Federal grant programs / Department of Homeland Security

Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (97.024)

Also known as (EFSP)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.5 billion
• Grant awards9
• Typical award$118 million
• Awarded in FY 2025-$135 million
• Size rank210 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• It is the 210th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• Awards went to recipients in 1 states and territories.

What the program funds

This program does not accept unsolicited proposals; the only eligible applicant to FEMA for EFSP funds is the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board. EFSP funding is sub-awarded by the National Board to supplement the on-going efforts of local service organizations to provide emergency food and shelter to those in need. The goal and objective of the program is to assist those experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, hunger and/or homelessness. Program funds support the National Preparedness Goal (NPG) by complementing actions undertaken to achieve an “all-of-Nation preparedness approach that optimizes the use of available resources.” When a disaster strikes, it is often the poor or those with economic vulnerabilities who suffer the most. By providing emergency economic assistance that keeps people off the streets, from being evicted from their homes, or with groceries to prevent hunger, the EFSP prepares a population that could otherwise be even more adversely impacted by a disaster situation and mitigates potential burdens imposed on recovery efforts to assist such people. For additional details on the NPG, please refer to http://www.fema.gov/pdf/prepared/npg.pdf. FYs 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 supplemental program funding was provided to EFSP for humanitarian relief, such as shelter and other services to migrant families and individuals encountered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

The only eligible applicant to FEMA for EFSP funds is the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board. EFSP funding is sub-awarded by the National Board to supplement the on-going efforts of local service organizations to provide emergency food and shelter to those in need.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Food and related expenses (such as transporting food/food preparation and serving equipment); mass shelter; other shelter (such as hotels and motels); and rent/mortgage and/or utility assistance limited to one month. Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFSP) funds cannot be used for: security deposits of any kind, cash payments of any kind, lobbying efforts, salaries (except as administrative allowance and limited to that total allowance of 2 percent of total award where provided by Local Boards), purchases or improvements of an individual's private property, telephone costs, repairs to government-owned or profit-making facilities and any payments for services not incurred. For a complete listing on eligible and ineligible costs under this program, refer to the Responsibilities and Requirements Manual of the current Phase (fiscal year) issued by the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board. See www.efsp.unitedway.org. Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFSP) funds cannot be used for: security deposits of any kind, cash payments of any kind, lobbying efforts, salaries (except as administrative allowance and limited to that total allowance of 2 percent of total award where provided by Local Boards), purchases or improvements of an individual's private property, telephone costs, repairs to government-owned or profit-making facilities and any payments for services not incurred.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines

Award range and average, in the agency's words

The authorizing legislation for EFSP requires FEMA to award appropriated funds in their entirety to the EFSP National Board. The National Board determines which jurisdictions have the highest need for EFSP funding by using a formula based on unemployment and poverty statistics to determine allocations to counties and cities. Refer to program guidance.www.efsp.unitedway.org

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2019: Services provided: Food in the form of served meals or groceries; Lodging in a mass shelter or hotel; One month's rent, mortgage, and/or utility bill payment; Transportation costs associated with the provision of food or shelter; Minimal repairs to mass feeding or sheltering facilities for building code violations or for handicapped accessibility; and Supplies and equipment necessary to feed or shelter people, up to a $300 limit per item. Examples of funded programs: A meals program of a local social service organization assisting veterans with mental and behavioral health issues that provided 87,000 meals; a local social service organization that provided 10,296 nights of shelter to women and children who have experienced domestic violence..Fiscal Year2021: Served meals and rent/mortgage programs of a local social service organization providing an estimated 5,000 meals and 100 separate one-month rent/mortgage payments, respectively; a mass shelter program of a local social service organization providing an estimated 9,730 nights of lodging.Fiscal Year2022: Project examples include: One local social service organization provided an estimated 5,000 meals and 100 separate one-month rent/mortgage payments; another service organization provided an estimated 9,730 nights of lodging.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.