This month, we provide updates on the COVID-19 pandemic; winter storms impacting most of the United States (US); Hagerty’s partnership with the ‘Do Good’ YouTube series by Echo Bravo Productions; and our celebration of National Employee Appreciation Day.
The COVID-19 pandemic…
The US has reported that more than 78.9 million people have been infected with COVID-19; while over 955,000 Americans have died from the virus. To date, over 81.4 percent of people over the age of five in the US have been vaccinated either partially or fully. Additionally, 44.1 percent of people who are vaccinated and eligible for a booster have gotten their booster shot. The Biden Administration has announced a second round of free COVID-19 Home Testing kits for every household in the US.
Additionally, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Community Levels guidance provides communities and individuals with metrics – driven by community-specific case counts, COVID-19-related hospital admissions and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity – that communities and individuals can use to discern appropriate public health actions and protective measures, such as masking and social distancing requirements.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also recently extended the 100 percent federal cost share for Public Assistance (PA) awarded under COVID-19 Stafford Act declarations. This means FEMA will fully fund PA-eligible emergency work to combat the pandemic performed between January 20, 2020 and July 1, 2022. A subsequent FEMA Advisory announcing this extension indicated that after July 1, 2022, the federal cost share will be reduced to 90 percent, which is still higher than the statutory minimum 75 percent.
Winter storms impact the country throughout February…
Winter storms continued to impact the country throughout the month of February. In early February, a winter storm, stretching from the rocky mountains to the Eastern US, impacted almost half of the US causing widespread damage, ice storms, snow fall, tornadoes, and freezing temperatures. Some areas experienced over 20 inches of snow.
The ‘Do Good’ video series…
Hagerty is proud to partner Echo Bravo Productions on their ‘Do Good’ YouTube video series designed to bring awareness to the devastating impacts natural disasters are having on our country as well as the importance of community engagement when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from them.
The most recent episode in the series focuses on the vital importance of volunteerism in times of disaster and features Hagerty’s Executive Chairman and former FEMA Administrator, Brock Long. Click here to watch and learn more about how you can get involved in your community.
National Employee Appreciation Day…
On Friday, March 4, 2022, Hagerty celebrated National Employee Appreciation Day and took a moment to highlight and thank our team of truly talented professionals whose unwavering commitment to excellence continues to drive both our firm’s success as well as the success of our clients!
Hagerty professionals come from all walks of life, educational and professional backgrounds, creating a collaborative, inclusive environment that respects and leverages unique perspectives. Our firm would not be what it is today without each member of our team. For that, we thank them for their dedication to our ever-important mission: helping people prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.
Learn more about us by watching this brief video.
Featured Grants:
Strengthening United States (US) Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems
COVID-19 has accentuated long-standing weaknesses and created new challenges to the US public health infrastructure. This funding is intended to help meet critical infrastructure and workforce needs in the short term and make possible strategic investments that will have lasting effects on public health agencies across the US. It will support strategically strengthening public health capacity and systems related to the workforce, foundational capabilities, data modernization, physical infrastructure, and support from national public health partners. Learn More
- Source: Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – The Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS)
- Funding Opportunity Number: CDC-RFA-OE22-2203
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $3,000,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $150,000,000
- Application Due Date: June 13, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: City, township, special district, state, and county governments
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Pediatric Mental Health Care Access – New Area Expansion
The purpose of this program is to promote behavioral health integration into pediatric primary care by supporting pediatric mental health care telehealth access programs. State or regional networks of pediatric mental health care teams will provide teleconsultation, training, technical assistance, and care coordination support for pediatric primary care providers to diagnose, treat, and refer children with behavioral health conditions. Learn More
- Source: DHS – Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-22-121
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,450,000
- Award Ceiling: $0
- Application Due Date: April 5, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: State, Native American governments, and political subdivisions of states
COVID-19 and Health Equity Clinic Trials
The purpose of this opportunity is to fund COVID-19 research that will strengthen and advance research in minority health and health equity, increase understanding of health disparities, and provide future direction for research that will contribute to regulatory decision-making. Specifically, research that will contribute to advancing racial and ethnic minority participation in COVID-19 clinic trials. Learn More
- Source: DHS Services – Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Funding Opportunity Number: FOR-FD-22-001
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Application Due Date: March 31, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: Native American Tribal organizations, non-profits, public housing authorities, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations, independent school districts
Tribal Seafood Pandemic Response and Safety Grant Program
This funding opportunity provides grants to seafood processors, including at-asea processors and dealers owned and operated by Federally Recognized Indian Tribes. This opportunity provides funds to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against coronavirus. Learn More
- Source: Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Agricultural Marketing Service
- Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-AMS-TM-22-0004
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
- Application Due Date: April 18, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: Native American Tribal governments
State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
The purpose of this program is to make grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US Territories to assist them in operating their own state educational loan repayment programs for primary care providers working in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) within their state. SLRP supports loan repayment awards to health care providers in exchange for service in underserved communities. ARPA provides funding to expand SLRP to provide grants to current grantees as well as to those States that have not previously participated. SLRP recipients are afforded the flexibility to select the disciplines and HPSA sites that meet their unique workforce needs. To that end, HRSA is encouraging SLRP applicants to consider how SLRP funds might be used to advance HHS priorities. Learn More
- Source: HHS – HRSA
- Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-22-048
- Estimated Total Program Funding: 25,000,000
- Award Ceiling: N/A
- Application Due Date: April 8, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: State governments
Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grants
The HMEP grant program was established in 1990 by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act. In 1993, PHMSA began issuing grants to assist States, Territories, and Native American Tribes to “develop, improve, and carry out emergency plans” within the National Response System and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. The HMEP grant program is designed to allow grantees the flexibility to implement training and planning programs that address differing needs for each location based on demographics, emergency response capabilities, commodity flow studies, and hazard analysis. Relevant trainings are found in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472: Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents publication and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations found in 29 CFR § 1910.120. Learn More
- Source: Department of Transportation (DOT) – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
- Funding Opportunity Number: 693JK322NF0011
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $23,385,997
- Award Ceiling: $1,500,000
- Award Floor: $48,000
- Application Due Date: April 14, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: State governments
FY2022 Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) Grant
The ALERT grant promotes hazmat response training for volunteer or remote emergency responders. Response activities include the transportation of crude oil, ethanol, and other flammable liquids by rail consistent with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The ALERT grant is competitively awarded to non-profit organizations capable of delivering an established curriculum to emergency responders. Learn More
- Source: DOT – PHMSA
- Funding Opportunity Number: 693JK322NF0010
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $500,000
- Award Ceiling: $250,000
- Application Due Date: April 15, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; Private institutions of higher education
WaterSMART Small-Scale Water Efficiency Projects
Reclamation will provide funding for small-scale on-the-ground water efficiency projects which seek to implement work identified in an applicant’s water planning efforts. Example projects include but are not limited to: Canal lining/piping; Municipal metering; Irrigation flow measurement; Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and Automation (SCADA); Landscape Irrigation measures; High-Efficiency Indoor Appliances and Fixtures; Upgrades to Commercial Cooling Systems to Improve Water Use Efficiency. Other projects that are similar to those tasks listed above may be submitted for consideration and will be allowed to the extent that they are consistent with program authorization and goals. Learn More
- Source: Department of the Interior (DOI) – Bureau of Reclamation
- Funding Opportunity Number: R22AS00195
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $100,000
- Application Due Date: April 28, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: Special district governments; City or township governments; Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education; County governments; Others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” for clarification); State governments; Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure
This program seeks to prepare, nurture, and grow the national scientific research workforce for creating, utilizing, and supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable and potentially transform fundamental science and engineering (S&E) research and education and contribute to the Nation’s overall economic competitiveness and security. The goals of this solicitation are to (i) ensure broad adoption of CI tools, methods, and resources by the research community in order to catalyze major research advances and to enhance researchers’ abilities to lead the development of new CI; (ii) integrate core literacy and discipline-appropriate advanced skills in advanced CI as well as computational and data-driven methods for advancing fundamental research, into the Nation’s undergraduate and graduate educational curriculum/instructional materials; and (iii) build communities of research CI professional staff to deploy, manage, and collaboratively support the effective use of research CI, as well as establish career paths for those staff within and across institutions and science and engineering (S&E) disciplines.
Proposals responding to the Pilot and Implementation project classes defined in this solicitation may target one or both of the first two solicitation goals, while proposals responding to the CIP project class must address the third goal. For the purpose of this solicitation, advanced CI is broadly defined as the set of resources, tools, methods, and services for advanced computation, large-scale data handling and analytics, and networking and security for large-scale systems that collectively enable potentially transformative fundamental S&E research and education. This solicitation calls for innovative, scalable training, education, and curriculum/instructional materials, along with deeper incorporation of CI professionals into the research enterprise—targeting one or more of the solicitation goals—to address emerging needs and unresolved bottlenecks in S&E research workforce development, from the postsecondary level to active researchers to CI professionals. The funded activities, spanning targeted, multidisciplinary communities, should lead to transformative changes in the state of research workforce preparedness for advanced CI-enabled research in the short- and long term.
This solicitation also seeks to broaden CI access and adoption by (i) increasing the adoption of advanced CI and computational and data-driven methods to a broader range of S&E disciplines and institutions; (ii) enhancing the incorporation of CI professionals into the research enterprise – highlighting the value of those professionals in S&E research; and (iii) effectively utilizing the capabilities of individuals from a diverse set of underrepresented groups. Proposals from, and in partnership with, the aforementioned communities are especially encouraged. Learn More
- Source: National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Funding Opportunity Number: 22-574
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $21,500,000
- Award Ceiling: $5,000,000
- Application Due Date: May 16, 2022
- Eligible Applicants: All qualified scientists, engineers, and educators (usually on behalf of their employing organization)
Questions? We welcome your feedback.