EmailMe Form - Firewood Bank Assistance: New Applicant Grant

Section 1: Organizational and Contact Information

a. Firewood Bank Name *

b. Firewood Bank Physical Address *

Street Address City State / Province / Region Postal / Zip Code

Firewood Bank Mailing Address

Note: Only fill out if this is different from the physical address above.

Street Address City State / Province / Region Postal / Zip Code

If applicable, we would encourage you to write the traditional name of your firewood bank location and the tribe(s) you serve in your respective language.

c. Phone *

### - ### - ####

d. Email address *

e. Your name *

f. Your Position/Role *

g. Secondary Contact Name
(We like to have more than one name and contact information on record.) *

h. Secondary Contact Phone *

### - ### - ####

i. Secondary Contact Email *

j. Secondary Contact's Position/Role *

k. Describe the organizational structure of your firewood bank (non-profit, government, tribal, faith based, business, or other institution)

Note: All for-profit businesses seeking a firewood bank grant must have a written letter(s) of support from tribe(s) or community partner(s) (e.g. local government, non-profit, faith, tribal committee, etc.) describing their role in the firewood bank. All for-profit businesses must ALSO have either a fiscal sponsor OR a separate bank account in the name of the firewood bank. *

l. Attach a letter(s) of support from community partner(s), if applicable

m. List your main organizational partners, if any.

n. Attach Liability Waiver for volunteers *

All firewood banks must have their volunteers and/or workers sign a liability waiver. (The liability waiver must also include holding Alliance for Green Heat harmless.) This protects you, your firewood bank, and the Alliance for Green Heat, in the event of an accident and helps to educate and warn about potential dangers. Click here to view our sample liability waiver that we encourage you to use (remember to add the name of your firewood bank and/or logo), or you can add the Alliance for Green Heat to the liability form you use.

o. Does your group have liability insurance? If yes, please attach it below.

Note: This is not a requirement, but we do recommend it. *

Yes

No

p. If you do have liability insurance, please list the name of the policy holder.

Attach Insurance Policy

Section 2: Mission and Operations

a. Please describe your mission. Explain why the firewood bank was started and how the bank assists the heating needs in your community. *

b. How long has your firewood bank been distributing firewood? *

c. Approximately how many cords (4' x 4' x 8' stacks) of wood do you deliver/provide each year? *

d. Approximately how many households do you serve each year? *

e. How many volunteers do you have and how do you recruit and manage them? *

f. Do you have paid staff? *

Yes

No

g. If yes, how many paid staff do you have and what are their roles?

h. What does your firewood bank do to get the word out about the firewood that is available? Do you advertise your firewood bank or does your firewood bank have a social media presence? Please share link(s) here or attach a flyer or advertising materials below. *

Attach Advertisement/Promotional Material

i. Do you have a budget from the most recent year showing income and expenses? If so, please attach it below or describe it here.

Attach Recent Budget (optional)

Section 3: Safety

All firewood banks must have a basic safety plan in place including: (1) name of a safety coordinator to oversee training, (2) explanation on how your volunteers and workers are trained, (3) a process by which to ensure that all volunteers and workers are using appropriate PPE, and (4) a filled out and posted Firewood Bank Emergency Information Sheet.

a. Name of Safety Coordinator *

First Last

b. Describe the role of the Safety Coordinator *

c. Which of the following safety equipment do you use at your firewood bank? Check all that apply.

Note: All grant recipients must have the basic safety equipment listed here or purchase them with their grant money.

Boots

Gloves

Eye protection

Ear protection (if using gas powered chainsaw)

Helmet (when using a wood splitter or chainsaw)

Chaps (when using a chainsaw)

First aid kit (All firewood banks must have a kit that meets OSHA Standard 1910.266 Section A. i.e. Logger First Aid)

d. Which of the following does your group have, if any? (Check all that apply)

e. Where do you store your equipment? *

f. Has anyone in your firewood bank been trained or certified in the use of chainsaws? *

Yes

No

g. Name of trained sawyer

First Last

h. Type of training received

i. If no, are you willing to have someone receive free Forest Service chainsaw training?

Note: Travel costs can be included in your budget.

Yes

No

j. Please download the Firewood Bank Emergency Information Sheet template, fill it out, and upload it here. This should be posted at your firewood bank work site. If you have your own version of a Firewood Bank Emergency Information Sheet please upload here. *

Section 4: Air Quality, Health, and Impact

a. When you distribute your wood it is... *

Seasoned

Unseasoned

A mix

b. Do you have a wood shed or a way to cover your wood while seasoning? *

c. Do you have a moisture meter?

Note: All grant recipients must have a moisture meter, or purchase a moisture meter with their grant money, and periodically test wood and record moisture levels. *

Yes

No

d. Describe your system for seasoning your wood and how you will use your moisture meter in the process to help ensure wood that is delivered is sufficiently dry. Click here for a sample moisture content log that can be used at your firewood bank! Or, you can use your own. The important thing is that one is periodically used.

e. Describe where you source your wood. Do you have to buy wood or is it all donated? Do you get any wood already cut and split? *

f. How is the firewood distributed? Is the wood self-serve? If not, how do you decide which households get wood? *

If applicable, attach any form/application/voucher that your firewood bank uses to determine eligibility for firewood.

g. When during the year do you begin and end firewood deliveries (if applicable)?

h. How do you decide how much firewood each household receives? *

Section 5: Financial Requirements

a. Does your firewood bank have a bank account or a fiscal sponsor?

Note: We cannot wire funds to a personal account. *

Yes

No

Name of Fiscal Sponsor (if applicable)

Name of Contact at Fiscal Sponsor (if applicable)

First Last

Email of Fiscal Sponsor Contact (if applicable)

Phone Number of Fiscal Sponsor Contact (if applicable)

### - ### - ####

Name of Bank/Financial Institution *

Name on Bank Account *

b. Do you have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

Note: This is a requirement to receive funds. *

Yes

No

Please list your UEI or the UEI of your fiscal sponsor below.

Note: UEI's are assigned by the federal government (sam.gov) and are a 12 character alphanumeric value. A UEI is required to receive a grant. See our "apply now" page for an explanation on how to obtain a UEI.

Section 6: Grant Request Budget

Submit your grant request budget. Note sliding scale based on the amount of cords your
firewood bank processes.

- Up to $15,000 (over 100 cords)
- Up to $10,000 (51-99 cords)
- Up to $7500 (25-50 cords)
- Up to $5000 (15-24 cords)
- Up to $2500 (5-14 cords)

Examples of eligible expenses include chainsaws, splitters, logs, building materials for firewood sheds or tool sheds, protective equipment, wheelbarrows, and many other items. All grant recipients must have or purchase a moisture meter and have a plan to test and track firewood moisture. Grant funding may also be used to purchase insurance, fuel and transportation expenses and related equipment. First aid kits, moisture meters, and sufficient safety equipment (helmet, chaps, eye protection, gloves, etc.) are required on site, so these items must be added to the budget if they are not already owned by the firewood bank. Products made in the United States are preferred.

Since this is federal money, no single item can cost more than $10,000, and funds cannot be used to cover food, drinks or entertainment. Please let us know what you need, and we can determine if it’s an eligible expense. For each item listed in your budget, please provide a URL link (copy and paste the link for each item into your budget) to the items you plan to purchase. If a local vendor is to be used, please include a copy of the quote from the vendor for the equipment (i.e. chainsaw or splitter) or materials (i.e. lumber for wood shed) to be purchased. Any tax and shipping fees should be calculated separately and included in the total item cost.

Remember, if you forget to include taxes or shipping, you will be required to cover those expenses on your own.

Click here for a sample budget that you may download and use.

Attach Grant Request Budget

Section 7: Reporting requirements

We have created a simple and straightforward reporting process. All groups receiving funding must provide an interim and final report describing how the money was spent and what was achieved. Please note that 80% of funds must be spent (or equipment ordered) within two weeks of receiving the grant funds. Groups will need to provide receipts for their major expenses (items over $250), describe outcomes (e.g. how many cords of wood were delivered etc.) A screenshot showing the completed purchase can serve as a receipt for online purchases.

Section 8: Reasons for Denial

There are not many reasons that your grant application would be rejected. Our goal is to expedite funding to as many firewood banks as possible. If the application is not properly filled out, we will work with firewood banks to get it right, not deny funding.

Section 9: Photos

Please attach a photo of the firewood bank/firewood bank operation to be used for our website to highlight grant recipients. *

This funding is made possible from the USDA Forest Service through section 40803(c)(17) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Section 1: Organizational and Contact Information

Section 2: Mission and Operations

Section 3: Safety

Section 4: Air Quality, Health, and Impact

Section 5: Financial Requirements

Section 6: Grant Request Budget

Section 7: Reporting requirements

Section 8: Reasons for Denial

Section 9: Photos

This funding is made possible from the USDA Forest Service through section 40803(c)(17) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

This funding is made possible from the USDA Forest Service through section 40803(c)(17) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.