
• How members of those communities will participate in the project
• Anticipated impact of the project, measured in qualitative and quantitative terms
• How the proposed project will advance the goal of equity in regional emergency management

Additional points will also be awarded for:

• Letters of support or other written confirmation of coordination with disadvantaged communities prior to submission
• A list of the census tract numbers associated with each disadvantaged community
• Demonstrate use of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) and other appropriate analytical tools to identify specific risks and vulnerabilities

Up to 30 bonus points may awarded for:

• Providing educational materials for training on identification of emerging risks due to climate change
• Providing educational materials for training on integration of climate change data into local planning, including hazard mitigation and emergency management
• Planning for and developing research-supported, proactive investments in community resilience
• Benefiting a larger number of disadvantaged communities
• Benefiting multiple states or more than one of the top 100 most-populous MSAs
• Submission by a new or previously unsuccessful applicant.