VFA funding is leveraged through cost-sharing with local communities. VFA is not a welfare program, but a self-help initiative. Each time a VFA application is approved, another project is funded and there is a new story to tell. In 1995 over 7,700 fire departments and training academies were awarded financial assistance nationwide. This help permits accomplishment of many types of projects.
Every project contributes to improved fire protection.
These are important stories that need to be told. The assistance can translate into reduced insurance premiums, improved fire protection, and safer communities. Good fire protection helps to stabilize the community and to make it a place where people will want to live and work. However, many citizens and policy makers don't understand the plight of the rural fire department. If information about the VFA Program and the process for selection of fire departments to receive financial assistance is not shared, the program will lose effectiveness.