Fiscal Year 2024 Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund Program | DHS 24 STORM 139 00 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS 24 STORM 139 00 01

The Fiscal Year 2024 Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund Program (often shortened to the Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF or STORM RLF) is a FEMA grant opportunity designed to help states, federally recognized tribal governments, and certain other eligible entities build long-term financing capacity for hazard mitigation. Instead of funding individual projects directly the way many traditional grants do, FEMA provides capitalization grants that recipients use to create and seed a revolving loan fund at the entity level. That loan fund is then used to make direct loans to local governments for mitigation projects. As loans are repaid, the money revolves back into the fund and can be loaned again, creating an ongoing source of mitigation financing rather than a one-time grant award.

The central purpose is to reduce risk from natural hazards and disasters by financing activities that prevent or lessen damage before events occur. The program is intentionally broad in the hazards it targets, covering drought, extreme heat, severe storms (including hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, cyclones, and severe winter storms), wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural hazards. Eligible uses include construction, improvement, or modification of both natural and built infrastructure to increase resilience and lower the chance of harm. In practical terms, that can mean projects that strengthen critical facilities, reduce flood impacts, improve wildfire resilience, address heat risk, or otherwise harden communities against the types of disasters that repeatedly drive losses.

A key design feature is that the entity receiving the FEMA capitalization grant is responsible for administering the revolving loan fund both programmatically and financially. In other words, FEMA is not running the day-to-day lending; the state, tribe, or other eligible entity sets up and manages its own "entity loan fund," makes loans to local governments, and oversees repayment and compliance. FEMA still plays an oversight role: it monitors performance during the grant period through reporting requirements, and it continues monitoring even after the capitalization grant is closed out. Post-closeout oversight includes biennial audits and additional reporting, and FEMA has statutory authority under 42 U.S.C. 5135(h)(3)(C) to recommend or require changes if adjustments are needed to improve the effectiveness of the funds.

This opportunity is authorized under 42 U.S.C. Section 5135 and funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Because BIL funding must be awarded across multiple Notices of Funding Opportunity over a five-year period, the FY 2024 notice is part of a multi-year rollout rather than a single standalone competition. The program is also explicitly tied to broader federal resilience priorities, including the 2020-2024 DHS Strategic Plan under Goal 5 (Strengthen Preparedness and Resilience). More specifically, it supports Objective 5.1 (Build a National Culture of Preparedness), with an emphasis on incentivizing investments that reduce risk and expand pre-disaster mitigation. The description also highlights the connection to climate-related risks and the idea that mitigation investments today can reduce future disaster impacts, especially on infrastructure.

Another important theme is flexibility compared with FEMA's more familiar Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. FEMA frames the revolving loan model as a complement and supplement to HMA because a loan fund can be structured to meet local financing gaps that grants do not always cover. For example, entity loan funds can help local governments pay non-federal match requirements for other grants, cover upfront design and engineering costs before a project is fully grant-ready, or finance smaller projects that might not compete well in larger national programs. The notice also signals that loan funds may be used for projects that do not meet cost-effectiveness requirements that apply in some other FEMA programs, giving communities another pathway to invest in resilience when traditional grant criteria are a barrier.

Equity and support for underserved communities are part of the stated rationale. FEMA notes that by prioritizing resilience and reducing harm to built infrastructure, the program can benefit underserved communities that may face heightened risk due to existing hazards and climate change-related impacts. While the program is structured around loans to local governments, the intent is that better local mitigation capacity ultimately reduces losses and improves safety and continuity of services for residents, including those in communities that have historically been under-resourced.

From the funding and administrative details provided, the opportunity is a discretionary program (Funding Opportunity Number DHS 24 STORM 139 00 01) administered by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under CFDA/Assistance Listing 97.139. The expected number of awards is 10, and the maximum award ceiling listed is $150,000,000. The original application closing date shown is May 30, 2024. Eligible applicants explicitly include state governments and federally recognized Native American tribal governments, with "others" also indicated, and the description references territories as well.

In summary, the FY 2024 Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF program is about building durable, locally controlled mitigation financing: FEMA supplies capitalization funding, recipients create and run revolving loan funds, and local governments receive loans to complete hazard mitigation projects that reduce future disaster impacts. The approach is meant to expand the menu of ways communities can pay for resilience work, fill common funding gaps, and support long-term adaptation to natural hazards and climate-driven risk.

• The Department of Homeland Security - FEMA in the community development, natural resources, other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2024 Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.139.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.

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