Home Resources Tools Funding Readiness Scorecard How ready are you to win resilience funding? Eighteen questions on the things funders check: your hazard mitigation plan, your project’s design and cost, the benefit-cost case, your match, and your capacity to manage a federal grant. You’ll get a score, anything that would stop an application cold, and the fixes worth the most.
For Maryland counties, cities, towns, resilience authorities and the nonprofits that work with them. Built by Council Fire from FEMA, federal grant, MDE, DNR and Chesapeake Bay Trust requirements as of October 29, 2026. A planning aid, not an eligibility ruling. Programs and deadlines: Maryland resilience funding .
Eligibility and plans Is your jurisdiction (or, for a nonprofit, the local government you'd partner with) covered by a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan that its governing body has adopted? Yes, approved and adopted, and it doesn't expire for more than two years Yes, but it expires within the next two years An update is underway, or FEMA found it approvable but we haven't adopted it yet It has expired, we aren't covered, or we're not sure
Does the community where your project sits take part in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and is it in the Community Rating System (CRS)? In the NFIP in good standing, and in the CRS In the NFIP in good standing, but not in the CRS In the NFIP, but on probation, or we're not sure of our standing Not in the NFIP, or suspended
Does your organization have an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID (UEI)? Active registration with a UEI, and someone tracks the yearly renewal Active registration, but no one is tracking when it expires A UEI only, without full registration Lapsed, none, or not sure
For your top project, have you confirmed how you'd apply and talked with the funder's program staff? Yes: we're an eligible applicant (or have a local government sponsor) and have discussed the project with program staff We know the application path but haven't talked with program staff We're a nonprofit or an authority and haven't confirmed eligibility or a sponsor We're not sure where to start
Project pipeline Is your top project named in an adopted plan, such as your hazard mitigation plan's actions, your capital improvement program or a comprehensive flood management plan? Named in our hazard mitigation plan and in another adopted plan or capital program Named in one adopted plan Not named, but it clearly serves our hazard mitigation plan's goals and the risks it identifies Not in or tied to any adopted plan
How far along is the design of your top project? 90% or more: drawings and specifications ready for permits and bidding Preliminary design, past 30% Conceptual design, up to about 30% An idea or a study recommendation, with no design yet
Do you have a written scope, a dated cost estimate that shows how it was built, and a record of the alternatives you considered? Yes, all three A scope and cost estimate, but the alternatives aren't documented Only a rough cost figure None yet
Do you control the project site, and is it settled who will maintain the project and with what money? Both: we own the site or have signed landowner agreements, and maintenance is assigned and budgeted One of the two is settled Neither is settled yet
Benefit-cost and environmental readiness What evidence do you have of the problem your project fixes and how much it reduces the risk? Dated loss records (claims, repair costs, closures, photos) plus an engineering analysis, such as flood modeling, of the risk reduction Dated loss records, but no engineering analysis yet Photos and stories, mostly undated Nothing documented
Can you show the project is cost-effective in the terms your target funder uses? Yes: a current FEMA benefit-cost analysis at 7% with a ratio of 1.0 or more, a FEMA streamlined method, or our funder's own measure We have one, but it used the old 3.1% discount rate or outdated costs Only a rough comparison of benefits and costs Not started
Where do environmental, historic preservation and permit reviews stand for your top project? We've listed every permit and review it needs, gathered the environmental information and met with regulators We know which permits and reviews apply, but haven't started on them We haven't looked yet Construction or ground disturbance has already started on the part we want funded
Grant management capacity Do your written procurement procedures meet the federal standards in 2 CFR 200.317–200.327, and were your consultants hired under them? Yes: checked against 2 CFR 200 (including the thresholds in effect since October 1, 2025), with written conflict-of-interest rules, and consultants hired competitively We have written procedures, but haven't checked them against the federal standards Our grant writer or engineer was hired outside these rules, or expects to design or build the project No written procurement procedures
Can your finance system track each grant separately and compare spending with budget, and how did your last audit go? Grant-level tracking in our finance system, and our last audit had no findings on grants Grant-level tracking, but recent audit findings or a late single audit We track grants in spreadsheets outside the finance system No grant-level tracking
Who would manage the award day to day, including quarterly reports, reimbursement requests and closeout? A named grants manager who has run a federal award before Staff with state or foundation grant experience only We'd hire or contract someone after the award No one is assigned
See my score 0 of 18 answered
Sources FEMA, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide, Version 2.1 (effective January 20, 2025) FEMA, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide page (Version 2.1 is current; page updated July 30, 2025) FEMA, Fiscal Year 2026 Flood Mitigation Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity (applications due February 26, 2027) FEMA, Fiscal Year 2024 & 2025 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Notice of Funding Opportunity FEMA, Fiscal Year 2026 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Congressionally Directed Spending fact sheet (June 2026) FEMA, Benefit-Cost Analysis (page updated October 29, 2026) FEMA, News and Notes About Benefit-Cost Analysis (7% discount rate, June 17, 2025; BCA Toolkit update, October 1, 2026) FEMA, Complete a Streamlined Benefit-Cost Analysis (pre-calculated benefits effective April 8, 2025) FEMA, State Hazard Mitigation Officers (Maryland: Maryland Department of Emergency Management) eCFR, 44 CFR 201.6, Local mitigation plans eCFR, 44 CFR 206.434, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program eligibility eCFR, 44 CFR 206.436, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application procedures eCFR, 2 CFR 200.1, Definitions (micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds) eCFR, 2 CFR 200.302, Financial management eCFR, 2 CFR 200.318, General procurement standards eCFR, 2 CFR 200.319, Competition eCFR, 2 CFR 200.320, Procurement methods eCFR, 2 CFR 200.332, Pass-through entity duties, including subrecipient risk review eCFR, 2 CFR 200.501, Audit requirements (single audit at $1,000,000 in federal expenditures) eCFR, 2 CFR 25.200, SAM.gov registration and UEI for applicants eCFR, 2 CFR 25.300, UEI required before a pass-through entity makes a subaward Federal Register, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds (FAC 2025-06, effective October 1, 2025) SAM.gov, Entity Registration U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration, FY 2024–2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (FHWA-PROT-26-001) National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Coastal Resilience Fund 2026 Request for Proposals Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Grants Gateway Calendar Year 2027/Fiscal Year 2028 Project Solicitation (issued July 15, 2026) Maryland Department of the Environment, Comprehensive Flood Management Grant Program Maryland Department of the Environment, Comprehensive Flood Management Grant Program application for state FY 2024 (latest form posted) Maryland Code, Environment § 5-803 (Comprehensive Flood Management Grant Program) Maryland Code, Environment § 1-701 (overburdened and underserved community definitions) Maryland Department of the Environment, MDEnviroScreen Tool Documentation, Version 3 (file dated June 20, 2025) Maryland Department of Emergency Management, Resilient Maryland Revolving Loan Fund Maryland Department of Emergency Management, Hazard Mitigation Chesapeake Bay Trust, FY27 Watershed Assistance Grant Program Request for Proposals Chesapeake Bay Trust, FY27 Outreach and Restoration Grant Program Request for Proposals