IFA to receive Safer Grant
Greetings Fellow Firefighters - Unfortunately the cold winter months are among us. As we all know flu
cases will continue to rise through the cold months ahead. Please do your part to keep you and your family healthy.
I have some great news to share with you all. The IFA has been granted a SAFER Grant. This grant is in the amount of $1,489,500 (available thru 2028). It will be used to aid all IFA member departments with recruitment and retention. As leaders of our respective departments, we know there are many challenges that the fire service is facing more and more every year. The categories outlined with this grant were: Social changes, economic challenges and the public perception of the fire service.
-Social changes include a general migration to urban areas. The fire service used to be a family tradition when families stayed in the same town for generations. Some Millennials and Gen Z have moved to the city, and to have a different value system than the generations that went before. Social media use is at an all-time high with many platforms available to virtually everyone. Communities are no longer made in person; communities have become digital.
-The economic challenges for fire departments in recruiting new members are caused by the ever-shrinking department budget. Our volunteer and combination departments are constantly being asked to do more with less, and the increasing price of equipment and safety gear is preventing many departments from bringing on new members. They cannot bring on new members when they cannot afford to provide them with safety gear, or a pre employment physical. The result is that physicals are waived, new members wear very old turnouts, or they simply are not brought on at all.
-The public perception of the fire department across the United States is very unclear. There is a complete disconnect between what people believe about their local fire department and the truth of the situation means that people simply never inquire about volunteer opportunities. In Iowa, 97.6% of fire departments utilize volunteers. Only 6.4% of those living in the Midwest are aware of the need for volunteer firefighters, and another 17.7% believe that none are needed. A staggering 75.9% simply don’t know. Because over 90% of our citizens believe that we do not need volunteers, they are not coming forward. This public perception of the fire service is preventing recruiting of new members.
Our goal for the use of this grant is to target the just stated issues we face. The methods used will be an advertising campaign and website, and the removal of the financial obstacles for fire departments. This website will be at the center of our marketing campaign, as it will house information, videos, a department referral service, and recruiting and retention materials and articles for fire departments. The referral service will allow potential recruits to enter their name, address, e-mail, and cell phone, and then be matched with a fire department seeking volunteers. The departments will receive notification they have an interested recruit and contact information for the potential volunteer firefighter. The website will also have downloadable and customizable recruitment artwork for items the departments need for their own recruiting campaign. They can select banners, posters, flyers, and interest cards, put in their department name and contact information, then download this artwork to be printed locally. They will be able to apply to IFA to have their printing costs reimbursed, removing the financial obstacle to having a professionally designed recruiting campaign.
In addition to the website, we will hire a media company to produce a recruiting and retention video for the entire state of Iowa. This video will be available in various lengths to use as a PSA, to upload to our website and social media, and to use in our Over the Top Marketing campaign. This marketing allows us to target the 18-35 year-olds where they are, online. Our video will appear on their Internet devices including laptops, tablets, and cell phones when there is an ad. By targeting this key demographic for recruiting we will make the most of our advertising dollars.
Finally, we will remove the economic obstruction to recruiting by providing reimbursement for turnouts and NFPA 1582 physicals. By providing this funding to fire departments, they will have a far greater ability to bring on new numbers.
To address issues with retention, we will utilize our website to post articles and information on retention best practices. We will also provide an incentive for our current volunteers to stay with their department in the form of a scholarship program. This program will provide 20 scholarships of $5,000 each year of the grant to a member of 5 years or more, or their child, for continuing education.
By the time you are reading this, we should have the first stages of the grant completed. We will continue to update the members when we finalize each step and the benefits become available to our members.
As the legislative session approaches, we strongly encourage you to reach out to your local state representatives. We are wanting to try something different this year. We would like to invite any member to join our “Legislative Action Team”. This will be groups of dedicated volunteers working together to advocate for the policies that support Iowa’s volunteer fire departments. As a part of this team, you’ll have the opportunity to help shape the key legislation, like establishing a Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) to provide retirement benefits for long-serving volunteers. Advocating is simple and impactful. The team will keep you informed on legislative priorities, provide tools to reach out to lawmakers, and support you in sharing your story to amplify our message. If this is something you would be interested in helping us with, please contact the IFA office or any board member.
Reminder to all that this December issue will be the last printed newsletter. We will be moving to a digital form of the paper in January 2025. We will have updates on how to view the digital newsletter on the IFA website.
On Jan. 4th, the board will meet to go through the budget. Each line item will be discussed to see if there is anything we can reduce. Our next board meeting will be on Jan. 5th. The board meeting will be at the Eldora Fire Station at 9 am.
I will end with saying I hope you and your families remain safe and healthy through the holidays. Merry Christmas to you all!
Respectfully,
Aaron Clemons,
IFA President