Micro-Grants

The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) is offering Micro-Grants in order to stimulate community planning and action toward wildfire preparedness and resilience. We want to support you in accomplishing your priority projects to make your local area safer.

Successful proposals will: 

• directly relate to increased wildfire safety, preparedness and resiliency;

• build capacity for Neighborhood Fire Safe Councils (NFSCs), Firewise Communities and county fire agencies through community education, organizing, equipment purchases or preparedness projects;

• stimulate neighborhood-level engagement and incentivize volunteer action toward fire safety;

• describe how the project strengthens ties between neighbors, and between MCFSC and fire agencies and/or our affiliated NFSCs/FWCs;

• demonstrate the capacity to complete a successful project, through relevant past success stories and/or commitments of support, volunteer time, donations or other resources;

• generate inspiring success stories, quotes and photos to provide wider awareness and appreciation for the work of MCFSC, local fire agencies, NFSCs and FWCs; and

• potentially inspire future ideas and efforts in other local groups.

Eligible projects will be consistent with MCFSC’s mission “To inform, empower, and mobilize county residents to survive and thrive in wildfire-prone environments.” Micro-Grants will not be granted to individuals, or for normal operating expenses, purchases/activities that occur prior to grant decisions, or activities for which other funding already exists. Your group must be an existing Mendocino County NFSC, Firewise Community, or fire agency established before March 1, 2025. You must: 

• be a Neighborhood Fire Safe Council or Firewise Community affiliated with MCFSC, or a fire department or district operating within Mendocino County. Fire agencies, please apply through your related 501(c)(3) if you have one;

• serve residents of Mendocino County—all requested funds must be spent within the county unless otherwise approved;

• conduct business without discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin or religious affiliation;

• demonstrate the ability to achieve and successfully document community-impact projects;

• obtain CEQA or any other permits required for work projects before work or funding can proceed; and

• if applicable, obtain appropriate insurance coverage related to your project.

As examples, projects may include but are not limited to the following: 

• emergency-ingress mapping for first responders 

• adding to a fire-detection camera network

• road renaming and/or road signage

• Knox or similar lock-boxes

• home-hardening and/or defensible-space assessments

• bulk purchase of reflective address signs or home-hardening retrofit supplies

• expenses for community fuel-reduction workdays or other relevant community events

• wildfire-safety trainings or educational efforts

• emergency water-source development

• neighborhood alert systems

• fuel reduction along primary access roads

• developing community temporary refuge areas

• building NFSC capacity

• implementation of prescribed burn-related projects

• other creative ways of addressing your local fire-safety priorities

• Program proposals will be evaluated according to their potential benefit (“bang for the buck”) toward significantly increasing wildfire safety, preparedness or resilience in your area.

• You must be able to describe why your group selected this project as its highest priority. 

• Strong proposals will demonstrate an adequate level of additional resources and volunteer support for the project, if applicable, indicating that your group has the energy and capacity to complete the project and achieve the desired results. For example, a history of successful similar projects or workdays, or a commitment from participants with relevant expertise, will strengthen your application.

• Where applicable, preference will be given to projects that connect neighbors and/or fire agencies working together to address a need. Duplication of efforts, or projects that could be funded through other sources, is discouraged. 

• Projects must be completed within one year of the award date. 

• For fuel-reduction projects, estimate beforehand, and report afterward, the estimated acreage or number of homes treated by the fuel-reduction work. This information is important, as it strengthens our own future funding requests—including ongoing support for our Micro-Grant Program.

• You must commit to providing a Final Report that includes documentation of your results, including expenditures, fuel-reduction metrics, photos, any lessons learned, good stories, quotes, etc.

• Your application implies consent to MCFSC’s potential use, in any media format, of all photos, quotes or other content submitted, for MCFSC’s educational, publicity, funding or other purposes (unless you make a specific request to withhold these from publication).

The Application Form and other forms & information are available at https://www.firesafemendocino.org/micro-grants.

Applications are due by 5:00 pm, March 31, 2025. Email completed Application with related documentation to king@firesafemendocino.org, or mail to MCFSC Micro-Grant Program, PO Box 263, Ukiah, CA 95482-0263.

Applicants collaborating with other groups or organizations must submit a letter of support/commitment from each partner group, expressing their support and describing their role in the project. 

There is no match requirement for Micro-Grants, but you will be required to report all volunteer hours and funds from other sources spent on this project, as well as document all expenses for which you are seeking reimbursement. Proposals demonstrating community support and involvement will receive some preference.

MCFSC wants you to succeed, and will make every effort to fund the most competitive proposals while balancing the needs of other applicants and the county in general. 

Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified of their award status by April 30, 2025. We may request more information or even a site visit before that date, but this is not a guarantee of funding. MCFSC’s staff and committee will make the final award decisions, and are under no obligation to award any or all funds available or requested.

It is your responsibility to track all appropriate grant expenses and documentation, deadlines and reporting dates. You may be required to have a mid-project check-in with a MCFSC representative, or to be available for a potential site visit during the term of the grant. 

Upon completion of your project, you are required to provide a Final Report that includes the following: 

• project-related expenditures, including receipts and any other documentation;

• number of project-related volunteer hours spent or other resources contributed, if applicable;

• the impact of your project on your work or your neighborhood safety and preparedness—for example, the number of houses or acres receiving fuel reduction, or purchases made (documentation required);

• stories, quotes and photos about your project, with implied consent for unrestricted MCFSC use, unless otherwise stated. These are important to MCFSC and our funders, as they provide feedback, lessons learned, and inspiration for future fire-safety projects in our community. Your application constitutes consent for MCFSC to publish your photos, quotes or other content on our website or in other funding applications or media, unless otherwise requested.

The Final Report form can be downloaded from the link above. Final Reports are due any time after project completion, and no later than the due date below. Failure to complete the Final Report by then will make you ineligible for future funding. Reports that include success stories and photos may improve the success of any future applications. 

MCFSC’s Micro-Grants are intended to be reimbursements, meaning that grantees (you) cover grant costs and then submit supporting documentation to MCFSC in order to be compensated for those costs. Reimbursement requires that the grantee submit an invoice for the costs incurred, along with a description of those costs, the date the costs were incurred, and a copy of all related receipts and/or work-time records. 

Non-Equipment-Related Costs

If payment is made to any individual or non-corporate business for work performed, and the total payments to that individual or business exceed a cumulative $600 in a calendar year, and if MCFSC pays them directly, we will require a completed IRS Form W-9 for that individual or business, and a contract establishing that the person or business is acting as an independent contractor, before we can provide compensation.

Other Payment Options

MCFSC also recognizes that all grantees may not have sufficient funds to prepay grant costs. Therefore, MCFSC also makes available the following three payment options. Note: the W-9 Form and independent contractor agreement requirements above for non-equipment purchases still apply to the first two options. 

Direct payment

For equipment purchases, or contracts for work by businesses such as an arrangement with a fuel-reduction contractor, grantees may prearrange for invoices to be sent directly to the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. For example, with prior notice MCFSC can pay your vendor directly for e.g. water tanks, chainsaws, or trailers by either check or credit card. Grantees can also arrange to have contractors send their invoices directly to MCFSC. To prearrange for direct payments, contact Eva at king@firesafemendocino.org or (707) 518-3088.

Advance payment terms

Grantees can also prearrange to receive cash advances to pay for grant-related costs. To use the advance payment option, the grantee must fill out our Advance Payment Form, and have that form approved prior to incurring the related costs. Any unused funds that have been advanced must be returned to the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. The grantee must also submit an invoice for all costs incurred, along with a description of those costs, the date the costs were incurred, and a copy of all related receipts and or work-time records to document how advanced funds were used. To prearrange for advance payments, contact Eva at king@firesafemendocino.org or (707) 518-3088.

Nonprofit Option

If a Grantee is a recognized nonprofit organization, it can opt to manage its own grant funds and be responsible for issuing its own 1099 Forms, along with other fiscal responsibilities regarding the use of those funds. In that case, MCFSC can send a check to the nonprofit for the grant amount. The nonprofit will need to provide MCFSC with an accounting of how the funds were spent, return any funds not expended to meet the objectives of the grant, and comply with all grant reporting requirements.

• Micro-Grant applications will be accepted beginning March 1, 2025.

• Completed applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on March 31, 2025. 

• Award/rejection notifications will be made by April 30, 2025.

• Projects must be completed within one year – no later than April 30, 2026.

Final Reports and invoices must be submitted, including all supporting documentation, stories, quotes and photos, within 30 days of project completion and no later than May 30, 2026.