Rescue Plan Act Funds: Nonprofits Get Ready
By Dianne Anderson
Nonprofits that are still unclear about the many millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds that have come down, and are yet to come, should start getting ahead of the crowd for the next round of applications this new fiscal year.
In Riverside County, CID/ARPA distribution is front and center on their website with information and distribution on all funding for nonprofits and other agencies that have already received help. Applications for the new funding cycle require nonprofits to identify their supervisorial district and return to their respective districts.
Yaoska Machado, spokesperson for the County of Riverside Executive Office, said except for the RFP process through the Housing and Workforce Solutions Department, there is no RFP process for ARPA funds for nonprofits through the supervisor districts.
Instead, a simple application is available on their website.
“The deadline for ARPA funding to be obligated is December 2024, which is a requirement of the grant. We are trying to get the funds obligated by December 2023 to make sure the December 2026 deadline for expense of the funds is met,” Machado said in an email.
Initially, the county provided workshops and outreach with nonprofits and other agencies to alert the community to access funding as available. Classes are no longer offered for nonprofits or small businesses, but she said the community is encouraged to check the website to submit their application. Their website also has a list of all the nonprofits funded through ARPA.
Last October, Riverside County’s progress report stated their share of the American Rescue Plan funding estimated at $479 million, with the first installment of $239 million was received in May of 2021, along with the second of an equal amount on June 6, 2022.
ARPA funding must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026.
“As of October 4, 2022, the Board approved 84 non-profits ARPA CID applications in the amount of $797,000. On July 26, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved the allocations of $15 million in ARPA funding to establish the Riverside County Non-Profit Roundtable to address the negative economic impacts of the pandemic on non-profits and to support community efforts carried out by the nonprofit sector,” according to the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Quarterly Progress Report.
Still, many grassroots nonprofits are looking for a clear timeline and information on how to get funding, hoping to scrape together the last of the billions of dollars that flowed down in the past three years to address the inequity under the pandemic that killed up to three times more Black and Brown people than whites.
“Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism. Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face,” stated President Biden in his 2022 Advancing Equity Through the American Rescue Plan.
Brookings Institute, a nonprofit research organization, has analyzed the trajectory of the $350 billion federal ARPA funds through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program. Their Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker, a joint project with the National Association of Counties and National League of Cities, tracked 331 governments nationally that spent $47 billion for 11,000 projects. So far, 75% of ARPA funds have been budgeted.
Of those examined by Brookings, on average, 41% went to support government operations, 11% went to infrastructure, public health and community aid, respectively. 8.5% went for economic and workforce development, and 7.8% to public safety.
In Riverside County, the tracker shows 5% went to government operations, 39% went to infrastructure, 13% to public health, 12% to economic and workforce development, 20% to community aid, and 11% to housing.
For Los Angeles County, 7% went for governmental operations, 3.5% for infrastructure, 17% went for public health, 9% went for economic and workforce development. Fully half, 50%, went for community aid, 11% went for housing and 1% public safety.
In San Bernardino County, 70% went for governmental operations, 20% went for infrastructure, 7% went for public health, 0% (not funded) went for workforce and economic development, 2% percent for community aid, 0.2% for housing, and 0% (not funded) for public safety, according to the tracker.
At the end of last fiscal year, the California Pan Ethnic Health Network also analyzed the state’s 12 largest counties, and gave San Bernardino a Grade C on their report card of ARPA spending.
CPEHN reports San Bernardino County has created a multi-year plan to implement its Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), but is slow in developing specific projects. In contrast, Los Angeles County got a Grade A for its Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, which has worked with community stakeholders to embed racial and social equity goals and principles in its ARPA plan and projects. The county received $423.5 million for the federal ARPA SLFRF allocation.
San Bernardino County Spokesperson David Wert said the county was unable to provide a list of the nonprofits that received ARPA funding by press time. They also could not provide information on the RFP or the application process for the new funding cycle.
Last week, the 11th Element of the Equity Element Group met for a S.B. County update on how Black residents are getting access to services and resources.
Some members had expressed concerns to the Precinct Reporter about access to resources, grants, RFPs for ARPA funds, which were unclear or inaccessible in terms of timelines, reporting and funding.
Diana Alexander, County Assistant Executive Officer who heads the County’s equity efforts, stated on their website that changes are coming soon regarding workshops to teach minority-run businesses and community organizations how to compete for County contracts. Also upcoming is the establishment of County Equity Office led by a County Equity Officer, and prioritization of investments of minority communities.
The website says they are looking to form an Equity Cohort program to ensure county departments think in terms of equity as they provide services to residents and businesses, and make efforts to get the word out on the Equity Element Group for increased participation.
At this time, the Economic Policy Institute reports that state and local governments have spent less than half of their ARPA fiscal recovery funds, and the remainder should be used to rebuild the public sector.
That nonprofit think tank reports the deadline to obligate the SLFRF dollars is near, and state and local governments have until December 31, 2026 to spend those dollars. But, they must obligate the money and designate it by December 31, 2024.
“Even though that is still 21 months away, most states will adjourn their 2023 legislative sessions within the next three months, and many states have shorter legislative sessions in even-numbered years. As such, most states have less than 21 months, and some already have less than a year,” reports EPI, adding, “State policymakers must not lose sight of the 2024 deadline and take steps now to ensure they can make full use of their fiscal recovery funds.”
For more information:
To apply for CID ARPA funds within their individual districts, see
https://rivco.org/american-rescue-plan-act
To RFP for nonprofit grants and technical assistance for Housing and Workforce Solutions, https://rivcohws.org/riverside-county-nonprofit
To see San Bernardino County ARPA information, see https://main.sbcounty.gov/about-cao/arpa/
For California Pan Ethnic Health Network report cards for ARPA spending, see
https://www.cpehn.org/arpascorecards/
To track how counties are doing with their ARPA spending, see
To see the community goals in the White House Advancing Equity Through the American Rescue Plan, see https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ADVANCING-EQUITY-THROUGH-THE-AMERICAN-RESCUE-PLAN.pdf
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