FEMA’s pre-disaster BRIC grants fund projects that protect property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure from hazards such as flooding; fund capacity-building activities that help communities scope projects, form partnerships, and implement building codes; and provide communities with direct technical assistance to ensure they can build successful mitigation programs and submit high-quality applications.

	Gives special consideration for small communities
	Allows in-kind services to contribute toward nonfederal cost share requirements
	Supports nature-based solutions

Application cycle: October 16, 2023–February 29, 2024 for states; local governments submit mitigation planning and project applications to their state during the open application cycle, which may occur before the deadline set for states.

Summary: FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program provides funding for public infrastructure projects and mitigation efforts that bolster a community’s flood resilience before a disaster strikes.

Eligible applicants: Eligible states, territories and federally recognized tribal governments can submit applications on behalf of subapplicants for BRIC funding. Subapplicants cannot submit these directly to FEMA; subapplicants must submit them to their applicant for review and submission. Homeowners, business operators and nonprofit organizations cannot apply directly to FEMA; they can be included in a subapplication submitted by an eligible subapplicant.

Eligible activities: FEMA provides the following uses of assistance through the BRIC program:

• Capability and capacity-building (C&CB) activities: Activities that enable recipients to identify mitigation actions and implement projects that reduce risks posed by natural hazards. Eligible activities include project scoping, partnerships, mitigation planning and planning-related activities, and adoption and implementation of  building codes.
• Mitigation projects: Projects designed to increase resilience and public safety, reduce injuries and loss of life, and reduce damage to property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure from flooding. Examples include property acquisition and structure relocation, structure elevation, mitigation reconstruction, dry floodproofing of historic residential structures, dry floodproofing of non-residential structures, generators, and structural and non-structural retrofitting of existing buildings.
• Management costs: Funding to reimburse the recipient for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses associated with a specific mitigation project or C&CB activity.
• Non-financial direct technical assistance: Non-financial assistance to build a community’s capacity and capability to improve its resilience to flooding and ensure stakeholders can build and sustain successful mitigation programs, submit high-quality applications, and implement new and innovative projects that reduce flood risk.

Funding: 

• National Competition Maximum: $701 million.
• Tribal Set-Aside: $50 million. The combined cost of the applicant’s capability- and capacity-building activities under this must not exceed $2 million. Up to $1 million of the Tribal Set-Aside may be used for hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities per applicant.
• 40% of the benefits are prioritized to disadvantaged communities, as referenced in Executive Order (EO) 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, in line with the Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.

Cost share:

• 75% federal / 25% local.
• 90% federal / 10% local, for Economically Disadvantaged Rural Communities, also known as small impoverished communities, defined as communities of 3,000 or fewer individuals with residents having an average per capita annual income not exceeding 80 percent of the national per capita income.
• 100% federal / 0% local, for management costs.
• The nonfederal cost share may consist of cash, donated or third-party in-kind services, materials, or any combination thereof.

Application process: 

• The 2023 application cycle opens on October 16 and closes on February 29, 2024 for states, tribes, and territories. Local governments submit mitigation planning and project applications to their state during the open application cycle. Local governments should contact their State Hazard Mitigation Officer or federally recognized tribal or local government official for more information. Identify your state officer online.
• Eligible Applicants must apply for funding using the FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO), which is now the management system for BRIC.