Funding

There are many possible funding sources for community projects aiming to reduce risk to life and property. They include:

• Now Open! Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has several Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs (listed below) that are now accepting applications. For more information, see the FY 2010 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Unified Guidance (PDF, 1 MB).
• Hazard Mitigation Grants
• Flood Mitigation Assistance
• Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grants
• Severe Repetitive Loss Grants
For an overview of what types of projects are covered by each grant type, see this FEMA table (PDF, 14 KB). For a more detailed summary of the programs see MEMA's Grants Matrix (PDF, 122KB) and other resources on their Hazard Mitigation Grants page.

In Massachusetts, these programs are administered by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). In June and July 2009, MEMA and DCR will host five grant program briefings. See the Massachusetts FY 2010 HMA Grant Program memo (PDF, 47 KB). Questions? Contact Acting State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Richard Zingarelli, at (617) 626-1406 or Richard.Zingarelli@state.ma.us.
• Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services (a part of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs) offers grants for various projects, including land acquisition. For more information see the “Grant and Loan Guide” under Key Resources on their homepage.
• Massachusetts Coastal Smart Growth Program has a useful list of many grant programs, some of which may be applicable to efforts to protect coastal communities.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Services Center has a funding index organized by the following themes:
• Coastal & Natural Resource Management
• Communities
• Data and Information (and related beneficial re-use of dredged material)
• Grant and Foundation Clearinghouses
• Regional Specialties – including information specific to the Northeast
• United States Army Corps of Engineers administers grant programs covering a broad range of activities, including:
• Flood Plain Management Services
• Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Projects
• Flood Damage Reduction
• Emergency Streambank and Shoreline Protection
• Clearing and Snagging Projects to reduce flood damages
• Navigation Projects
• Ecosystem Restoration in Connection with Dredging (and related beneficial re-use of dredged material)
• Ecosystem Restoration
• Environmental Restoration including modifications of current Corps installations to reduce their ecological impacts
For additional information, see the New England District's Corps website.
• For an exhaustive searchable list of available federal grants, see grants.gov.