Strengthening Financial Planning and Funding for Fire Departments
Effective financial management is essential to maintaining operational readiness, supporting personnel, and ensuring fire departments have the resources needed to protect their communities. From developing annual budgets and securing grant funding to planning major equipment purchases, fire service leaders must balance operational needs with available financial resources.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) supports fire and emergency service leaders with funding resources, grant guidance, financial planning tools, and advocacy on federal policies that affect department budgets and operations.
Explore IAFC resources and educational opportunities designed to help fire departments identify funding opportunities, strengthen financial planning, and make informed decisions about equipment, staffing, and long-term investments.
Ready to get involved?
Members can follow and shape funding issues through IAFC advocacy and the Emergency Vehicle Management Section.
- Weekly Washington Update: Members receive weekly updates on federal legislation, policy developments, and advocacy news.
- IAFC Action Center: Take action on the policy issues that affect your department.
- Emergency Vehicle Management Section: Connect with peers working on apparatus planning and procurement.
Featured Funding and Grant Resources
Start with these guides for finding grants, writing applications, and planning apparatus purchases.
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Wildfire Technical Assistance Program
IAFC provides expert guidance to help communities strengthen wildfire planning, CWPPs, collaboration, and local resilience.
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How to write a grant proposal
Ten-Step Plan to Successful Grant Writing
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FEMA Fire Grants website
This page contains links to the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) grant programs
Funding and Finance Events
Meet fire service leaders and learn from peers at IAFC events.
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Symposium in the Sun 2026
This is an annual educational conference designed to provide leadership training for volunteer and combination fire, rescue, and EMS departments
Common questions about budgets and funding
Quick answers for fire chiefs, finance staff, and department leaders planning for the year ahead.
FEMA runs the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S), and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs. IAFC’s FEMA Fire Grants resource links to all three. IAFC news also covers funding announcements, such as the $648 million FEMA made available for fiscal year 2025 programs in May 2026.
IAFC’s Ten-Step Plan to Successful Grant Writing walks you through the process. It starts with reading the full request for proposals and instructions, noting deadlines, and writing a clear needs statement. It ends with submitting on time and keeping proof that you submitted.
Delivery times that once ran 8 to 18 months can now reach three to four years, according to IAFC’s apparatus planning guide. The guide recommends multi-year planning, replacement projections that may extend 10 to 20 years, and a cross-functional committee to write specifications. The IAFC Emergency Vehicle Management Section developed it.
IAFC’s Government Relations and Policy team tracks federal legislation and funding issues. These include FIRE and SAFER grant legislation and Medicaid reimbursement for ground emergency medical transport (GEMT). IAFC asked members to comment on a proposed rule that could cap GEMT payments. Members can follow updates and take action through the Action Center.
Start with the IAFC event calendar. IAFC webinars have covered topics such as cooperative purchasing for fire departments. Fire-Rescue International, August 18 to 20, 2027, in Anaheim, CA, offers educational sessions. Members can also share funding ideas with peers in KnowledgeNet.
Yes. IAFC Workforce Solutions supports current and future grant-funded recruitment and retention projects, including AFG-SAFER recruitment and retention grants. IAFC Fire Camp Scholarships, funded by a FEMA SAFER grant, help volunteer and combination departments pay for fire camps that recruit volunteers.
Most departments combine local funding, such as municipal budgets or fire district revenue, with outside sources like federal and state grants, fundraising, and community support. Large purchases such as apparatus often need multi-year planning. Federal programs including AFG and SAFER help many departments cover equipment, training, and staffing.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) helps departments buy equipment, vehicles, and training. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant helps departments hire and keep firefighters. A third program, Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S), funds prevention and safety projects. FEMA runs all three.