FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) is a federal grant program administered by FEMA and managed at the state level by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). If a state, local government entity or private nonprofit organization, including houses of worship, wishes to seek PA funding, it must first submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) to FEMA within 30 days of the respective area being designated in the declaration.
FEMA has extended the deadline for the 11 Alabama counties designated for PA at the request of the state of Alabama.
Reimbursable Costs
Public Assistance provides reimbursement to eligible local and state government agencies for the costs of emergency response, debris removal and restoration of disaster-damaged public facilities and infrastructure. Houses of worship and other nonprofit organizations also may be eligible for Public Assistance.
Eligibility
To be eligible, all applicants must:
§ Have sustained damage caused by the Jan. 12 storms in Autauga, Barbour, Chambers, Conecuh, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Sumter and Tallapoosa counties.
Private nonprofit organizations also must:
§ Provide a current ruling letter from the IRS granting tax exemption under Section 501 (c) (d) or (e) of the IRS Code of 1954, or through the Alabama Secretary of State.
§ Be owned or operated by a private nonprofit organization.
§ Have either not received funding or received insufficient funding after applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan.
Deadlines
Deadlines for submitting RPAS vary for each county. Eligible applicants should reach out to their local county emergency manager to find out their county’s deadline for submitting an RPA.
For information on Alabama’s disaster recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster 4684. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.
