Doing Business with FEMA After A Disaster

FEMA: Fact Sheet

As part of response and recovery efforts following a disaster, and in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Act, FEMA’s goal is to seek local companies within the disaster area for goods and services related to a specific disaster when practical and feasible.

For contractors interested in doing business with FEMA or other federal agencies:

Register with the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov for federal contracts and other procurement opportunities.

When completing the assertions module, indicate you want to participate in the “Disaster Response Registry.” Once your registration is active, you will be added to the registry and contracting officers will be able to locate your company.

FEMA posts contracting opportunities on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website at www.fbo.gov and on www.FedBid.com. Both sites are free, however all contracting opportunities of $25,000 or higher must be posted on FedBizOpps.

Small businesses are encouraged to obtain information that assists in preparing for, and navigating, contracting opportunities by working with the U.S. Small Business Administration at https://www.sba.gov/contracting.

Debris Removal Contracting

Become a member of the Corps of Engineers Contractor Registry if you are interested in performing disaster response and recovery work (e.g., debris removal) by visiting www.usace.army.mil/Missions.aspx. Explore all the links under “Emergency Operations” to include the “contracting in disasters” information available at
http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Operations/Contracting-inDisasters/.

Additionally, many debris removal operations are contracted by local, state, tribal or territorial government officials. You can check with specific government websites within the declared disaster areas for their contracting and bidding procedures.

Transportation Services

Have a transportation business? FEMA procures its transportation needs through the General Services Administration (GSA) at www.moveit.gsa.gov. To view the rules and regulations for doing freight business with GSA, go to https://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21192. Also, be sure to sign up for email notifications from GSA Freight for training opportunities, announcements of open Bid Cycle windows, release of Request For Offers (RFOs), etc.. To sign up, scroll down to the bottom of the page GSA portal page, enter your email address and subscribe.

Providing Housing Assistance

Hotels or motels are able to participate in FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, which offers rooms to disaster survivors seeking housing aid. The program is also referred to as “Emergency Lodging Assistance.” For information on how a hotel/motel can participate by setting up an account with Corporate Lodging Consultants at https://ela.corplodging.com/.

Offers of Assistance

Charitable Contributions: If your organization has goods or services to donate to disaster response and recovery efforts, please submit offers through the National VOAD corporate donations portal at National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD) Corporate Donations.

Finally, don’t wait for a disaster to strike. Register your business today and start the process of learning the steps required to work with the federal government.

The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers provides technical assistance to help local businesses compete successfully in the government marketplace. For additional information on how the association can help visit www.aptac-us.org.

The various organizations listed elsewhere in this fact sheet may also offer opportunities for your company to do business with the federal government in non-emergent situations, as well.