The City of Great Falls is accepting applications for programs related to COVID-19 recovery efforts. These programs may involve direct responses to the medical requirements of the pandemic, efforts to address the negative social impacts of the pandemic, or programs aiming to address disproportionately impacted populations.
Donor Name: City of Great Falls
State: Montana
City: Great Falls
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/15/2022
Size of the Grant: $40,000
Details:
The American Recovery Act (“ARPA”) was signed into law on March 11, 2021 and amended Title VI of the Social Security Act to establish the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund in §602 of the Act and the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (together the “Recovery Funds”) in §603. These Recovery Funds were created to considerably expand support previously provided by the Federal Government to State and Local governments.
Use of these funds must comply with regulations issued by the United States Department of the Treasury. These rules identified four categories of eligible uses:
- Responding to the Public Health and Economic Impacts of COVID-19;
- Premium Pay for Eligible Employees;
- Replacing Lost Public Sector Revenue;
- Water, Sewer, and Broadband Infrastructure.
Funding Information
Minimum Grant Request: $40,000
Eligibility Criteria
Provide an eligible program that serves residents or businesses in the City of Great Falls.
Eligible Activities
To be considered an eligible expense under ARPA, a program or project must fall within one of the following categories:
- To respond to the public health emergency.
- Supporting health responses – Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 continues to require an unprecedented cooperative health response between public and private entities. ARPA funds may be used by these organizations to mitigate the current pandemic or prevent future outbreaks through:
- Services and Programs to contain/mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (Expense Categories 1.1 to 1.9) includes testing, vaccination, tracking and other medical activities related directly to the treatment of the disease.
- Services to address behavioral healthcare needs exacerbated by the pandemic (Expense Categories 1.10 to 1.11) includes treatment for mental health, substance abuse, and other behavioral health services. Applicants establishing or expanding these programs should identify evidence based practices used in treatment.
- Supporting health responses – Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 continues to require an unprecedented cooperative health response between public and private entities. ARPA funds may be used by these organizations to mitigate the current pandemic or prevent future outbreaks through:
- Addressing the negative economic impacts caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The COVID-19 public health emergency resulted in significant economic hardship for many Americans. Consumer spending slowed, businesses closed, schools/offices shifted to remote access, and tourism dramatically slowed. ARPA funds may be used to address harms caused or exacerbated by. Uses include:
- Delivering assistance to workers and families (Expense Categories 2.1 to 2.3) – Financial assistance, Job training, food shortages, and housing assistance may be provided by community partners with existing relevant programs.
- Supporting small businesses and non-profits (Expense Category 2.4 and 2.5) – Helping local enterprises to address financial challenges caused by the pandemic and to make investments in COVID-19 prevention and mitigation tactics, as well as to provide technical assistance.
- Supporting tourism, travel, and hospitality industries (Expense Category 2.6) – Industries that were hit particularly hard by the health emergency may use ARPA funds to support safe reopening, facilitating social distancing, or mitigation of financial hardship. Planned expansions of tourism, travel, or hospitality facilities that were delayed due to the pandemic are also eligible projects.
- Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities.
- The pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income families and exacerbated systemic health and economic inequities impacting low income communities. To be considered eligible, projects aimed at alleviating the increased impact experienced by low-income households must be:
- Provided at a physical location in a Qualified Census Tract (“QCT”); or
- A program or service where the primary intended beneficiaries live within a QCT; or
- A program or service for which the eligibility criteria are such that the primary intended beneficiaries earn less than 60% of the median income for the City of Great Falls; or
- A program or service for which the eligibility criteria are such that more than 25% of the population served are below the federal poverty line.
- Eligible activities for projects include:
- Addressing educational disparities (Expense Categories 3.1 to 3.4) – through new or expanded early learning services, providing additional resources to high-poverty school districts, and offering tutoring/after school programs. Also, services to address social, emotional, and mental health needs; or
- Promoting healthy childhood environments (Expense Categories 3.5 to 3.7) – through new or expanded high quality childcare, homevisiting programs for families with young children, or services for foster youth or families involved in child welfare system; or
- Investments in housing and neighborhoods (Expense Categories 3.8 to 3.10) – services to address homelessness, affordable housing development, housing vouchers, and residential counseling; or
- Addressing Social Determinants of Health (Expense Categories 3.11 to 3.12) – through funding of community health workers, public benefit navigators, and community violence intervention programs.
For more information, visit City of Great Falls.
