Fiscal Year 2023 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) | DHS 23 MT 047 00 98

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS 23 MT 047 00 98

The Fiscal Year 2023 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program is a FEMA discretionary grant opportunity (DHS 23 MT 047 00 98; CFDA 97.047) that provides federal funding for hazard mitigation activities. Its core aim is to help communities reduce long-term risk from natural hazards while explicitly accounting for the increasing impacts of climate change. BRIC is designed to support both the kinds of sudden, high-impact disasters people often associate with emergencies (such as severe storms and other extreme weather) and slower, chronic stressors that are becoming more common or intense over time, such as drought, extreme heat, and other climate-driven conditions. The overall focus is on building climate adaptation and resilience in ways that reduce injuries, save lives, protect property, and safeguard critical infrastructure and essential services.

A major theme of BRIC is strengthening local and regional resilience through a mix of planning, capacity-building, and on-the-ground mitigation projects. FEMA frames the program around several guiding principles: helping communities build capability and capacity (so they can plan, manage, and deliver mitigation work more effectively); encouraging innovation, including multi-hazard approaches and nature-based solutions; promoting partnerships; enabling larger, systems-based projects that can create broader resilience benefits; and maintaining flexibility while providing consistent program implementation. In practical terms, this means BRIC is not limited to a single hazard type or a narrow set of project ideas. Instead, it is intended to help communities better understand their risks and vulnerabilities, improve hazard mitigation planning, and develop transformational projects and programs that can hold up under future conditions.

Funding for awards under this opportunity is supported in whole or in part by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), commonly called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). FEMA highlights that this law represents a significant national investment intended to strengthen infrastructure, improve resilience to climate impacts, and expand access to economic and environmental benefits, particularly for disadvantaged communities. The BRIC program sits within that broader federal push by directing resources toward mitigation work that reduces future disaster costs and helps communities withstand and recover from hazards more effectively.

BRIC funding can support three main categories of activities. First are Capability and Capacity-Building (C and CB) activities, which are meant to strengthen the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the workforce and improve a community or jurisdiction's ability to administer mitigation assistance. The opportunity lists several sub-areas within this category, including building codes, partnerships, project scoping, hazard mitigation planning and related planning activities, and other similar efforts that improve readiness to develop and carry out mitigation projects. Second are Hazard Mitigation Projects, which are described as cost-effective actions that increase resilience and public safety by reducing loss of life, injuries, and damage to property and infrastructure, including natural systems. These projects can address a wide range of hazards, such as drought, wildfire, earthquakes, extreme heat, and other impacts linked to climate change. Third are Management Costs, which provide reimbursement for eligible administrative and indirect costs tied to implementing specific mitigation measures or projects. The notice states management costs can be up to 15 percent of the total grant award, with a general split that allows up to 10 percent for the recipient and up to 5 percent for the subrecipient.

Eligible applicants include state governments, U.S. territories, and federally recognized Tribal governments, along with other eligible entities as defined by the program, with an important structural note for local governments: local jurisdictions generally must apply through their state or territory rather than applying directly as the primary applicant. Applications are submitted through FEMA's Grants Outcomes (GO) system at https://go.fema.gov/. The opportunity lists the original closing date as February 29, 2024, and it is administered by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The listing also shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that a single universal maximum is not provided in the summary record and that award sizes may vary based on program rules, available appropriations, and the specific project or activity proposed.

• The Department of Homeland Security - FEMA in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2023 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.047.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.

Apply for DHS 23 MT 047 00 98

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