Emergency Services Grant

The Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation provides the Emergency Services Grant to support volunteer fire departments and the critical role they play in protecting communities. The grant is geographically focused on volunteer fire departments serving specified counties in Texas and Oklahoma. The program provides support for equipment and resources associated with firefighting, emergency response, first responder activities, and related medical needs. Eligible funding areas include personal protective equipment such as bunker gear and breathing apparatus; communication devices such as radios and pagers; truck parts such as tires, windshields, transmissions, and brakes; fire equipment such as pumps, nozzles, and hoses; miscellaneous equipment such as jaws of life and chainsaws; first responder equipment; and medical equipment and supplies. Truck matches may also be supported when funding is available. For truck matches, the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation states that it will award 10 percent of a truck match up to $20,000. The source does not provide a general minimum or maximum award amount for the Emergency Services Grant. Certain requests are expressly excluded from consideration. The Foundation will not consider requests for buildings or building acquisitions, nor will it consider requests involving equipment losses covered by insurance. No general applicant cost-share or matching requirement is stated for the Emergency Services Grant. The truck-match provision is treated as a specific eligible funding mechanism rather than a universal matching requirement imposed on applicants. The grant is available to volunteer fire departments within designated counties in Texas and Oklahoma. Eligible Texas counties are Archer, Baylor, Childress, Clay, Cottle, Foard, Haskell, Hardeman, Jack, King, Knox, Montague, Stonewall, Throckmorton, Young, Wilbarger, Wise, and Wichita. Eligible Oklahoma counties are Comanche, Cotton, Jackson, Jefferson, Stephens, and Tillman. A volunteer fire department may apply one time during a 12-month period. If a volunteer fire department covers more than 50 percent of its county, it may apply twice during a 12-month period. The source does not specify a required legal entity classification or tax status for eligible volunteer fire departments. Applications must be submitted through the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation Grant Portal, and paper applications are not accepted. Applicants using the system for the first time must create an account in the Grant Portal. After an account is established, the applicant dashboard provides access to contact information, the application process, application drafts, submitted applications, and required post-grant evaluation reports and/or receipts. The Foundation also provides a Grant Application Tutorial for applicants with questions about the application process and recommends using the most current browser version, preferably Chrome, rather than Internet Explorer. The Emergency Services Grant operates through Spring and Fall application cycles. The Spring Cycle application period is February 1 through March 31, and the Fall Cycle application period is August 1 through September 30. Based on the September 1, 2026 analysis date, the Fall Cycle is currently within its stated application window. Awards are typically presented in the last month of the quarter following the application cycle. Awards are made by ACH Direct Deposit. Applicants that are not set up for ACH deposit should contact the Foundation office to begin the process after submitting an application. Questions may be directed to Savannah Morales at 940.766.0829 or grants@wfacf.org. The provided source does not state formal evaluation or scoring criteria, an overall award floor or ceiling, total program funding, the expected number of awards, or a defined grant performance period. It also does not identify a letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating requirement for the Emergency Services Grant.

Submit through the WFACF Grant Portal and not by paper; use the most current browser version, preferably Chrome, and do not use Internet Explorer; request only eligible equipment or supplies; do not request buildings/building acquisitions or equipment losses covered by insurance