{"id":58257,"date":"2017-11-10T21:27:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T21:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=58257"},"modified":"2017-11-10T21:27:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T21:27:44","slug":"fema-urging-cultural-institutions-to-apply-for-disaster-assistance-to-help-protect-islands-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=58257","title":{"rendered":"FEMA Urging Cultural Institutions To Apply For Disaster Assistance To Help Protect Islands\u2019 History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">The U.S. Virgin Islands has a rich cultural heritage, with museums, archives, libraries, archeological sites and historic districts across the territory. Many of these precious cultural resources sustained serious damage during hurricanes Irma and Maria \u2013 and time could be of the essence in making repairs and saving historical documents and artwork.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wants cultural organizations to know that recovery help may be available from a variety of sources. To take advantage of the full range of assistance that may be available, it\u2019s important that these organizations submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) with the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) before the <strong class=\"\">November 20 deadline<\/strong>. The deadline is the same for both hurricane disasters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">\u201cAn RPA is a form that simply tells VITEMA and FEMA that your entity has sustained hurricane damage and you are interested in learning about the recovery assistance that may be available,\u201d said FEMA Infrastructure Branch Director Chris Hartnett. \u201cSubmitting the form by the deadline allows recovery specialists to walk you through the assistance options that could help preserve your piece of the islands\u2019 history and get your organization back on track after the hurricanes.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Cultural organizations are advised to file a claim with their insurance company, since federal assistance cannot duplicate insurance settlements. Once the claim is settled, federal recovery dollars may come in the form of low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or grants from FEMA\u2019s Public Assistance program. This is standard assistance available to eligible private nonprofit (PNPs) organizations after a disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">In addition, a national task force at work on the islands can provide information about a wider range of grants and specialized assistance for cultural organizations. The Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF), co-sponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, is a partnership of 58 national service organizations and federal agencies created to protect cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">A HENTF representative will provide additional resources and outline potential grant opportunities for cultural institutions through informational sessions to be announced soon on St. Croix and St. Thomas. FEMA specialists i<\/span><span class=\"\">n Environmental and Historic Preservation and in Public Assistance, as well as representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will also be on hand to discuss federal assistance programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Cultural organizations wanting information about the dates and locations of these sessions may go to <a class=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/fema.pr-optout.com\/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d9381%3c%26JDG%3c%3a9%3a-%3b3%40%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MO&amp;RI=1731304&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=36721&amp;Action=Follow+Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u class=\"\">www.Facebook.com\/FEMAUSVirginIslands<\/u><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Cultural institutions could be eligible for federal assistance as PNPs if they can provide an IRS letter of 501 (c), (d) or (e) tax exemption or documentation from the territory that certifies that the organization is a non-profit, non-revenue producing entity that provides an essential government service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">To learn more about eligible essential and critical service providers and PNP eligibility, refer to the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide on the FEMA website at <a class=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/fema.pr-optout.com\/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d9381%3c%26JDG%3c%3a9%3a-%3b3%40%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MO&amp;RI=1731304&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=36726&amp;Action=Follow+Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u class=\"\">https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/public-assistance-policy-and-guidance.<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Potential applicants can download the RPA form at <a class=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/fema.pr-optout.com\/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d9381%3c%26JDG%3c%3a9%3a-%3b3%40%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MO&amp;RI=1731304&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=36725&amp;Action=Follow+Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u class=\"\">https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/media-library\/assets\/documents\/10145<\/u><\/a> and submit it to the following territorial government contacts:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody class=\"\">\n<tr class=\"\">\n<td class=\"\">\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\"><strong class=\"\"><u class=\"\">St. Croix:<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"\">\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\"><strong class=\"\"><u class=\"\">St. Thomas\/St. John<\/u><\/strong><strong class=\"\">:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"\">\n<td class=\"\">\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Malinda K. Vigilant-Messer<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Deputy Public Assistance Officer<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Office: 340-773-2244<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\"><a class=\"\" href=\"mailto:malinda.vigilant@vitema.vi.gov\"><u class=\"\">malinda.vigilant@vitema.vi.gov<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"\">\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Renata Christian-West<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Territorial Public Assistance Officer<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Office: 340-774-3244<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\"><a class=\"\" href=\"mailto:renata.christian@vitema.vi.gov\"><u class=\"\">mailto:renata.christian@vitema.vi.gov<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Virgin Islands has a rich cultural heritage, with museums, archives, libraries, archeological sites and historic districts across the territory. Many of these precious cultural resources sustained serious damage during hurricanes Irma and Maria \u2013 and time could be of the essence in making repairs and saving historical documents and artwork. The Federal Emergency [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":45360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4165,7429,191,147],"tags":[2788,7438,6756],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FEMA Urging Cultural Institutions To Apply For Disaster Assistance To Help Protect Islands\u2019 History - V.I. Consortium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find Virgin Islands new, opinion, politics, lifestyle, business and more\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=58257\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=58257\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=58257\",\"name\":\"FEMA Urging Cultural Institutions To Apply For Disaster Assistance To Help Protect Islands\u2019 History - V.I. 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