Tennessee Emergency Management Agency

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, acts as the prime recipient of federal grants for disaster response, emergency management, and hazard mitigation funding from FEMA and other federal agencies, administering and distributing the vast majority of those grants as pass-through funding to local governments, utilities, nonprofits, and state entities across Tennessee.

TEMA's federal footprint is overwhelmingly concentrated in FEMA grant programs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards account for 155 of 233 prime awards (95% coverage across top customers by count), with FEMA as a separate funding source contributing 65 awards, making FEMA the dominant customer by far. TEMA also holds sub-recipient roles on Department of Energy transuranic waste transportation planning grants administered through the Southern States Energy Board, and has received grants from the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (HMEP, CFDA 20.703) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (for Oak Ridge emergency management coordination). The top five funding agencies represent the majority of TEMA's award portfolio.

TEMA's grant work centers on five core FEMA program lines: Disaster Grants-Public Assistance (CFDA 97.036), which funds debris removal, emergency protective measures, and facility restoration following presidentially declared disasters; Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (CFDA 97.039), which supports risk reduction projects; Emergency Management Performance Grants (CFDA 97.042), a formula grant for statewide emergency preparedness and response capability building; Homeland Security Grant Program (CFDA 97.067), a formula grant for terrorism prevention and preparedness; and specialized programs including Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training (CFDA 97.032), Nonprofit Security Grant Program (CFDA 97.008), State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (CFDA 97.137), Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (CFDA 97.047), Emergency Operations Center construction and equipment (CFDA 97.052), and Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund (CFDA 97.139). Representative recent prime awards include a $338.745 million Disaster Grants-Public Assistance award on March 26, 2026, distributed to over 60 local government entities, utility systems, and nonprofits; a $16.493 million Homeland Security Grant Program formula grant on October 1, 2025; a $12.856 million Emergency Management Performance Grant on October 1, 2025; a $12.859 million Hazard Mitigation Grant Program award on July 1, 2026; and a $7 million Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund grant on August 6, 2026, to capitalize a hazard mitigation lending mechanism for local governments. TEMA also administers Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training pass-through grants and Nonprofit Security Grant Program sub-awards to protect high-risk nonprofits across the state.

Activity has been steady over the past five years (2022: 21 awards; 2023: 14; 2024: 22; 2025: 14; 2026: 16), with combined potential value across all awards reaching $12.54 billion. Seven awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. TEMA's sub-recipient footprint includes sub-awards to the Southern States Energy Board for transuranic waste transportation planning to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, reflecting its role in supporting hazardous materials preparedness and DOE coordination. As a state-level emergency management agency operating under formula grant structures, TEMA does not compete for contracts or IDIQs; its federal relationship is grant-recipient focused, with pass-through distribution to hundreds of sub-recipients across Tennessee as a core operational mandate.