FEMA announces $1B in federal funding to help states mitigate disaster impact

BOTHELL, Wash. (KTVZ) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Thursday it has opened applications for $1 billion in federal funding through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The initiative provides grants to states, local governments, territories and Tribal Nations to protect communities from disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.

Known as BRIC, the program is designed to empower local leaders to take proactive steps to protect private property and strengthen infrastructure. The funding for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years aims to reduce the long-term costs of future disasters and save lives through hazard mitigation projects. Here are some specific initiatives of the BRIC program:

• Prioritize infrastructure resilience by funding construction projects that are ready to implement and incentivizing the adoption of the latest hazard-resistant building codes. This is a proven strategy to protect communities and reduce future disaster losses.
• Move money faster by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system, and removing subapplication scoring by the National Review Panel. This will enable community leaders to take swift, decisive action to bolster their resilience to disasters.
• Shift responsibility and authority to states, territories and Tribal Nations by removing funding for hazard mitigation planning and non-financial direct technical assistance provisions. The program now maximizes state and local responsibility for resilience and risk reduction rather than federal investing in a wide range of activities.

Karen S. Evans serves as the senior official performing the duties of the FEMA administrator. Evans stated that the program was originally signed into law by President Trump and has been updated to reduce federal overreach.

"When done correctly, mitigation activities save lives and reduce the cost of future disasters," Evans said. "That's why President Trump signed the BRIC program into law during his first administration. Under his leadership once again, the program is now even better. For this new funding opportunity, FEMA has reduced bureaucratic hurdles, focused funding on major infrastructure projects and shifted responsibilities to the states, reducing federal overreach. We are confident that this new and improved BRIC program will deliver results and make America safer."

Below are the available categories for the Fiscal Years 2024-25 funding cycle:

• $112 million for states and territories (up to $2 million federal cost share for each applicant)
• $50 million Tribal Set-Aside (up to $2 million federal cost share for each applicant)
• $56 million for State or Territory Building Code Plus-Up (up to $1 million federal cost share per applicant)
• $25 million for Tribal Nation Building Code Plus-Up to carry out eligible building code adoption and enforcement activities
• $757 million for National Competition (up to $20 million federal cost share per subapplication)

Eligible applicants for the funding include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized Tribal Nations. Local governments, special districts and individual communities may apply as subapplicants through their respective state or territory. FEMA has implemented a funding cap stating that no single applicant may receive more than 15% of the total available funding across all BRIC categories.

The application period is currently open and will be open for 120 days. The deadline for states, territories and Tribal Nations to submit their applications is July 23rd, 2026. Interested applicants can review the full Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov or contact their FEMA Regional Office for more information.