VDEM Opens Application Period for FY27 Emergency Shelter Upgrade Assistance Grant Fund
RICHMOND –The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) announced today that it is opening the application period for the FY27 Emergency Shelter Upgrade Assistance Grant Fund (Shelter Upgrade Fund). The General Assembly approved $2.5 million for this grant fiscal year. The Shelter Upgrade Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of providing matching funds to localities to install, maintain, or repair permanent infrastructure related to backup energy generation for emergency shelters, including solar energy generators, and to improve the hazard-specific structural integrity (wind retrofit) of shelter facilities owned by the locality.
Funding Priorities
- Project supports/protects vulnerable and marginalized populations.
- Project is a long-term and permanent risk-based solution.
- Localities that submit applications for their primary shelter solutions will have priority.
- Project identifies alternative solutions.
Who Can Apply?
Local governments, as defined as political subdivisions in the Emergency Services and Disaster Laws §44-146.16 “any city or county in the Commonwealth and, for the purposes of this chapter, the Town of Chincoteague, West Point, and any town of more than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which such town is located.”
Application Submission
All project applications, and supporting documentation, must be submitted through the VDEM EM Grants portal by November 30, 2026. If you do not have a VDEM EM Grants account, please register for an account here and indicate the reason as Shelter Upgrade application, and the program category as Hazard Mitigation Assistance. VDEM staff will review and approve your account request, at which point you can begin the application.
Program Guidelines
For more information on the application process and eligibility criteria, please visit www.vaemergency.gov/divisions/finance/grants or contact Melaney Rodriguez, hazard mitigation grants administrator, at (804) 540-8847 or Melaney.Rodriguez@vdem.virginia.gov.
VDEM works with local government, state and federal agencies and voluntary organizations to provide resources and expertise through the five mission areas of emergency management; prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. To learn more about ways VDEM is working to improve disaster preparedness, response and recovery, visit www.vaemergency.gov.
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