FEMA. Mitigation Minute for November 4, 2020. Climbing Towards Resilience. Mitigation planning is the first stop in a community’s resilience journey. Planning grants are a small initial investment that can lead to larger, more integrated mitigation investments down the road. Imagine a state, tribe or local jurisdiction’s mitigation program as this mountain, and the goal is to reach the top—resilience. The decision-makers would be informed by the community priorities, and would use the mitigation planning process to navigate through the entire journey. Starting from the bottom, there are important milestones along the path. Planning Grants. Seed funding for risk reduction. FMA. 103 grants; Average: $47,000. HMGP. 2,986 grants; Average: $109,000. PDM. 2,404 grants; Average: $118,000. Approved Mitigation Plans. Blueprints for resilience. Over 84% of the population, 239 tribes, and all 56 states and territories covered. Planning-Related Activities. Help move from plans to action. HMGP: 38 grants. Largest: $2.7 million; Median: $166,000. Mitigation Investments. Projects to reduce risk. FMA. 2,810 grants; Average: $580,000. HMGP. 19,171 grants; Average: $995,000. PDM. 1,757 grants; Average: $912,000. Mountain peak: Resilient Communities. *See average dollar amounts and totals included, below. Data analysis conducted by FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning using OPEN FEMA data. Planning Grants. A state, tribe, and or local government identifies its planning needs by carefully drafting the scope of the plan/plan update based on recent disasters; changes in risk; growth and land-use changes; changes in mitigation priorities, and the addition of new partners (e.g., infrastructure and lifeline owners). Hazard mitigation plans can be written without a grant. FEMA-Approved Hazard Mitigation Plans. During this leg of the journey communities assess and become aware of their risks. They work to building consensus for mitigation that involves all the right partners, including, as appropriate, private and public resources. Planning-Related Activities. These activities are designed to develop mitigation strategies and obtain data to prioritize, select, and develop complete applications in a timely manner that result in either an improvement in the capability to identify appropriate mitigation projects or in the development of an application-ready mitigation project. Again, using this assistance is optional. Mitigation Investments. When a prospective applicant/subapplicant has met the requirements of having a hazard mitigation plan, they may apply for HMA program grant funding. Mountain climbers know that sometimes you must return to base before you can climb higher. Similarly, it takes regular five-year plan updates to implement enough mitigation actions to reach the peak—a resilient community. Learn about Hazard Mitigation Planning.

*Average dollar amounts and totals include all Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants from 1989 -September 2020. Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) numbers include FMA, Repetitive Loss (RL), and Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) grants. Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) numbers include PDM and Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) grants. The PDM program was sunset in FY 2020.

The application period for FEMA’s fiscal year 2020 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants under the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and new Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) programs is now open.

HMA grant applications will be accepted in FEMA GO through 3 pm EST on January 29, 2021.** Applications received by FEMA GO after the deadline will not be considered for funding.

**Applicants may have earlier deadlines for subapplicants. For local governments and state and tribal agencies, please contact your State Hazard Mitigation Officer to learn about the applicant’s priorities, deadlines, and additional requirements.

Find out how to apply for FMA and BRIC. Learn about BRIC and FMA eligibility criteria.

Disclaimer: About "Mitigation Minute"

This series is provided by FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division. The "Mitigation Minute" contains a weekly fact about grants and resources provided across the country to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and does not endorse any non-government organizations, entities or services.

Comments or questions? Contact a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Specialist for your region. Download the FEMA app today for weather alerts, safety tips, and recovery center locations.