Private Nonprofit

Appeal Brief

Summary Paragraph

From August 26 to September 3, 2021, the State of Louisiana experienced high winds, heavy rain, and flooding due to the landfall of Hurricane Ida. The President declared Hurricane Ida, FEMA-4611-DR-LA, a major disaster on August 29, 2021. On January 24, 2022, the Applicant submitted a Request for Public Assistance (RPA), indicating that it was a private nonprofit (PNP). The Lockport Carnival Club (Applicant) requested Public Assistance (PA) funding in the amount of $115,00.00 to reconstruct its metal building that was damaged as a result of declared incident. In a Determination Memorandum issued April 14, 2022, FEMA determined the Applicant qualified as a PNP, but did not establish that it owned or operated an eligible PNP facility that provided an eligible service. On May 31, 2022, the Applicant appealed, asserting that it provided eligible social services from the building, and therefore operated an eligible PNP facility. In a letter dated July 7, 2022, the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Recipient) supported the appeal. The FEMA Region 6 Regional Administrator found the Applicant was not a PNP eligible for PA funding because it did not own or operate an eligible facility that provided an eligible service. The Applicant submits a second appeal, reiterating its first appeal arguments and adding that its building also is eligible as a museum. The Recipient supports the appeal. 

Authorities and Second Appeals

• 44 C.F.R. §§ 206.221(e), 206.222(b). 
• PAPPG, at 43, 46, 216. 
• The Ethician Foundation, FEMA-4332-DR-TX, at 3. 

Headnotes

• To be eligible for PA funding, an PNP applicant must own or operate an eligible facility. An eligible PNP facility includes one that provides a noncritical, but essential social service to the general public, such as a community center, food bank or museum.
• The Applicant has not demonstrated that it owns or operates a facility that provides eligible services.

Conclusion

FEMA finds that the Applicant is not a PNP eligible for PA funding because it does not own or operate a facility that provides an eligible service.

Appeal Letter

Appeal Analysis

Background

From August 26 to September 3, 2021, the state of Louisiana experienced high winds, heavy rain, and flooding due to the landfall of Hurricane Ida.[1] On January 24, 2022, the Lockport Carnival Club (Applicant) submitted a Request for Public Assistance (RPA), indicating that it was a Private Nonprofit (PNP). The Applicant requested Public Assistance (PA) funding in the amount of $115,000.00 to reconstruct its metal building that was damaged as a result of the declared incident. In a Determination Memorandum dated April 14, 2022, FEMA determined the Applicant qualified as a PNP, but found the Applicant did not establish that it owned or operated an eligible PNP facility that provided an eligible service. 

First Appeal 

In its May 31, 2022 first appeal, the Applicant stated that it provided essential social services from its building, including serving as a community center by hosting various social functions for the community, and therefore operated an eligible PNP facility. The Applicant stated that those activities, including a Christmas tree lighting, an Easter Extravaganza, Lockport Food Festival, Night Out against Crime, Halloween celebrations, and their frequency, met FEMA’s PNP facility eligibility requirements. The Applicant also stated it hosted activities similar to a food bank, noting that a large group of its members were involved with the distribution of food and supplies to hurricane victims throughout the state. 

The Applicant submitted multiple letters from local organizations and officials attesting to the services the Applicant offered. For instance, the Lockport Chief of Police stated that the Applicant allowed other organizations to use its building for food drives. In a letter dated July 7, 2022, the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Recipient) supported the appeal. 

In a January 17, 2023 decision, the FEMA Region 6 Regional Administrator denied the appeal.[2] FEMA found that the Applicant was not a PNP eligible for PA funding because it did not operate an eligible PNP facility. FEMA noted the Applicant’s tax exemption filing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) explains the Applicant was formed as an organization primarily to sponsor a Mardi Gras parade and to host social activities of its members. FEMA also stated that the Applicant’s bylaws include the organization of an annual parade and ball but do not mention any other mission. Finally, FEMA noted that the letters the Applicant submitted from community leaders in support of its appeal described activities that are intermittent in nature and that do not qualify the building as a community center or any other eligible PNP facility. 

Second Appeal

In its March 27, 2023 second appeal letter, the Applicant reiterates the arguments it made in its first appeal. The Applicant adds that it is also eligible as a PNP offering noncritical essential social services because the building is also a museum housing many artifacts from Mardi Gras celebrations in Lockport. The Applicant explains that Mardi Gras is limited to one time of the year, but community members can contact the Applicant to set up special tours of the artifacts at any point during the year. Finally, the Applicant submits an affidavit from its president stating that the building houses multiple historical artifacts, including Mardi Gras parade floats and costumes that hundreds of people come to view each year. In a May 11, 2023 letter of support, the Recipient recommends approval. 

Discussion

To be eligible for PA funding, an eligible PNP applicant must own or operate an eligible facility.[3] An eligible PNP facility is one that provides educational, utility, emergency, medical, or custodial care services, or a noncritical, essential social service to the general public, such as community centers, food banks, and museums.[4] Community centers may be eligible, but community centers that provide meetings or activities for only a brief period, or at irregular intervals, are ineligible.[5] Facilities may be eligible as museums if they are constructed, manufactured or converted with a primary purpose of preserving and exhibiting a documented collection of artistic, historic, scientific or other objects.[6] 

Here, the Applicant asserts that its building provides eligible non-critical, essential social services as a community center, food bank, or museum. The Applicant’s bylaws and other documentation the Applicant filed with the IRS note the Applicant’s primary mission is to organize as an annual Mardi Gras parade and ball for its members. The Applicant offers documentation and statements from community leaders describing some other services the Applicant provides; however, the documentation shows that some of the events the Applicant offers do not take place at the building but at other locations in the community such as local parks and recreation centers, and that it offers the activities sporadically during the year rather than routinely.[7] Similarly, the Applicant’s documentation does not demonstrate that the Applicant operates the building as a food bank or that the Applicant itself provided food bank services at the building. Finally, the Applicant has not demonstrated it operates an eligible museum. First, the Applicant has not provided documentation to demonstrate the building was constructed, manufactured, or converted with a primary purpose of preserving and exhibiting a documented collection of artistic, historic, scientific, or other objects. Second, the Applicant states that members of the public must make a special request to view the historical artifacts housed in the building. Therefore, the Applicant does not provide documentation that demonstrates the building was open to the general public as a museum.[8]

In sum, the activities the Applicant offers are intermittent in nature and include activities offered in locations other than the building at issue. The Applicant has also stated it uses the building as a meeting place for its members and as a storage facility. However, the Applicant has not demonstrated that these services constitute eligible noncritical, essential social services.

Conclusion

FEMA finds that the Applicant is not a PNP eligible for PA funding because it does not own or operate an eligible PNP facility that provides an eligible service. Therefore, this appeal is denied.