Grants for Fire Departments: Federal, State and Foundation Funding

Grants for fire departments come from three places: FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant programs, state fire and forestry agencies together with USDA's rural programs, and private and company foundations that give close to home. The federal awards are the large ones, decided once a year in a national competition. Foundation grants are smaller and far more common: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns found 4,142 foundations that paid 10,953 grants, worth $91.3 million, to fire departments, volunteer fire companies and firefighter associations in tax years 2022 through 2025.

Quick Answer: Where Can Fire Departments Get Grants?

Fire departments get grants from FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant programs (AFG for equipment, gear, vehicles and training, SAFER for staffing), state fire and forestry agencies, USDA Community Facilities for rural stations and trucks, and private foundations. Foundation grants run small: about 72% of the 10,953 grants GrantCue found in 990-PF returns were under $5,000.

What FEMA Grants Are Available for Fire Departments?

FEMA runs three fire grant programs: Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S). FEMA describes AFG as helping "firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed resources," SAFER as funding "fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations directly," and FP&S as supporting "projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards" (FEMA, Assistance to Firefighters Grant Programs, read November 2026).

The last round is finished. FEMA's program page says that "On September 30, 2026, FEMA announced the Fiscal Year 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Programs awards," and it lists the FY 2025 application periods for AFG, SAFER and FP&S as closed. The page gave no dates for the next round when this was written, so check it monthly. Applications are filed in FEMA GO.

AFG pays for "equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training" and goes to "fire departments, state fire training academies and emergency medical service organizations" (FEMA, Assistance to Firefighters Grants, read November 2026). Three FY 2025 awards listed on that page show the spread: $28,856 to Jerome Township Fire Department in Michigan, $171,428 to Auxier Volunteer Fire Department in Kentucky and $310,049 to Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company in Delaware.

SAFER helps departments "increase or maintain the number of trained, 'front line' firefighters," with the aim of meeting the NFPA 1710 and 1720 staffing standards (FEMA, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, read November 2026). Its FY 2025 awards fall into two categories, Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention. Volunteer companies appear in the second: Forest Volunteer Fire Company in Pennsylvania received $199,940 for recruitment and retention.

Plan for a match before you apply. FEMA's AFG questions page says "Most AFG award recipients are required to contribute non-federal funds also known as cost-share" (FEMA, AFG frequently asked questions, read November 2026). The same page says radios bought with AFG money must be P-25 compliant, with no waivers, and that any change to a building needs an environmental and historic preservation review. The guide to federal grant match requirements shows how to document cash and in-kind match, and the plain-English guide to the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) covers the cost, record and audit rules that come with any federal award.

The U.S. Fire Administration confirms that career and volunteer departments can receive money through these three grants (U.S. Fire Administration, Grants, read November 2026).

What Grants Are There for Rural and Volunteer Fire Departments?

Rural and volunteer departments have three more public sources beyond AFG: USDA's Community Facilities program, the Forest Service's assistance delivered through state foresters, and state grant programs set up by the legislature.

USDA Community Facilities lends and grants money for essential community facilities in rural areas of no more than 20,000 residents, and its list of eligible uses names "fire departments, police stations" and "police vehicles, fire trucks" (USDA Rural Development, Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, read November 2026). Public bodies, community-based nonprofits and federally recognized tribes may apply. The page lists the application window as open, with applications taken on an ongoing basis from October 1 to September 30.

The grant pays a share of the project on a graduated scale. The share can reach 75% of project costs in a community of 5,000 or fewer people with low median household income, and it falls to 55%, 35% and 15% as population and income rise. The program also makes direct loans of up to 40 years; for October 1 to December 31, 2026 the page listed rates of 4.500% to 4.750%. Start with your state Rural Development office, and get a UEI through SAM.gov registration before you apply.

The Forest Service reaches small departments through state forestry agencies. Its Volunteer Fire Capacity program gives "financial, technical, and other assistance (matched on a 50-50 basis either by the state or community) to rural communities with a population of less than 10,000," and its Federal Excess Personal Property and Firefighter Property programs loan or transfer surplus federal equipment to departments, both through the State Forester (USDA Forest Service, Cooperative Fire, read November 2026). Call your state forestry agency for its application and schedule.

State programs can be large. The Texas A&M Forest Service's Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program pays for "firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, and firefighter training," and in FY 2025 it made 58 truck grants, 260 equipment grants, 2,292 training tuition grants and 103 training aids grants (Texas A&M Forest Service, Rural VFD Assistance Program, read November 2026). Volunteer departments qualify, as do part-paid departments with 20 or fewer paid members. The agency says it has awarded more than $200 million through the program this fiscal year, against about $22 million in a typical year. Departments apply through its FireConnect portal.

Other states fund one-time rounds. Michigan's Fire Equipment Grant was a one-time $8 million appropriation under Public Act 22 of 2025, with awards of up to $50,000 to local governments and at least $4 million set aside for departments that are mostly on-call, part-time or volunteer. Its deadline, September 30, 2026, has passed (Michigan Department of Treasury, Fire Equipment Grant, read November 2026). Ask your state fire marshal and state forester which rounds exist where you are, and put them on the same calendar as AFG. Departments run by a city, township or fire district can also search open grants for local governments.

Which Foundations Give Grants to Fire Departments?

Most foundation money for fire departments comes from local family foundations, community banks and companies with a store, plant, rail line or utility service in the area. In the tax years on file, the list of funders that paid the most separate fire departments is led by a farm retailer's foundation and includes a neighborhood app's foundation, a farm cooperative, family foundations in Pennsylvania and Maine, utilities and railroads.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 through 2025 (each funder's latest return on file). A selection of leading funders, ranked by the number of fire departments, fire companies and firefighter associations paid. Employee matching-gift programs are left out; see the section on them below.

Tractor Supply's grants are small and spread wide. Many of its 2025 lines read "Hometown Heroes donation," a few hundred dollars to a single department, and its two largest fire grants, $200,000 in all, went to the National Volunteer Fire Council. Its latest return lists how to apply, but the company's own giving pages could not be read when this was written, so check Tractor Supply's site for how those donations are requested now before you ask.

"Lists how to apply" is not the same as "open": it means the latest return filled in its application section instead of ticking "preselected only." Check the funder's website, if it has one, for current deadlines.

Four funders in the table, Nextdoor, Scott, King and Oncor, say on their latest returns that they give only to preselected organizations. Do not mail them an unsolicited proposal. Keep them on a watch list, let your community connections know your department's needs, and re-check each new return; the guide to foundations that do not accept unsolicited proposals covers what still works.

The biggest local grants come from regional foundations that pay a dozen or so departments in one state. In Maine, the Gloria C MacKenzie Foundation paid 13 fire departments a median of $28,500, including $90,000 to Monticello Fire Department, and its latest return lists how to apply (profile). In Virginia, the JT-Minnie Maude Charitable Trust in Danville paid 10 departments a median of $30,000. In the Texas Panhandle, the Martha Ann Cogdell Hospital Trust in Amarillo paid eight departments, a median of $35,000. Both of those returns list how to apply. Iowa West Foundation in Council Bluffs paid 14 Iowa departments a median of $10,000, and Union Pacific Foundation paid 13 departments in six states a median of $10,000.

Community banks and local companies give smaller amounts to many departments. Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation in Catskill, New York paid 29 fire companies (median $1,000), Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation in Connecticut paid 24 (median $1,500), and MFA Oil Foundation in Missouri paid 20 (median $2,000); each one's latest return lists how to apply. Many of the same railroads, energy companies and farm retailers also pay police and sheriff's offices, so a town's public safety agencies can often share one prospect list.

The purpose lines show what these grants buy. In the returns on file, the Pearl M & Julia J Harmon Foundation gave Alluwe Fire Department in Oklahoma $1,998 to "Buy Refrigerator," ONEOK Foundation gave Taloga Volunteer Fire Department $4,958 for "Brush truck lighting," and Holmes Parker Foundation Trust gave Aline Volunteer Fire Department $5,000 as an unrestricted gift.

One national program sits outside these figures. The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation says on its homepage that first responder grants are "accepted on a quarterly basis," and that in 2025 it funded 424 sets of bunker gear, 187 thermal imaging cameras and 476 AEDs (Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, homepage, read November 2026). Its grants are not in the 990-PF data above, and its homepage did not state award limits, so read its application rules before you plan a request.

How Much Do Foundations Give Fire Departments?

Usually less than $5,000. In GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns for tax years 2022 through 2025, 7,870 of the 10,953 grants to fire departments and firefighter groups were under $5,000.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 through 2025.

Six grants of $1 million or more make up $12.6 million of the $91.3 million total. Three went to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and two to community foundations, so the total says little about what a small-town volunteer company can expect. What a funder has already paid departments like yours is the better guide.

Most grants on file come from 2024 returns (5,680 grants, $61.3 million) and 2025 returns (4,448 grants, $22.9 million). Foundations are still filing 2025 returns, so the gap is not a trend.

Ask each foundation for one item at a size it already pays, such as a $2,000 appliance or a $5,000 lighting package, and save the large requests for AFG, USDA and the state programs.

Where Are the Foundations That Fund Fire Departments?

New York, California and Pennsylvania have the most foundations paying fire departments, and Pennsylvania has the most departments receiving them. The table lists the 15 states with the most foundations; each link opens GrantCue's free list of foundations in that state, with no account needed.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 through 2025. States are where the grants went.

Large single gifts move the dollar column. Texas leads on dollars, but $6 million of its $17.2 million was one grant to a community foundation, and California's total includes three $1 million gifts to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. The median shows the typical grant: $500 in New Jersey and Florida, $1,000 in most of the Northeast, $5,000 in California.

Do Company Matching Gift Programs Count as Fire Department Grants?

No. Several large company foundations appear among the funders of fire departments only because employees gave or volunteered there, and the company matched it. They are employee giving, not programs a department applies to.

In the returns on file, the Pfizer Foundation paid 42 such grants with a median of $168, the Edward Jones Foundation 43 with a median of $140, the Verizon Foundation 32 with a median of $750, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation 19 with a median of $200, and the Baird Foundation 19 with a median of $300. Each of their latest returns says preselected only. The way to that money is through your own members: ask volunteers who work for large employers whether the company matches donations or volunteer hours.

How Do You Apply for a Fire Department Grant?

Match each need to the source that pays for it, then apply in the order the calendars allow:

1. Write the need with your own numbers: run volume, response area, the age of the engine or breathing apparatus, and what failed inspection.
2. Get written quotes for the equipment, vehicle or training, so every budget line has a source.
3. Register before any federal or USDA application. USDA's page asks for a UEI and SAM.gov registration, and AFG applications are filed in FEMA GO.
4. Sort the list by source. Breathing apparatus, turnout gear, radios and vehicles fit AFG; a new station or truck in a small rural town fits USDA Community Facilities and your state program; training costs, small equipment and operating support fit local foundations and companies.
5. For foundations, read each funder's latest Form 990-PF before writing. The guide to reading a 990-PF grant list shows where the grantees, amounts and application rules sit, and many small family foundations that pay fire companies have no website at all; finding local family foundations without websites covers how to reach them.
6. Keep one calendar for every round, federal, state and foundation, and start each application at least a month before it is due.

For a joint public safety project, the guide to grants for police departments covers the funders on the law enforcement side. For the general method across every kind of funder, see the guide to finding grants for nonprofits. Most foundations in the tables above have a free GrantCue profile showing their largest past grants, and a free GrantCue account can save the ones that fit your department and send deadline alerts.

FAQ

Are There Free Grants for Fire Departments?

Grants do not have to be repaid, but most are not free of conditions. FEMA says most AFG recipients must contribute non-federal cost-share, USDA Community Facilities grants cover only a share of a project, and the Forest Service's Volunteer Fire Capacity money is matched 50-50. Many small foundation grants carry no match, though they are usually under $5,000 and often limited to one county or state.

What Grants Are Open for Volunteer Fire Departments in 2026?

FEMA announced the FY 2025 AFG, SAFER and FP&S awards on September 30, 2026, and its program page lists those application periods as closed, with no next dates posted when this was written. USDA Community Facilities takes applications year round. State programs vary: Texas runs its rural volunteer fire department program in rounds, while Michigan's one-time equipment grant closed on September 30, 2026.

Can a Fire Department Get a Grant for a Fire Truck?

Yes. AFG covers emergency vehicles, USDA Community Facilities lists fire trucks among eligible uses for rural communities of 20,000 or fewer, and the Texas A&M Forest Service made 58 truck grants in FY 2025 through its rural volunteer program. Foundations rarely pay for a whole engine; regional foundations with medians of $25,000 or more are the most likely to fund a share of one.

Do Fire Department Grants Require Matching Funds?

Federal ones usually do. FEMA's AFG questions page says most award recipients must contribute non-federal cost-share, the Forest Service's Volunteer Fire Capacity assistance is matched 50-50 by the state or community, and USDA Community Facilities grants are capped at 15% to 75% of project costs depending on population and income. Read the current notice for the exact rule before building a budget.

Are There Private Grants for Fire Departments?

Yes. GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns for tax years 2022 through 2025 found 4,142 foundations that paid fire departments, volunteer fire companies and firefighter associations. Most private grants are small: about 40% were under $1,000 and about 72% under $5,000. Local family foundations, community banks, utilities and railroads paid the most separate departments.

What Are the Easiest Grants for Fire Departments to Get?

No grant is a sure thing, but the most attainable ones are small local grants from funders that already pay departments nearby. A community bank foundation or a family foundation that gave three neighboring fire companies $1,000 each is a better first prospect than a national competition. Look up the foundations in your state's list, read their past grants, and ask for an amount they have paid before.

Build Your Department's Grant Calendar Before the Next AFG Round

The next AFG, SAFER and FP&S round will open on FEMA's schedule, and the departments that win usually have their quotes, registration and needs statement ready before it does. Foundation and state money moves on calendars you can learn now.

Start this week with the foundations that already fund departments near you: open your state's free list from the table above or from GrantCue's foundation directory, open each funder's profile to see its largest past grants, and note which ones list how to apply. Then create a free GrantCue account to save the funders that fit, track their deadlines and get alerts when new grants open.