Grants & Financial Assistance

Funds for fire departments and non-affiliated EMS organizations to obtain critical equipment (PPE, SCBAs, apparatus, training). Marion County FPDs eligible. Annual cycle, typically opens late winter.

Funds for hiring or retaining firefighters and recruiting volunteer firefighters. Useful for combination/volunteer departments looking to add career staff or boost recruitment.

Funds for fire prevention activities, public education campaigns, smoke alarm installation, and firefighter health & safety research.

Annual operational support for state and local emergency management agencies. Marion County EMA receives EMPG via IEMA. Funds salaries, training, exercises, planning.

Post-disaster funding for projects that reduce future risk — flood buyouts, safe rooms, building retrofits, drainage improvements. Triggered by federal disaster declaration.

Pre-disaster mitigation funding for capability- and capacity-building plus infrastructure projects. Annual cycle. Marion Co eligible for storm-water, levee, retrofit projects.

Funds for design, construction, or renovation of state/local EOCs. Useful if Marion County considers expanding the Marion St EOC facility.

Reimburses local governments for emergency response costs and infrastructure repair after a federally-declared disaster. Triggered by Stafford Act declaration.

Multi-year program funding cybersecurity capability building for state, local, and tribal governments. Marion County eligible via IEMA-led state plan. Use for endpoint protection, MFA rollout, training, IR planning.

State Homeland Security Program funds prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities. Allocated per state by federal formula; counties apply through IEMA.

Funding for nonprofits at risk of terror/targeted-violence attack to harden facilities. Houses of worship, community centers, etc. eligible. Apply via IEMA.

Not a grant — but worth noting. CISA provides free vulnerability scanning, phishing simulation, tabletop exercises, and security advisor consultations to SLTT governments. Same value as a paid service.

Flexible LE funding — equipment, technology, training, drug enforcement, prosecution, victim services. Marion County agencies apply through ICJIA.

Salary & benefits funding to hire/rehire entry-level career officers. Three-year award covering up to 75% of approved costs. Strong fit for sheriff or municipal PDs in Marion Co.

Funding for law enforcement and prosecution response to violence against women. Sheriff, States Attorney, victim services agencies eligible.

Victim of Crime Act funding for victim service programs. Marion County States Attorney victim advocate funded through this stream.

Federal grant program supporting Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) implementation, GIS data, training, and operations. Apply through Illinois Commerce Commission.

First Responder Network Authority — not direct grants but provides discounted communications service plus funding pilots for innovative public safety LTE/5G applications.

Annual cooperative agreement supporting state & local public health preparedness. MCHD receives PHEP via IDPH Region 4 — funds Annexes 5, 19, 20, 24, 28.

Funds healthcare coalitions, hospital surge capacity, mass casualty response, and the IL EMS Region V RHCC deployable assets (referenced in EOP Annexes).

Direct loans, grants, and loan guarantees for essential community facilities in rural areas (≤20,000 population). Eligible: fire/EMS stations, public buildings, hospitals, schools.

Capacity-building grants for nonprofits that help rural communities develop housing, community facilities, or economic development.

Low-interest loans (and some grants) for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Salem and Centralia water/wastewater treatment plants eligible.

Annual grant cycle for small-equipment purchases by fire departments — gear, hose, pumps, training equipment. Most Marion Co FPDs eligible.

Low-interest loans for fire apparatus purchases. Available to local fire protection districts and municipalities.

State-administered share of federal EMPG. Marion County EMA's primary operational grant. Annual application cycle through IEMA.

ICJIA distributes Byrne JAG, VOCA, VAWA, RSAT, and state-funded LE grants. Sheriff, PDs, States Attorney, and victim services apply through ICJIA.

9-1-1 surcharge revenue distributions, NG9-1-1 implementation grants, and ETSB consolidation grants. Marion County ETSB primary IL state funding.

Pass-through of federal PHEP plus Illinois-specific funding for local health departments. MCHD operational support through IDPH.

Rebuild Illinois capital programs — infrastructure, broadband, downtown development, public safety facilities. Multiple competitive grant rounds.

Funds for school resource officer (SRO) training, threat assessment, and school safety drills. Sheriff and municipal PDs eligible to support local schools.

Equipment grants for first responders. AED, rescue tools, training props, gear. Quarterly cycle. Easy-to-prepare application.

Fire prevention education materials, sprinkler programs, arson prevention. Two cycles per year.

Community grants for safety programs — teen driving, fire prevention, disaster preparedness education.

$250–$5,000 community grants. Local Walmart store managers nominate. Disaster relief, food security, emergency preparedness eligible.

Officer wellness, family support, scholarships, and equipment grants for IL law enforcement.

Education and equipment grants for IL fire inspectors and prevention bureaus.

Free entity registration. Required for any federal grant or contract. Allow 2–4 weeks for activation. Annual renewal required.

Single point of submission for most federal grants. Search 1,000+ active opportunities. Requires SAM.gov + UEI first.

Pre-qualification required for any state grant. Annual renewal. Includes financial / compliance reviews.

Single portal for AFG, SAFER, FP&S, EMPG, BRIC, HMGP, EOC, NSGP, and more. Replaces older eGrants & ND Grants systems.

Searchable index of all Illinois state grant programs. Each entry shows eligibility, deadlines, contact agency.

Track who has received federal grants in Marion County. Useful for benchmarking and finding existing funding partners.