FEMA Makes Federal Disaster Declaration Funds Available

ST. PETERSBURG, FL--(Marketwired - September 08, 2015) - Since August 21, 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued five federal disaster declarations. With each comes the opportunity to qualify for and receive grants worth up to thousands of dollars -- but only if your business is registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Registration qualifies you to accept no-bid, government, and/or FEMA contracts of any kind. For example, in providing federal funds to offset firefighting costs for the Tepee Springs fire in Idaho County, Idaho, FEMA will fund up to 75 percent of eligible costs related to expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair, and replacement; mobilization and demobilization activities; and tools, materials, and supplies.

Why SAM? In 2014, the federal government spent more than $400 billion, and it is required to set aside 23 percent of all contracting dollars -- such as the money FEMA will spent in Idaho County to offset costs associated with the Tepee Springs fire -- exclusively for small businesses.

Along with completing the standard SAM registration available at https://www.uscontractorregistration.com/sam-registration/, you should:

• Complete the “optional” Disaster Response Registry portion, which helps FEMA quickly identify contractors able to remove debris, distribute supplies, provide other emergency/disaster relief services, and who are available for reconstruction projects, and
• Complete FEMA’s Debris Removal Contractor Registry, if your business provides debris-removal services, which helps state and local governments identify and contact such vendors

You also must complete a FEMA Vendor Profile Form.

Your business is eligible to bid on and win contracts from FEMA or other government agencies only after completing these different registrations and presenting the correct information about yourself and your business to procurement officers. This is an often time-consuming and difficult process -- which is where industry-best U.S. Federal Contractor Registration (USFCR) comes in.

It will register and market your business to officers who procure for government agencies, including FEMA. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It:

• Completes a business’s SAM registration
• Completes a business’s DUNS registration
• Migrate date from the defunct CCR and ORCA registrations to the SAM system (if necessary)
• Completes government agency- and FEMA-specific registrations (for non-profit and for-profit companies, respectively)
• Completes Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) business profile
• Registers a business to receive daily bid notifications from FBO.gov
• Develops and makes available marketing materials, including federal procurement contacts

For more information about getting registered and to begin the process to become eligible to bid on and receive government, FEMA, and no-bid contracts, call USFCR at 877-252-2700 or e-mail placement@usfcrgov.com. You also can visit USFCR online at uscontractorregistration.com.

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