Under HMGP and HMGP Post Fire, only certain private nonprofits are eligible subapplicants. To be an eligible subapplicant, the private nonprofit must own and operate a private nonprofit facility.[77] A qualified conservation organization[78] is the only private nonprofit organization (that does not own or operate a nonprofit facility) that is eligible to apply for acquisition or relocations for open space projects.[79]
To be eligible, a private nonprofit organization must show that it has either one of the following:
- A ruling letter from the Internal Revenue Service that was in effect as of the date of the declaration for HMGP and granted tax exemption under Sections 501(c), (d) and (e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.[80]
- Documentation from the state substantiating it is a nonrevenue producing nonprofit, organized or doing business under state law.[81]
To determine private nonprofit eligibility, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must also determine whether the private nonprofit organization owns or operates a private nonprofit that provides one of the services listed below:
- A facility that provides a critical service, defined as education, utility, irrigation, emergency, medical or custodial care.[82]
- A facility that provides a noncritical but essential government service and provides those services to the general public.[83]
- Certain types of facilities, such as senior centers, that restrict access in a manner clearly related to the nature of the facility and are still considered to provide essential government services to the general public.
Under Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA), private nonprofit organizations are not eligible subapplicants and cannot apply for HMA. However, an eligible subapplicant may apply on their behalf. Likewise, partnerships that are formed in support of a BRIC project must have an eligible subapplicant submit a subapplication. Partnerships may include private nonprofits as well as other private sector entities.