New Tool! FEMA Releases Disaster Financial Guidance Guide

On April 14, 2020, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a 79-page Disaster Financial Guidance Guide for state, local, tribal, and territorial partners outlining the wide range of financial resources to assist American communities for disaster preparedness and recovery.  As communities around the country receiving presidential disaster declarations for COVID-19, understanding the availability of federal funding and the processes to access the money is especially important.

Kicking off the guide is an explanation of the skills and capabilities needed for a strong disaster financial management program and key actions taken as part of the program. The guide emphasizes the need for properly tracking, calculating and justifying expenses as part of the outreach for FEMA.

The guide leads communities through the availability of resources from pre-disaster through the first-year post-disaster, including a visual explanation of the resources. A directory with over 100 additional federal grants, loans, and other resources is organized by category with webpages. Any economic developer or community leader looking to understand the extensive federal resources available for disaster
preparedness and recovery should check out FEMA’s Disaster Financial Guidance Guide. 
(https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/187126).