Below are various Federal Opportunities.
Grants
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
NEH just announced two new funding opportunities to rapidly distribute American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funding to cultural organizations and educational institutions adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. These funding opportunities will provide direct grants to individual humanities institutions and grantmaking organizations to distribute as competitive subawards to affected organizations and individuals. These two grant programs aim to help the humanities community recover from the economic burdens of the pandemic, enable the reopening of humanities institutions and programs, and support the retention of the humanities workforce.
Below are details of the two new American Rescue Plan funding opportunities:
- American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations emergency relief grants provide up to $500,000 to cultural organizations and educational institutions to support humanities projects across the fields of education, preservation and access, public programming, digital humanities, and scholarly research for one year. Applicants may propose new humanities projects or focus on sustaining core humanities programs and activities. Relief funding may be used for activities that emphasize retaining or hiring humanities staff at cultural organizations across the country. Applicants may propose new humanities projects or focus on sustaining core humanities programs and activities. The deadline to apply is May 14, 2021. The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations program is available on the NEH website. Questions about this grant program should be directed to ARPorganizations@neh.gov.
- American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking is directed at experienced grantmaking organizations to administer competitive grantmaking programs to support humanities activities undertaken by organizations or individuals. Applicants proposing grantmaking programs for organizations may request up to $5 million; those aimed at individual humanities professionals may request up to $2 million. Funding may be used to establish new grantmaking programs or expand or adapt existing programs to support recovery within the humanities sector. The deadline to apply is May 13, 2021. The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking is available on the NEH website. Questions about this program should be directed to ARPorganizations@neh.gov.
Small Business Administration (SBA) – COVID-19 Relief Options
This website provides information about relief programs administered by the SBA, including PPP loans, EIDL loans, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (AKA The Restaurants Act), and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (AKA the Save Our Stages Act).
Below are various ARPA Opportunities.
Grants
U.S. Treasury - Capital Projects Fund
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (American Rescue Plan) established the $10 billion Capital Projects Fund to provide funding to states, territories, and Tribal governments to carry out critical capital projects directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19). The focus of the Capital Projects Fund on the continuing need for connectivity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic complements the broader range of uses, including for broadband infrastructure, of the American Rescue Plan’s separate $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
U.S. Treasury - Assistance for State, Local, and Tribal Governments
This website provides an overview of the local funding programs created in ARPA that Treasury will oversee.
U.S. Treasury - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund
This website provides an overview of the $350B that will be distribute to state, local, and tribal governments. It also provides pre-award guidance to help prepare for receiving funds.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP)
The EFSP National Board’s goal is to award funds as efficiently as possible to meet the urgent needs of local agencies in assisting the unique and vulnerable migrant population. Awards to eligible organizations will be for reimbursement of services rendered during rolling spend periods, as well as prospective funding for approved projects and activities. Organizations may view application guidance for the $110 million in humanitarian relief funding for assisting migrants encountered by DHS on the EFSP website. The application period opened on April 19.
National League of Cities (NLC) – COVID-19 Pandemic Response & Relief
This NLC website provide an overview of programs available to assist with meeting the challenges of facing COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the page is focused on ARPA and provides estimated allocations to all cities and towns.
National League of Cities (NLC) – FEMA Assistance for Reopening Municipal Government Programs
This page contains updated information about the FEMA Public Assistance program.
Below are various State Opportunities.
Grants
Arizona’s Back to Work Program
On May 13, 2021, Governor Doug Ducey and DES announced Back To Work programs to help individuals transition from unemployment to a new job, and ensure those currently receiving unemployment have support available to help them in this critical step forward. With this new program, Arizona will stop taking the federal government’s supplemental pandemic unemployment benefit effective Saturday, July 10. Arizona will also provide support for unemployed individuals seeking to upskill their careers with adult education programs as well as additional child care opportunities.
Emergency Rental Assistance
The Arizona Department of Economic Security is focused on distributing $289,601.979.80 from the U.S. Department of Treasury to assist households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program launched in February 2021 and is currently accepting applications.
The American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress in March 2021, included additional funds for this program. Arizona is currently waiting on additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury, including the amount of the second allotment.
Homeowner Assistance Fund
The Arizona Department of Housing will distribute $196,984,339 from the U.S. Department of Treasury to help Arizona homeowners facing financial hardship due to the pandemic.
The funding will go toward monthly mortgage assistance; forbearance payoffs; financial assistance for bills related to utilities, internet and other expenses; and miscellaneous costs for insurance, homeowners association fees, and more.
Homeless Assistance and Supportive Services
The Arizona Department of Housing will distribute $21,818,662 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program to combat homelessness in Arizona.
The funding will go toward the production or preservation of affordable housing; tenant-based rental assistance; supportive services for homeless prevention and housing counseling; and the purchase or development of non-congregate shelter for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Arizonans who will benefit from this funding include those experiencing homelessness, those at risk of being homeless, those fleeing domestic violence, human trafficking victims, and other Arizonans experiencing housing instability.
Below are various Private Opportunities.
Grants
Arizona Economic Recovery Center
The Arizona Economic Recovery Center aims to enable more qualified Arizona cities, towns, counties, and nonprofits to win competitive federal, state, and foundation grants. Please check the website for eligibility restrictions.
Community Heart & Soul
Seed Grants: Community Heart & Soul is inviting resident-driven groups in small cities and towns to apply for $10,000 in startup funding to implement the Community Heart & Soul model. Based on three powerful principles–involve everyone, focus on what matters most, and play the long game–Community Heart & Soul helps towns move toward a brighter, more prosperous future by bringing the residents of a community closer together. Grants target communities with populations between 2,500-30,000. Learn more and apply here
WaterNow
WaterNow is currently accepting applications for our spring round of Project Accelerator. If you’re not already familiar with Project Accelerator, it provides cities, water agencies, and other organizations with pro-bono support to jumpstart a sustainable water project. This generates immediate wins for participating projects and builds a library of replicable, scalable solutions for more widespread adoption. More information about Project Accelerator, including the link to apply and examples of past projects, can be found on our website here. Applications are due by May 24, 2021