By: Sarah O’Linn

If you’re a contractor watching the latest Hurricane Michael footage and forecasts, you’re probably praying for the safety of those affected by the hurricane’s path. You also realize that you have a set of unique skills to help with recovery efforts. There are hundreds of billions of hurricane recovery dollars contracted out by the U.S. Federal, State and local Governments each year. Half of these funds will never be put out to bid. So how can our contractors align themselves to win these contracts? We’ve interviewed city, county and federal officials to find out what the secret sauce is and we are sharing it with our customers.

While there is no shortcut (contractors still have to proactively register for the legally required databases to be eligible), most of these contracts come down to getting on your local municipalities Preferred Vendor Lists.

The Fundamentals:

In order to be eligible for FEMA work or FEMA-funded local work, contractors must register with System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov

  • SAM registration and account activation can take 2 to 3 days, so register ASAP if you haven’t already.
  • Be sure to indicate you want to participate in the Disaster Response Registry which is the database the contracting officers work from. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA actively use this specific database to help them rapidly respond to disasters. Great instructions here: Disaster Response Registry Instructions

Make it easy for overwhelmed Government Officials to choose you by:

  • Confirming your company information is registered and accurate across the SAM, IRS and DUNS databases. Information should include name, address, phone numbers, email and web addresses, capabilities and scope of work, and if you’re set-up for bonding
  • Having a solid internet presence. In the scramble of an emergency, our officials are often limited in their market research and rely on internet searches. We recommend including a catalog of work and clear descriptions of goods and services you offer.
  • Completing the FEMA’s Industry Liaison Program Vendor Profile

The most strategic step in the process is to get on the Preferred Vendors Lists of your local counties, cities and municipalities. Florida’s local Governments are responsible for contracting more than half of the disaster recovery funding that comes to the state and they usually go to their Preferred Vendor Lists first. One county official I interviewed recommended calling or emailing their Operations & Maintenance Director and asking to be added to their Preferred Vendors List. Larger counties and cities usually have a pre-qualification process to get added to their Preferred Vendor list depending on the type of construction or disaster recovery work you perform. Bonding pre-qualification is often a requirement to get Preferred Vendor Status. If you have any questions on pre-qualification or bonding, we are happy to help you. Feel free to submit your contact info on this page, call us at 407-786-7770 or email us with questions at bonding@floridasuretybonds.com. We’d love the opportunity to help you or your colleagues get set up with bonding.