Christina Moore

Tempest-GEMS Demonstration

16 June 2020 by Christina Moore

https://youtu.be/RX1fljIR8Cc

In this seven minute demo, Christina Moore goes over the web-based system Tempest-GEMS for FEMA Public Assistance Grants. The demo begins by going over the dashboard and what each section shows, as well as the grants that have been added thus far. Drilling in, she demonstrates the replicated format of 90-91 grants within the software, as well as the fact that other grants can be added. Data can be traced to who added and when to ensure accuracy, as the goal with Tempest-GEMS is to provide good, clear grant and financial feedback to users throughout the system. Force Account records may also be added, along with the guideposts built into the software to offer assistance should it be needed.

Tempest-GEMS supports document uploads, which are stored in each section as well as a virtual binder to improve the score for what the grantee expects. Applicants can also add employees, and no PII is asked for or stored within the software, but unlimited payrates for each applicant.

Cares Act Difficulty

9 June 2020 by Christina Moore

Following COVID Funding

Why is COVID funding so difficult to understand and how to address it? We’ve been following the information closely, and we’re a bit lost too. We do have something to share today.

We’re here to help improve grant management, avoid fraud, waste, and abuse. If you appreciate this presentation, please share it.

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The CARES Act: Making History

The United States Federal Government has made a disaster declaration for the entire nation: the states, territories, and district of Columbia. First ever. Normally, when a disaster is declared, FEMA presents itself as the lead agency. Remember, FEMA is part of the Executive Branch of the Government under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a simultaneous effort, the Congress of the United States wrote, debated, and passed the CARES Act into law. This is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in our history. This law provides some $2 trillion in funding and increased our national debt by about the same value.

How Does the Act Work?

Back in the old days, y’know 2019, a disaster declaration unified the command, informational, and financial flow. While the process varied, basically one looked to the local government’s emergency management entity, then the state’s emergency management agency, then the state’s governor, then FEMA. On really big disasters, additional grant programs often kicked in especially from Housing and Urban Development, and additional FEMA funding for mitigation. It was a routine.

With the CARES Act, funding flows-ish from nearly every federal agencies directly to organizations that they commonly serve. Health and Human Services to health things. Department of Justice to cop-things. Election Commissions to election-y things.

A lot of the funding from the CARES Act is provided at 100% and currently FEMA states they they will do 75% funding.

Is the information we need clearly available, and easily understood? As a nation, we’ll have more organizations applying for loans and grants right now than ever in our history because of COVID. The people doing the research will be over-worked citizens trying to keep their organization operational.

Defining Grants

I am unable to find an overarching road map of COVID-related grant programs with their various scopes, clientele, funding rules, date ranges. I’ve looked. I am a citizen researcher searching in spare time during my days and weeks. If this exists, please drop a comment below!

This is important public information. My inability to find it is not proof it doesn’t exist. Maybe there is a draft poster in the living room of a work-from-home staffer. Who knows?

Without a map, a public sector organization will tap resources they know. The internet is good start. Consultants, colleagues, peer organizations, state affiliated organizations, and even federal agencies. Data one can’t find readily is lost data. I guess that is the definition of lost. I’ve been lost before.

I’ll look at two personal efforts in an effort to provide a factual background to my thesis statement. Who’s in the news? Cops and Hospitals. I’ll start with cops.

The Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program

The US Department of Justice funds grants through the office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) – boy one can get tired of understanding the scramble of letters. I researched and read this grant a week ago. It was easy to find through common internet search tools. Today, it had all but disappeared. The program was called Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program. It is closed.

Where Did the Grant Go?

It ran Between March 30^th and May 29^th, while it appeared to be open to any/all policing type organizations, 1,725 have been approved grants for a total of $800 million. This is what I know: there are 58 states and territories. There are approximately 3,000 counties in this country. Let’s make believe that’s 200 large cities. I think we can estimate there are 3,500 policing-type agencies in this country. So half of them got a grant.

29^th of May… you’ll hear snark in my voice, certainly. Has there been any COVID related or police related topics in the news between May 28th and June 8th when this video was published? Of course there has. Law enforcement agencies have encountered increased costs for PPE, supplies, training, and overtime.

My off-the-cuff analysis. This now-closed grant provided $800 million to fewer than half of the law enforcement agencies. And the grant program closed before the first day of June.

Will there be another round of funding? Was this first come-first serve? What effort did the DOJ use to publish this grant opportunity.

Clearly, I don’t have answers. I feel confused. To take that confusion further, I went to grants.gov to confirm my findings. I searched for COVID-related grants from DOJ. I found one recently closed DOJ grant that referenced COVID. The research and evaluation on firearm violence grant may be extended due to COVID. Not a COVID grant, or CARES Act grant.

What is on the DOJ website doesn’t match what is presented on grants.gov.

Let’s take a quick look at HHS.

With an internet search, I found the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund offered by Health and Human Services (HHS). This website states the available funding is $175 Billion. Many websites don’t provide this information at the top. Thank you HHS. HHS has a detailed spending plan on their website. It does not seem that this program is open. There were deadlines in April and a key deadline on the 3^rd of June – so very last week.

I hope that those in need found this program.

Now, I’ll step to my next experiment. The classic answer with the US Government for grants is to go to grants.gov – a free public resource.

What is the Best Option?

The Provider Relief Fund discussed above is not visible in Grants.gov. But there are a lot of other HHS COVID related grants: I count 15 for the 7^th of June as I write this script.

I do not work with HHS grants often. I searched for grants that I affirmatively found at grants.gov back on the HHS website. They didn’t synchronize. The data is different.

This means that within one key agency – HHS – they do NOT have an over-arching road map to grant programs. It appears difficult to research, forecast, predict, and anticipate what will happen. It appears difficult to track what is going on currently.

Furthermore, how would one know whether HHS, or FEMA, or another agency a better option?

FEMA & The CARES Act

During the introduction, I stated that a major disaster declaration has been made across our country. In addition to the $2 trillion from CARES Act, FEMA is providing Emergency Protective Measure grants. This grant program alternately called FEMA Public Assistance or known by the Stafford Act, includes 57 major disaster declarations – each state, 5 territories, the District of Columbia and 1 tribe.

This grant program is NOT on grants.gov. Never was. It is a state managed grant program, typically through the state’s designated emergency management agency. In the recent years, FEMA has moved the grant application process to a FEMA hosted site that they call “the grants portal”.

FEMA is providing emergency protective measures (overtime costs, PPE, equipment, etc) to eligible public sector organization. This is also called a Category B grant. We have a video on this topic. The funding from FEMA is presently slated for 75%. The disaster date starts on the 20^th of January and extends through to September. A period of performance with that sort of date range for an emergency protective measures grant is rare.

Contrasting the Situation

Let’s contrast the situation.

FEMA, the long-standing leader in disaster recovery grants, has a program that is open through September. It will provide 75% funding. The rules are well known. Even has a book called the PAPPA-G. It will cover overtime costs and equipment costs and PPE for eligible public sector-type organizations.

The CARES Act is also providing funding through grants to many of the same organizations. Some of these grants are 100% funded. Some have wickedly complicated rules about what will be paid and not paid. The HHS math that involved Medicare revenue about broke my brain.

While federal grant programs are opening and closing, they are advertised or accessed through various sites. Commonly what is on grants.gov is not on the agencies own page.

Meanwhile, the human beings paying bills, engaged in procurement, tracking labor costs are entirely swamped with the overwhelm. It’s like someone dial the Overwhelm-knob all the way to max.

The teaser at the top was a promise that we’d know how to address it.

Rules to Follow

First, if you think you’ll get CARES Act or FEMA funding because you do work in the public sector or related, then track your labor costs in massive detail. Do your fringe rate calculations and be prepared to get reimbursed by someone for that. The rules vary.

Second, any procurement you do, follow the federal procurement rules. These rules inform you that you must follow the most restrictive rules: your own rules, your state’s rules, and the federal rules. There is a strong preference for fair-and-open competition. There is a strong preference for sealed bids. There are penalties for fraud, waste, and abuse.

Third, research, listen and learn. As busy as you are, now that opportunities are opening and closing without your knowledge. I entirely sympathize. Our firm learned of a grant on Monday due on Friday. We submitted on Thursday. Now we wait.

Fourth, do not submit the same costs to multiple agencies or multiple grants. That is FRAUD.

Fifth, someone will (better) start coming out with this guidance. After all, it is our tax dollars at work. Best if the process were fair and transparent. Oh, listen to my opinion sneaking in again.

The COVID Pivot

5 June 2020 by Christina Moore

Today

We provide free training on grant management, avoiding fraud, waste, and abuse – and supporting new customers while remaining at our desks. How a software firm pivoted to publish videos and provide leadership against corruption.

Pre-COVID

In February of 2020, Storm Petrel supported our Tempest-GEMS, Tempest-Time while preparing to launch Podcast-Flow as part of a joint venture. The mission seemed clear: research needs, design and create software for people, support people using the tools we’ve built. The formula hiring great people, learning more about Oracle and Oracle APEX, running a help desk. We do a bit of marketing to keep the lights on and the payroll flowing. In fact, in February 2020, GSA awarded us a contract for our grant management software and a few labor categories. It was a year-long campaign we almost abandoned.

Life had a rhythm we understood.

Post-COVID

While we think of ourselves as a disaster response firm — we run in when others need help and are fleeing, we face today with great humility.

We are no different. We are the same as every other employer. We ask,

How do we make payroll?
How do we serve our clients?
How do we serve our neighbors?
What do we have to offer?

Redefine the Mission

We asked ourselves what will be the greatest problem we’ll face this year? We had to limit the responses to include: “that we can help solve”.

We’ve spent years researching the way public servants get tangled by grant rules, procurement law, and make mistakes that cost their communities money and put freedom and careers at risk. We discovered, that because of the features we built into our software to help others with disaster cost recovery, we became experts in avoiding Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.

Lead Now – Help others avoid problems

We’ll share what we know — for free, to all.

Let’s build a multi-media studio. The sharp eyed read will see scrap plywood, repurposed 2×4, an adjustable hospital table, and a teleprompter made from vinyl electrical tape and a wire-clothing hanger.

Listen, its not like I can drive down to BH Photography and Video and walk the aisles, can I? We did buy a new lav mic and a dedicated camera for the purpose.

Free Video Based Training

Playlist #1 “How to Manage Disaster Relief Funds”
Playlist #2 “Tempest-GEMS Training”

Public Articles

Following the scripts of the videos, we’ve publish similar material on management grants, and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse on our website.

Improving

Improvement comes in so many flavors. Self-guided training, research, learning new skills — oh, like video production. Who-da-knew?

Commentary Videos

I am the Problem (a personal video)
Today’s the Day I’m Going to Commit a Crime

Grant Management Videos

Tempest-GEMS Training Videos

What is next?

I am confused and this isn’t me – my hair is grey, and I am older

We stand ready for the next phase of 2020. A flexible and adaptive staff, some cash in the bank to make payroll, and a great community of clients.

Grant Management Basics: How to Do Progress Reports for Grants

4 June 2020 by Christina Moore

Grant Progress Reports

Cut your progress reporting time by 20 minutes per grant by answering three questions on a web form. We’ll take a look at the grant progress reports in Tempest-GEMS. With FEMA and other federal granting agencies, applicants are encouraged to provide progress reports each quarter.

We are coaching you on grant management best practices using grant management software. If you appreciate this presentation, please share it.

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Progress Reports

Progress reports occur as a part of the dynamic between the grant execution team, also called the sub-recipient, and the state’s grant administration team. The questions that the grant managers, or applicants answer come from the state. Here at Storm Petrel, we modify this process to meet the state’s needs. Quarterly, the applicants are asked to identify if the scope is sufficient, funding is sufficient, and if there is progress on the mission.

The state reviews and summarizes for the federal granting agency.

Creating Progress Reports

The progress reporting process is specific to a grant. Open the grant menu on the left to find progress – it has a bar-chart for an icon. Click the green button to add a progress report. Answer the questions from the state then hit submit.

The questions normally focus on your activities and needs. It is an early warning or early detection system. A key risk with larger disaster grants is abandonment. Success is accomplished with regular steady work. The quarterly progress reports reinforce this message.

Reviewing of Progress Reports by States

With each cycle of progress reports, the state reviews the effort with workflows and reports in Tempest-GEMS. The action taken by the state is for them to decide. Maybe the reports get sent to FEMA, maybe just summarized.

Communication is Key

Progress reports keep communication going between the state and the applicant. The effort reminds people to review grants, reimbursement status, data entry activities, and others factors, then document the situation.

We are providing you a Power Tools card on Progress Reports. We strive to reinforce successful grant management practices.

Power Tools Cards on Progress Reports

Grant Management Basics: Reimbursement Requests

2 June 2020 by Christina Moore

Reimbursement Requests

How to ask for—and get—grant money, extensions, and scope changes. Grant management best practices using grant management software emphasizes an all-in-one solution. With Tempest-GEMS, this process is called a Request. You make a Request of your state to get funds. You make a Request of your state to get an Extension. You make a Request of your state for a change in scope or budget. This is how you get reimbursed by a grant.

We are providing training on how to manage disaster relief grants such as the CARES Act and FEMA grants. If you appreciate this presentation, please share it.

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Request & Review Processes

In our FEMA Quest came, we identify the Call-and-Response loop. You and your state collaborate with back-and-forth effort steadily moving the grant management process through reimbursements to scope changes and ultimately to close out. The grant execution team makes a Request. The grant administration team then steps through Workflows.

Your data entry process, and document gathering process, may continue for months and months. Especially with large capital projects such as rebuilding infrastructure (roads, bridges, damaged public buildings, etc). These kinds of grants may remain open for years. Category B – emergency protection measures – often close a few months after the emergency period. With COVID-19, we already have a 90-day emergency period. For the first time ever, we have an emergency funding grant with a significant period of performance.

We’ll look at the Request process from the applicant’s side in the Tempest-GEMS grant execution module.

Then we’ll look at the Request review process on the state’s side in the Tempest-GEMS grant administration modules.

Request for Reimbursement

https://vimeo.com/412764143/42dab6805e

Log into Tempest-GEMS, I have my grant selected in green with the check mark. I’ll now use the menu to click Request. It has a hand-pointing icon. This takes me to the Requests page. On this page, you clearly see the name of your grant. And it shows you your past requests and their disposition.

Gone are the days of emailing documents, emailing requests, and shipping documents to states. The auditing and transparency benefit all teams.

I’ll add a Request. In Tempest-GEMS, green buttons add.

I’ll pause on this Select Request Type page. This list of the Request types changes based on where you are in the grant lifecycle. For example, you can not ask for Reimbursement if the grant has not been awarded or obligated.

The Request Types are a feature that states can add and modify. Our software is customizable-off-the-shelf or COTS.

Everyone’s favorite request is the RFR, or Request for Reimbursement. It is our favorite because it is how we walk the Money Please loop in FEMA Quest. Money’s how we all keep score in this game. We spend money on authorized projects and missions. Then we ask for a reimbursement.

The Reimbursement Request involves a few simple steps and questions. The specifics are state-driven. Some states want a signed letter on letter head. Some don’t. Some just use Tempest-GEMS but limit who can make the Request to specific people.

Enter, click, confirm, and hit confirm and submit at the end. This results in the information being “sent” to the state. Of course, the data doesn’t move. The state team uses their tools to review your efforts.

The Grant Administration Module

https://vimeo.com/412764845/57a80e12fe

I have stepped over the Grant Administration Module, the state’s tool. I’ll start with the Standard Requests page. This shows the pending Requests from applicants. If you study these pictures too closely, you’ll see that I’m using my demo data with data put in by our programmers. It’s test data for us, but it serves a purpose to show you the variety of actions and processes.

Users may sort and filter data. We can accommodate multiple grant types – more coming all the time, including CARES Act grants. Please pause this video or rewind if we go to fast through this. Lean right in.

The review and approval process for most Requests follows a state-defined process. Often a quick document validation process involving consistency and completeness. Are documents actually what they are supposed to be? And how are applicants doing at gathering the essential documents as defined in the master list that we call the Virtual Binder?

Reimbursement Queue

Next, we’ll look at the Reimbursement Queue. For the state team, this is a bit more involved. The team not only reviews the documents for consistency and completeness, they also review the financial data.

The Reimbursement Queue involves a multi-stage review and approval process. The first team does the in-depth analysis – these people are often contractors or temporary staff. The next tier is an approval process and confirmation. Typically, a state employee. The third approval sends the data to the state’s financial system or other system. This can happen either with a digital link or by paper.

When payment is completed, someone on the Grant Administration goes into the disbursement queue. This final process notifies the applicants that funds have moved, and it updates the Tempest-GEMS financial balances.

Benefits of Grant Management Software

Before using grant management software, people shipped documents to the state. Or the state came to an applicant’s site to review documents. This is a labor intensive and travel intensive process. Grant management software like Tempest-GEMS facilitates collaboration and cooperation between the applicant team and the state team. We work as one helping our communities recover from disasters.

The grant management basics don’t change. Our process of doing requests is an improvement on email and shared file folder. Our process of stepping through a WorkFlow on the state-side provides the monitoring-and-controls that FEMA and other federal agencies expect of our grant administrators.

The days of using a pencil and yellow paper for grant management are long gone. Quickly we are seeing the end of using an electronic spreadsheet for managing disaster relief funds. Sophisticated tools like Tempest-GEMS prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.

Additionally, it help us all confidentially navigate the rough terrain that is federal grant management.

Please share this material with colleagues. Post about us and our efforts on your favorite social media platform. And don’t forget to grab the Hints and Hacks on Requests to help you with your FEMA Quest.

Hints and Hacks on Requests

Grant Management Basics: How to Document Your Use of Grant Funds

28 May 2020 by Christina Moore

Documenting Your Grant Funds Use

Document organization can be challenging and boring. Use your tools to make your life a whole lot easier. Oh, and both reimbursement and closeout will be easier too. The other hint is to turn it into a game. Here is a list of things to find… Go find them. Grant management best practices includes actions that are done for their own sake. It may not be as dramatic as responding to 911 calls or triaging patients. Those actions require funding, paychecks, supplies, power, and internet. Your work keeps all of that moving. Documenting your grant fund use is an integral part of how to manage relief grants.

We are providing grant management best practices so that you and your team will learn how to document your grant funds use. If you appreciate this presentation, please share it.

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The Virtual Binder

Tempest-GEMS includes a Virtual Binder. Just like a 3-ring that is empty and awaiting documents to be slid in. It serves two immediate purposes. First, it provides a robust master list of all documents you will need or should have between now and close-out. When using grant management software, like our Tempest-GEMS, you should have an easy and consistent means of gauging progress.

In this episode, we’ll first look at the virtual binder – as a framework for document management and skim through a few examples. Then we’ll look at uploading documents. I’ll define what we mean by “applicant” or “grant” documents. We’ll, also, compare the document upload wizard verses the upload button.

Before closing the episode, I’ll show you how the Virtual Binder is used for the monitoring and control process at the state. The grant administration team steps through the document validation process first confirming the documents as what you say they are. Then they go through and compare what you’ve uploaded against the Virtual Binder – as list of what is expected.

Applicant Documents

Documenting your grant funds use? Follow the outline shown in Tempest-GEMS. There are some documents that are about you, the applicant. These documents should be part of every grant binder. With our system, you upload them once. Applicant documents include items such as procurement policy, overtime policy, union contracts, fringe rate calculations. Some organizations, especially non-profits, may also have to provide corporate documents that give evidence to your status as an essential organization.

Score Card Outline

Our grant management software then uses this outline to create a score card. The goal is to have one of each type of document. And maybe if a document is non-existent, write a memorandum for record with an explanation. Here in Tiny-Town Vermont, our road department does not have a union, therefore there is no union contract. A quick note to explain that fills the gap and gives the point. Points are good.
You can, by using the outline, modify this list to fit your needs. We provide a score card based on our experience, this does not mean it is perfect for this disaster or your state. We try… but we also give you the tools to take care of your own needs.

Let’s go answer the question how do we earn the points and upload documents.

The Grants Menu & Documents

First, navigate to the Grants menu and find documents on the menu – it has a little PDF icon. We have two green buttons for uploading documents. Why? One is a short cut for experienced folks, the other walks through a wizard giving guidance and coaching.

Remember your goal is grant closeout and final reimbursement. To do this well, you need to fill your Virtual Binder and get as many points as possible. Grant Management basics! We looked at the document score card. Tempest-GEMS and the state can only evaluate documents if they are tagged correctly. So, every document must be a PDF. This is done for security reasons. When FEMA uses our system, their security team requires only PDF.

Document Wizard

I am clicking on the Document Wizard button. I am expanding the “Examples” section. This is another guidepost in our software to help you expertly navigate through the rough terrain of FEMA Quest. My next steps are just to illustrate. I’ll pick a grant class: applicant, grant, program, transaction, etc. In my case, I’ll upload a policy for this Applicant. I pick the document type. And move on to the next page with the Next button.

Then I upload a document from my local computer.

The Upload Document button does the same thing but with fewer key clicks. Each section of the software: grants, program, applicant, vendor, etc – has a document page. Some users prefer to save keystroke, and know to click to “applicant” to upload a policy or fringe rate calculation.

Our software has flexibility and gives you two ways to accomplish the same goal!

Perform a Virtual Binder Review

The Virtual Binder is used by the state grant administration team as well. During their quality assurance process, they perform document validation. The first step confirms the documents what they are reported to be. The second step gauges completeness. They compare the documents applicants have uploaded again the Virtual Binder.

On the screen is an article from Storm Petrel’s knowledge base site. Yes, we also provide targeted how-to articles on our knowledge base too. We’re here to help in every way we can.

In this article, we are showing a grant administrator how to perform a Virtual Binder Review. Although not shown, red identifies errors or failures. Yellow is a warning indicating missing documents. And Green indicates that not only is a documented uploaded, but it has passed the review process.

On the left-hand side, the master list of documents – the Virtual binder. On the right, we show documents uploaded and their status: pass or fail.

The state-side or applicant-side, Tempest-GEMS uses the same tools, the same lists, the same rules to aid both teams through towards their shared goal: a successful close out of a grant.

Adding PDFs to the Virtual Binder

The Virtual Binder, which when I was in New York City we called the Document Manifest, is nothing more than a target or a master list of items for a scavenger hunt. Find them, save them, scan them to PDF and upload them appropriately in Tempest-GEMS.

The Virtual Binder structure can be modified to suite your needs or modified by the state to meet the needs of the FEMA Public Assistance Grant Program, or a CARES Act grant program. To us it is just a list. Same is true for you. It is just a list. It represents grant management best practices.

Over the years, we are so often asked can’t I upload my Word or Excel documents? The rule is upload PDF. PDF documents do a better job of not including malware. Because Word and Excel permit macros and some programming inside, they also represent a higher security risk. You know that yellow warning banner you see when you open a spreadsheet from an email? The warning states: do not open documents from unknown sources.

That’s why PDFs are better.

Additionally, FEMA will not permit their staff to download anything but PDF.

Ergo, you must upload PDFs.

Please share this material with colleagues. Post about us and our efforts on your favorite social media platform. And don’t forget to grab the Hints and Hacks on Required Documents to help you get started with FEMA Quest.

Hints and Hacks on Required Documents