When OpenFEMA publishes an obligated Public Assistance Project Worksheet, the dollar figure most contractors notice first is the federal share — the portion of eligible cost FEMA reserved for that applicant and scope. The rest is the non-federal share (local or state match). Most bid desks ignore it. They should not.
This note is about what those two numbers mean for business development, and what they do not. Educational desk note from RebuildAlert, operated by Record of Sale, LLC. Not FEMA guidance, not legal advice, not a bid board. Questions: publisher@noticenearby.com (email only).
If you need the definition of an obligation itself, start with what a PA obligation actually means. If you need when to call after the row appears, see procurement timing after a PA obligation. Here the subject is the split.
What “federal share obligated” actually is
On Public Assistance Funded Projects Details v2, the federal share is the dollars FEMA has obligated toward that worksheet. Typical Public Assistance cost share is 75 percent federal / 25 percent non-federal. Some declarations use 90 percent federal. A few large events use 100 percent federal, in which case there is no local match on that worksheet.
The federal share is not:
- A contract award
- A guaranteed bid package
- The applicant’s entire reconstruction budget
- Proof the work will be advertised
- A SAM.gov ceiling or a federal contracting officer’s pot
It is a reservation of federal PA dollars against a named applicant, disaster, category, and facility. The applicant still procures under its own rules. RebuildAlert emails the federal-share figure because it is the public size of the signal — not a bid estimate.
What the non-federal share is, and why BD should care
If the federal share is 75 percent of eligible cost, the remaining 25 percent is the non-federal share — often the applicant, a state emergency fund, or both. OpenFEMA does not always publish a clean non-federal column. You often infer it from obligated federal dollars and that declaration’s cost-share percent.
Why do the arithmetic:
- Friction lives in the match. A city that “sees” $3 million federal still has to find $1 million. That can delay advertising, shrink the first package, or push them to an on-call they already have.
- The match is local politics. Council or finance may be the gate, not FEMA. Ask how they plan to cover the remainder. Do not pretend you know their budget.
- 100 percent federal changes the letter. If there is no match, do not invent one. Delay, if any, is usually design and purchasing.
The federal share calculator on the tools page does this split in the open: obligated dollars in, cost-share percent in, federal versus non-federal out. It is educational. It does not confirm the cost share for that disaster, and it is not a bid.
What you can infer from the two numbers
A few inferences are fair. Stay inside them.
Size the conversation
An $80,000 federal share on a Category E roof and a $4 million federal share on a Category C corridor are not the same BD hour. Federal dollars decide whether you write today. The implied remainder hints whether they might stage work, split packages, or wait on a state match.
Talk about the local remainder without lecturing
Name the published federal share and ask how they intend to handle any match. “We saw $4 million obligated” sounds like you think FEMA already hired someone.
Pair dollars with category, not instead of it
Categories A–G change what the same dollar figure feels like. Emergency debris (A) and protective measures (B) can be underway before the worksheet obligates; a large federal share there may be a conversation after trucks have already rolled. Permanent work (C–G) more often lags. Do not re-derive the whole A–G map here — that is in PA categories written for contractors. Use the category picker when you want the contractor read and what RebuildAlert puts in the digest.
Pair dollars with the applicant, not a federal buyer
The entity that will spend both shares is the applicant. The mailing address from OpenFEMA Applicants v1 — joined on applicantId and disasterNumber — is a contact signal, not a procurement date. A large non-federal remainder does not move the bid opening earlier. It may move who you copy: finance as well as the county engineer.
What you cannot infer
You cannot infer a bid date. Obligation date plus federal share does not produce an advertisement. Design and local purchasing still sit in between.
You cannot infer an award or an NTP. Dollars reserved ≠ contractor selected ≠ notice to proceed. The non-federal share does not change that.
You cannot infer the contractor’s contract value. Eligible PA cost, obligated federal share, and a local bid tab are three numbers. Betterments and ineligible work will not match OpenFEMA. Do not bid a figure you reverse-engineered from 75 percent.
You cannot infer cost share from a habit. 75 percent is common, not universal. Enter 90 or 100 when the declaration used those rates. Guessing a 25 percent match on a 100 percent federal worksheet invents a problem they do not have.
You cannot infer that a small federal share is “not worth it.” A $120,000 Category F repair may be the only package a rural district lets all year. Dollars rank your time, not their urgency.
You cannot infer SAM.gov. A large federal share does not mean a federal solicitation is coming. The applicant usually buys the work.
A simple desk method for the split
When an alert lands, keep four lines on the card:
- Federal share (as published). Copy it. Do not round it into marketing language.
- Assumed cost share. 75, 90, or 100. If you do not know, say so instead of inventing a match.
- Implied non-federal remainder. Use the federal share calculator. Label it “implied” so nobody treats it as an OpenFEMA fact.
- Category + applicant + county. These set the tone. Dollars decide whether you send the letter.
Write one paragraph: disaster, facility language, category, published federal share, and how they plan to procure and cover any remainder. Do not claim FEMA sent you. RebuildAlert is not affiliated with FEMA or DHS. The federal government does not vouch for analyses after data leave OpenFEMA.
If the remainder is large for a small town, offer staged work only if you actually do it. If the remainder is zero, skip the match speech and ask about design and purchasing.
How the split shows up in RebuildAlert
RebuildAlert emails obligated Category A–G worksheets that match a watch: project, category, federal share, county, disaster, and the applicant mailing address when OpenFEMA has one. It does not invent a non-federal column or award work. The split is something you do on the desk so FEMA’s reservation is not confused with the applicant’s purchasing problem.
A county watch is how you see Category B now and Category C later on the same disaster, each with its own federal share. The county watch ROI tool compares assumed desk time to Starter at $49/month and Pro at $99/month. Soft math, not a forecast. Pricing is the paid path. The tools index stays free.
A short example, without pretending it is a bid
Suppose OpenFEMA shows $3,000,000 federal share obligated on a Category C road worksheet, and you believe the declaration is 75 percent federal. Implied non-federal remainder is $1,000,000. Fair inferences: the applicant has a sizable federal reservation; they may still need a million dollars of match or state help; a sealed bid, if it comes, may be weeks or months after the obligation date. Unfair inferences: “$4 million job,” “bid opens next month,” “FEMA already picked a contractor,” “this will be on SAM.gov.”
Change the assumption to 100 percent federal and the implied remainder is zero. The letter changes. You stop asking about match and start asking about plans and purchasing.
Same worksheet. Different split. Different first paragraph. That is the whole point of looking at both shares.
What RebuildAlert will not do with these dollars
Record of Sale, LLC operates RebuildAlert at www.rebuildalert.com. Contact remains publisher@noticenearby.com — email only. We will not sell OpenFEMA applicant names or mailing addresses as a standalone list. We will not turn federal share into a bid tab. We will not tell you a worksheet is an award.
Use the federal number to size the conversation. Use the implied non-federal number to respect the applicant’s problem. Use category, county, and the mailing address to decide who you write and how patient to be. Then wait for their procurement, not for FEMA to hire you.