Helene Flood Info: Damaged Houses of Worship

The Stafford Act has been revised to make Houses of Worship, like other community, volunteer, and private nonprofit organizations, eligible to apply for potential funding to help with certain disaster-related costs under FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program.

What is the Public Assistance grant program?

• Public Assistance (PA) reimburses state, tribal, territorial, and local governments, and certain types of private nonprofit (PNP) organizations.
• PA grants help pay for efforts to protect people and property, clean up neighborhoods, and repair roads and bridges.
• The Public Assistance program is funded by FEMA and administered by North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM).

Eligibility requirements for Houses of Worship

• Provide a current ruling letter from the IRS granting tax exemption under Section 501 (c) (d) or (e) of the IRS Code of 1954, or through the North Carolina Secretary of State.
• Be owned or operated by a private nonprofit (PNP) organization.
• Have facilities that sustained damage caused by the declared incident in North Carolina.
• Have either not received funding or received insufficient funding after applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan.

SBA disaster loans are a critical part of the application process

For PNPs, including Houses of Worship, FEMA may only provide Public Assistance funding for eligible Permanent Work costs that an SBA disaster loan will not cover.

• Under the Stafford Act, PNP facilities including Houses of Worship, must apply to the SBA for a low-interest disaster loan for permanent repair work.
• FEMA will provide financial assistance only if the House of Worship is denied an SBA loan – or if the loan authorized is insufficient to cover repair costs.
• Link to SBA Disaster Assistance: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide (PAPPG)

• Combines all Public Assistance Policy into a single volume and provides an overview of the PA program implementation process with links to other publications and documents that provide additional process details.
• Disasters that occur this year will fall under June 2020 guidance (PAPPG v4)
• Pay attention to updates: Houses of Worship as eligible applicants and updated Debris Removal requirements
• Link to the PAPPG along with all other forms can be found at the NCEM Public Assistance website: https://www.ncdps.gov/public-assistance

Section 422

• As part of Section 422 FEMA has implemented a regulatory change to increase the small project maximum for the agency’s Public Assistance program. The FY24 threshold is $1,037,000.
• The FY24 threshold applies to all projects under major disasters and emergencies declared between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024.