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I am replacing equipment that I think may still have some use. Is there anything I can do with it to make it useful for others in the fire service?
Yes, if you are replacing used equipment with new equipment obtained with an award from the AFG Program, you can place your used equipment in the Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse program.
Items donated to the HDER Program will be received by the non-profit organization, Helping Our Own (HOO). HOO will triage the items and assure that the used equipment is distributed to the appropriate partner (DOE, HDER, HOO). It will be inspected, tested, refurbished, redistributed, and/or recycled. Helping Our Own will usually arrange to pickup the equipment from the donor fire department.
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How do I donate used items to the Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse Program (HDER)?
A department wishing to donate items should call Helping Our Own at 1-877-446-6436. For additional information regarding HOO or HDER:
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If, as a result of receiving an AFG award, my department donates used items to the HDER Program, is the cost of shipping to them an allowable expense under the grant program?
Yes. Helping Our Own will usually arrange to come to the donor fire department and pick up the items at no cost to the donor. If, for any reason, Helping Our Own is unable to pick up the items, AFG award recipients may use “excess” grant funds to pay for shipping expenses of items donated to the HDER Program. Excess grant funds are funds that are remaining after a grantee has completed their scope of work prior to the end of the performance period, and through a competitive procurement process, achieved a cost savings.
However, before excess AFG funds may be used to pay for shipping, the donor fire department must have documentation from Helping Our Own stating that they are unable to pick up the items. E-mail correspondence is acceptable documentation. To proceed, the grant recipient must request authorization to obligate grant funds for this purpose via an amendment request. The estimated cost of shipping must be included in the amendment request. The $5,000 funding limitation for excess funds applies in this instance.
AFG award recipients may use as much as $5000 to continue or expand the activities for which they received their award. In accordance with the AFG Program Guidance, they may create or expand a fire prevention program in accordance with AFG Program guidance, or they may pay for the shipping costs required to donate used items to the HDER Program. A fourth option available to award recipients is to return the excess funds to the AFG program office. They may not expend more than $5,000 of their excess funds for any reason without written, prior approval from the program office in the form of an amendment.
If the cost of shipping is charged against the grant award, donated items must be accounted for on the grant award closeout report.
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If my department donates to the HDER Program, can it get credit toward its Non-Federal Cost Share, or Matching Funds?
No. Contributions and donations are not allowable as a cash match in the AFG Program.
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What if we have equipment other than what we are replacing with the AFG grant that we would like to donate to the HDER Program? Is the cost of shipping those items to the HDER Program an allowable expense under the grant program?
No, shipping items that are not AFG-related is not an allowable expense.
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