EMPG Grant: $337M for State, Local and Tribal Emergency Management (FY 2026)

FEMA's Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program is the federal government's single largest source of operating support for state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies — and the FY 2026 NOFO opens $337.25 million for the year. Unlike most federal grants, EMPG is non-competitive: FEMA allocates funds to all 56 states and territories using a statutory population-based formula. The work isn't winning a competition — it's building a Work Plan your FEMA Regional Administrator will approve.

What Is the EMPG Program?

The Emergency Management Performance Grant Program focuses on all-hazards emergency preparedness. Its goal is to help state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies implement the National Preparedness System and support the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation.

EMPG funds the work that keeps emergency management offices running between disasters: emergency operations planning, exercise programs, training, communications and warning systems, hazard mitigation planning, public outreach, and the salaries of the emergency managers who do all of that. Unlike disaster recovery grants that activate after an incident, EMPG is steady-state operating support for the agencies that have to be ready before the next event.

Because EMPG is a noncompetitive, formula-allocated program, the question for each state is not "did we beat the others?" but "did we build a Work Plan our FEMA Regional Administrator can approve, and did we close real capability gaps with it?"

Who Can Apply — and How Local Governments Fit In

This is the part most local emergency managers need to understand clearly. Only state-level entities apply directly to FEMA for EMPG. Specifically:

• The State Administrative Agency (SAA), or
• The State Emergency Management Agency (EMA),

is eligible to apply on behalf of each state or territory. Each state designates which of the two will serve as the EMPG grantee, and only one application will be accepted per state or territory. The 56 expected awards correspond to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five eligible territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

How Counties, Cities, and Tribes Get Funded

EMPG funding reaches local and tribal emergency management agencies as state pass-through subawards. The NOFO is explicit on this: each state or territory must obligate 100% of its EMPG allocation to the designated state-level EMA. If the SAA is a separate agency, all EMPG funds must be obligated to the EMA within 15 days of the grant award date. From there, the state EMA distributes funding to local and tribal subapplicants based on its own internal process and priorities.

For most county and city emergency management offices, this pass-through is the single largest line item in their operating budget. If you are a local emergency manager, your engagement with EMPG looks like this:

• Coordinate with your State EMA on the state's FY 2026 EMPG Work Plan — particularly how your jurisdiction's projects and capability needs are reflected.
• Submit your local Work Plan, budget, and required deliverables through your state's process.
• Maintain your 50% non-federal match through documented local staff time, volunteer hours, and cash contributions.
• Track and report on performance against the state's EMPG metrics on a quarterly basis.

Subapplicant Requirements

The FY 2026 NOFO adds specific requirements for subapplicants: they must submit short bios and resumes for organizational leadership and board members (with names and addresses), and resumes are subject to FEMA approval. Subapplicants should also not include foreign nationals or noncitizens; if they do, they must be properly vetted and the subapplicant must adhere to "staff American, stay in America" and applicable security requirements.

What EMPG Can Fund: The POETE Framework

The NOFO requires that allowable costs fall into the five categories of the POETE framework:

• Planning: Emergency Operations Plans, Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP), Hazard Mitigation Plans, Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (THIRA), Stakeholder Preparedness Reviews (SPR), and other deliberate planning products.
• Organization: Personnel costs — salaries and benefits — for emergency management staff who advance the National Preparedness System.
• Equipment: Communications, warning systems (including IPAWS-related equipment), and other equipment that supports preparedness functions.
• Training: NIMS and ICS courses, exercise design training, position-specific training, and other capability-building instruction.
• Exercises: HSEEP-aligned discussion-based and operations-based exercises — including public alert and warning exercises through IPAWS.

For costs that don't clearly fit a POETE category, the NOFO directs recipients to consult their Regional EMPG Program Manager and the Preparedness Grants Manual.

What EMPG Cannot Fund

This list often surprises new EMPG users. Grant funds may not be used for:

• Sworn public safety officers whose primary job responsibilities are law enforcement, firefighting, EMS, or other first responder duties. EMPG funds emergency management personnel, not first responders. (For first responder funding, see the SAFER, AFG, or Byrne JAG programs.)
• Costs that supplant traditional public safety positions and responsibilities
• Firearms, ammunition, grenade launchers, bayonets, or weaponized aircraft, vessels, or vehicles
• Weapons systems and ammunition expenditures
• Clothing used for everyday wear by emergency management employees
• Activities and projects unrelated to EMPG implementation

The NOFO also notes that pre-award costs are not allowed — any work performed before the federal award date is at the applicant's own risk and cannot be charged to the grant.

FY 2026 National Priorities and Required Capabilities

When developing state and territory priorities, applicants are directed to consider these FY 2026 national priorities:

• Extreme Weather Resilience
• Readiness

State and territory priorities should also be primarily driven by the THIRA/SPR process, with input from after-action reports, audit findings, hazard mitigation plans, and other deliberate planning products. Through a collaborative process with the FEMA Regional Administrator, each recipient should reach consensus on three-to-five priorities to focus on in its Work Plan.

FY 2026 Cross-Cutting Requirements

Beyond the POETE categories, the FY 2026 NOFO imposes several specific requirements that should shape your Work Plan:

• NIMS Implementation & Phase 3 NQS: All recipients in the 50 states and DC must work toward achieving the Phase 3 National Qualification System (NQS) implementation objectives, including issuing Position Task Books to designated incident workforce personnel.
• Public Alert and Warning Preparedness (IPAWS): EMPG-funded exercises must include objectives centered on practicing and validating procedures for sending emergency alerts through the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
• EMAC Membership: Recipients must belong to, be located in, or act as an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) temporary member state (American Samoa and CNMI are exempt). EMPG-supported assets must be readily deployable under existing EMAC agreements where applicable.
• Government Continuity Capabilities Planning: Recipients are expected to develop continuity plans for the assured performance of essential government functions, consistent with the FEMA Continuity Guidance Circular.

Cost Share: The 50% Match

EMPG carries a 50% non-federal cost share under sections 611(j) and 613(a) of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 5121 et seq.). For every federal dollar received, the recipient (and ultimately local subrecipients) must provide a matching dollar of non-federal contribution. The federal share applied to the EMPG budget cannot exceed 50% of the total approved budget.

The match can be either cash (hard match) or third-party in-kind (soft match), and most jurisdictions meet it primarily through in-kind contributions:

• Documented salaries and fringe of state and local emergency management personnel not paid with federal funds
• Volunteer hours for CERT, auxiliary communications, and similar programs (valued per FEMA guidance)
• Donated goods, facilities use, and contracted services
• Direct cash contributions from state, county, or municipal general funds

Unless otherwise authorized by law, federal funds cannot be used to match other federal funds. Contributions must be verifiable, reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary, in compliance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.306. Carefully documenting match is one of the most common pain points in EMPG administration — build the tracking system in from day one.

Insular Area Match Waiver

Per 48 U.S.C. § 1469a, the cost-match requirement is waived for the insular areas of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Management and Administration (M&A) Costs

The FY 2026 NOFO allows specific M&A retention amounts that local emergency managers should know about:

• A state or territory EMA may use up to 5% of the EMPG award for M&A purposes.
• Local EMAs may retain and use up to 5% of the amount they receive from the state for local M&A.
• If the SAA is not also the state-level EMA, the SAA is not eligible to retain funds for M&A costs.

M&A activities are direct costs related to managing and administering the EMPG award — grants management training, financial monitoring, audit costs, M&A staff travel, and similar expenses. Note that the salaries of state and local emergency managers are not typically categorized as M&A unless the EMA assigns those personnel to specific M&A activities.

The Work Plan and Regional Administrator Approval

All EMPG applicants must develop and submit a Work Plan using the FY 2026 EMPG Program Work Plan Template (available on Grants.gov). The Work Plan outlines the state or territory's emergency management sustainment and enhancement efforts — new and ongoing activities and projects — proposed for the EMPG period of performance.

Application evaluation focuses on the Work Plan. Because EMPG is noncompetitive, there is no merit review process. Instead:

• FEMA Regions are responsible for reviewing submitted applications.
• Each Regional EMPG Program Manager reviews the FY 2026 Work Plans for their states and territories against the agreed-upon priorities.
• The Work Plan requires final approval by the applicable Regional Administrator (RA).
• Applicants must work with their RA or designated Regional EMPG Program Manager to ensure the common set of regional, state, and national priorities are properly addressed.

The practical implication: the relationship and dialogue with your FEMA Region matter enormously. Most of the substantive work happens during priority negotiation and Work Plan development, well before formal submission.

Performance Measures and Reporting

The NOFO specifies five performance measures FEMA uses to evaluate EMPG outcomes across all recipients:

1. Percentage of capability-building projects that align to capability gaps identified in THIRA/SPR submissions (target: 60%)
2. Percentage of high-priority capabilities (from THIRA/SPR) that are built or sustained prior to award closeout (60%)
3. Percentage of capability-building projects that address a high-priority core capability identified by THIRA/SPR (60%)
4. Percentage of projects that build or sustain capabilities relating to EMPG national priority areas and/or RA agreed-upon priorities (80%)
5. Percentage of Planning, Training, and/or Exercise projects that align with closing capability gaps identified in the state/territory's most recent THIRA/SPR, Mitigation Plan, After Action Reports, or Audit/Monitoring Findings (60%)

Recipients submit quarterly Federal Financial Reports (SF-425) and Performance Progress Reports through FEMA GO. Closeout materials are due within 120 days of the period of performance end date.

How to Apply

Before you submit, make sure your federal registrations are active — these can take up to four weeks:

• An active SAM.gov registration
• A valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
• An Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• A login.gov account (used to register/update SAM.gov)
• A Grants.gov account for accessing application form references
• A FEMA GO account at go.fema.gov, with the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) established

The application package is accessible in FEMA GO and includes:

• SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance
• Grants.gov Lobbying Form, Certification Regarding Lobbying
• SF-424A, Budget Information (Non-Construction)
• SF-424B, Standard Assurances (Non-Construction)
• SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities
• EMPG Program Work Plan

For local subrecipients, the equivalent materials are submitted through your state's process — confirm the timeline with your State EMA now, since state internal deadlines often fall weeks before the federal deadline.

Tips for a Strong Work Plan

1. Build the Work Plan on THIRA/SPR Findings

Your most recent Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) should drive your Work Plan priorities. The Performance Measures explicitly reward projects that align to capability gaps identified in those documents.

2. Engage Your FEMA Region Early

Because the Regional Administrator must approve your Work Plan, the priority negotiation with your Regional EMPG Program Manager is where the real work happens. Start that conversation well before submission — ideally during the prior fiscal year's reporting cycle.

3. Map Projects to POETE Categories Clearly

Every funded activity should fit cleanly into Planning, Organization, Equipment, Training, or Exercises. Costs that don't map well risk being questioned by your Regional EMPG Program Manager.

4. Reach Consensus on Three-to-Five Priorities

The NOFO recommends recipients converge on three-to-five priorities for the Work Plan rather than spreading effort thin. Tight focus tied to capability gaps is the structure FEMA looks for.

5. Be Honest About Match

Inflated or thinly documented match is a frequent audit finding. Use defensible figures, document the methodology, and keep contemporaneous records (timesheets, volunteer logs, donated-goods valuations).

6. Coordinate Across Local Subrecipients Early

For state EMAs: the credibility of the FY 2026 application depends on the quality of subrecipient Work Plans. Push communication and templates out to counties and tribes earlier than feels comfortable; the local-level inputs are what make the state-level narrative defensible.

Contact Information

• FEMA Grants Programs Directorate: femago@fema.dhs.gov
• FEMA GO Application Portal: go.fema.gov
• EMPG Program Website: fema.gov — EMPG Program
• National Preparedness System: fema.gov — National Preparedness
• OIG Hotline (fraud/waste/abuse): (800) 323-8603, TTY (844) 889-4357

How Avila Can Help

EMPG is a high-stakes operating-support program for state EMAs and a high-stakes subaward process for the counties, cities, and tribes that depend on the pass-through. Building a Work Plan tied to THIRA/SPR findings, negotiating priorities with your FEMA Regional Administrator, documenting match defensibly, and coordinating across dozens of local subrecipients is genuinely difficult work — and most emergency management offices are doing it on top of running operations.

Avila's AI-powered platform helps state and local emergency management agencies streamline the grant process by:

• Analyzing the NOFO to surface POETE allowability rules, FY26 national priorities, and required deliverables
• Helping draft Work Plan narratives aligned to National Preparedness System core capabilities
• Tracking deadlines, match documentation, and subrecipient submissions
• Managing the full grant lifecycle from discovery to closeout

Ready to explore how Avila can support your EMPG application? Book a demo to learn more.

For more on federal grant applications, see our guides on federal grant writing, SAM.gov registration, and Grants.gov registration. For other public safety and infrastructure funding, explore our guides to the SAFER Fire Grant, the AFG Fire Grant, the BRIC Mitigation Grant, and the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program.