NIRMA ASSIST Applications

PURPOSE:
It is NIRMA’s intent to dedicate additional resources each year through this grant/aid program to help fund and recognize the safety/risk management/loss control efforts of our members as a means to encourage activities designed to protect employees, prevent and control accidents, increase effectiveness of operations, control liability exposures, and reduce the frequency and severity of loss. These resources are to be directed to providing safety training, inspections, equipment, education, programming and other related initiatives and to recognize members and individuals for outstanding contributions and efforts in the areas of safety and risk management. This program is intended to be broad in scope and flexible in operation in order to encourage members to take additional actions consistent with this program.

FUNDING AVAILABILITY:
Safety incentive and recognition grants awarded in any given year will not exceed the sums appropriated for these purposes, and there is no obligation on NIRMA to award any or all of these grant funds in any given year. NIRMA reserves the right to place limits on the amount of any award made, to condition an award on some type of member financial or in-kind match, and to establish priorities from year to year as to the types of expenditures preferred. Favorable preference will also be given to safety and risk management programs or proposals that can be effectively shared with other members to their benefit and the benefit of NIRMA. This grant/aid program may be changed at any time.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
This program is open to all NIRMA members. All members are encouraged to participate.

APPLICATION PROCESS/CRITERIA:
Completion of a grant application form describing the proposal and the funding being requested is required from those members seeking grant funds under this program. The application form can be found at the NIRMA website – https://nirma.info – or by contacting the NIRMA office. Completed application forms can be emailed, faxed, or mailed to the NIRMA office: email to Chad Engle at Chad@nirma.info; faxed to 402.742.9230; or mailed to:

NIRMA
Attn: Chad Engle, Loss Prevention Manager and Safety Specialist
P.O. Box 85210
Lincoln, NE 68501-5210

APPLICATION DEADLINE:
All grant application forms shall be received at the NIRMA office by the close of business on November 1 of each year unless that date falls on a weekend, in which event the deadline will be the next business day. Applications for safety/training scholarship funding must be submitted a minimum of 30 days in advance of the scheduled training and there is a separate application form to be used for that funding.

AWARD PROCESS:
All applications will be reviewed by staff and the NIRMA Loss Control and Safety Committee to determine grant recipients. Grant recipients will be notified personally of their award prior to January 1 of the next year, and a general award announcement of all recipients will be made in the NIRMA Interchange magazine and through other means in order to recognize grant award winners. Training scholarship recipients will be notified of their award prior to the scheduled training for which an application has been submitted.

SAFETY/TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
In an effort to increase the safety related training opportunities for NIRMA members, a safety/training scholarship program has been established. The program is designed to help members defer a portion of normal and routine expenses directly associated with safety related training. The scholarship application and reimbursement procedure is as follows:

1. The training must be county safety specific. Examples include, but are not limited to, accident investigation, systems safety training, Train-the-Trainer, etc.
2. Individual and block/group applications are eligible.
3. Training is limited to full-time employees of NIRMA members.
4. The maximum scholarship award will not exceed 50% of uncovered eligible expenses. Eligible expenses are defined as those approved in the NIRMA Travel Guidelines. The award amount will be based on the number of applications received.
5. The applicant must complete and submit a NIRMA safety/training scholarship application a minimum of 30 days in advance of the training date. NIRMA reserves the right to waive the time requirement.
6. Applications will be reviewed in order of receipt. When multiple applications are received from a single member along with applications from multiple members, preference will be given to approval of one applicant from each member to allow maximum member participation.
7. Written approval or denial will be sent to the applicant in advance of the training.
8. The member is responsible for payment of all training costs. Upon completion of the training, NIRMA will reimburse the member. (Payment will never be made directly to the training provider or the employee.)
9. To request reimbursement, the member must complete a NIRMA Expense Form, attaching copies of all receipts and a certificate of completion of training.
10. Applications and requests for reimbursement are to be emailed, faxed, or mailed: email to Chad@nirma.info; fax to 402.742.9230; or mail to:

NIRMA
Attn: Chad Engle, Loss Prevention Manager and Safety Specialist
P.O. Box 85210
Lincoln, NE 68501-5210