Due to unforseen circumstances, the 2025 Volunteer Fire Assistance grant has been delayed.  DOF is monitoring the situation closely and will share information concerning the grant program as it becomes available.  Please also monitor DOF’s website for updated information.

These instructional guides are currently available:

The data (name, address, Federal ID number, UEI) you provide for your organization in the System Access Portal must match the data which appears on your W-9 form and in SAM.gov. This data is validated as part of our grant management process and inconsistencies will delay your award. 

A Unique Entity ID is required to receive federally-sourced grant funds. The UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. If you have not yet been assigned a UEI, visit SAM.gov to apply for one. Data entered in SAM.gov must match federal tax data exactly and you must opt-in for public view for DOF to validate your UEI. For more information, visit SAM.gov.

DOF cannot provide full or partial funding for individual pieces of equipment valued at $5,000 or more.

Effective April 2024, the value of in-kind volunteer time should be calculated using $33.49 per hour for purposes of match, as published by the Independent Sector. For volunteer work prior to April 2023, the rate is $31.80 per hour.  Only projects with a pre-approved volunteer labor match component in their budget may use these rates. A log for staff and volunteer time is available HERE.