NEWPORT—Nonprofit organizations across the U.S. have sustained measurable losses because of COVID, affecting their ability to serve the communities that depend on them. Now, a federal plan could help them bounce back and restore their ability to continue helping those in need.
Cocke County held a special meeting on Thursday, November 11 to discuss how area community organizations can benefit from the American Rescue Plan.
“This is a rare opportunity for us to give you all money that’s much needed,” Blazer said, speaking to a room of directors and volunteers in the Chancery Courtroom at the Annex. “We’re doing everything we can to give you all access to that money.”
Applications were handed out that night, and are now available through the mayor’s office. Digital copies are also available by request through email. At the meeting, they said that the rules could change to become more or less restrictive, but there are basic regulatory requirements that the county and organizations must meet in order to receive aid.
“We’re still getting guidance from Nashville,” Blazer said. “All we do know is what our total amount of money is, and we kind of know some stipulations about what that’s going to look like.”
The money is being distributed to the county in two installments, Ottinger said, the first of which has already been received, but can not be spent until both halves of the money are distributed, and once the county knows how it will be spent. They expect the second half about one year from when the first half was received. Another stipulation, she said, is that all the money has to be spent by 2024, and projects completed by 2026.
Because this is a federal grant, Ottinger says, there are more regulations involved than a normal grant, including that the organization must meet the federal government’s definition of a nonprofit. She said most of the groups in attendance already meet that definition, or else they would not be considered nonprofits.
“If there are questions on whether you’re a nonprofit, or what kind of nonprofit you fall under, I have the site you would go to, to determine what you’re listed as,” she said. “If you do that and find out you’re not a nonprofit, I have the steps for you to start that process.”
The second, and most important requirement, Ottinger said, is the eligibility requirement. The local government must identify – and nonprofits must prove – whether there is a public health need that will be met, or an economic hardship that will be mitigated with the grant.
“I think most of us would be able to do that,” Ottinger said. “Everybody had hardships through COVID. Everybody realizes the things they didn’t have that they could have used then.”
Although hardships stemming from COVID may seem obvious to those who experienced it, there are challenges and questions involved as people are asked for the very first time to express it on paper.
Sunset Gap is a thrift store, food pantry, and resource center impacted by COVID, according to Director Audrey Jones, who said the application was unclear at first glance.
“I don’t know what all they’re needing. There’s no criteria with the application, really,” Jones said. “I hate to fill it out if I’m not going to be eligible for it.”
She said her thrift store was closed for a year, causing her organization to lose revenue in 2020 after people could no longer come in, directly affecting their ability to get food out to those in need.
“There’s a lot of people that did not get served,” she said, “because we took every dime we had and put it in our food pantry to feed the people. We had to stop our hot meal program, our thrift store, and our mission camps for the year.”
Although they are doing somewhat better this year, they are still not fully up and running. Grant money could help restore the operation to full capacity.
“Normally we take enough in – in mission camps, in donations – to purchase turkeys and hams for the holiday boxes,” she said. “We weren’t able to do that this year. We’re praying that we can for Christmas, but for Thanksgiving, there’s no way.”
Jones is submitting her application in the hopes that the county can help her get the necessary funding, so that next year Sunset Gap organizers can purchase those foods for the people who depend on them.
She said she will be filling out her application with help from the organization treasurer and board of directors, and will ask someone at the mayor’s office to look at it, too, so that before submission, at least three different people will have reviewed it.
Blazer said he can provide information or direct people to resources on how to write their applications to show they are eligible to receive assistance through the grant.
“In a lot of cases, you all are meeting these criteria,” he said. “It’s being creative enough to figure out a way to explain how you’re meeting those criteria.”
Ottinger said that because the county is required to show how every dollar is spent, they are hesitant to make it into a simple monetary grant. Instead, they are asking people to come up with lists of needed materials and equipment, to be purchased by the county, and turned over to the organization.
“You tell us what you want, we buy it, and then we give it to you,” Blazer said, “because of that whole auditing aspect—that we are audited, and the federal government is not auditing your organization, and your organization, and all these different organizations.”
This means nonprofit directors and treasurers need to compare their financial records for 2019, show a loss in 2020, and present those records along with a list of equipment or materials that would have been purchased with the difference—money not received, because of hardship caused by COVID.
“On this grant, you’re going to have to prove everything,” Ottinger said. “Not just for the application, but in the event you are awarded the grant, you have got to follow up with that, too.”
She said the next step is for the county to process the applications through an online portal opening in January, where there will be an opportunity for a pre-audit, ensuring that purchase and project proposals will meet the program standards, possibly giving leaders and applicants a chance to amend the proposal.
“They will give us feedback on whether or not they think that project would pass the standards and eligibility requirements the federal government has set,” she said. “They’re looking to do that from January to March or April.”
Ottinger said they estimate hearing back sometime in the summer or fall whether the projects are viable, after which point the purchases will be subject to regular county purchasing guidelines.
“You’re looking at fall or winter of next year, for whatever it is that you may request,” she said. “I know that’s pretty vague. Again, everything is [vague] right now. We are still waiting to get that final rule.”
She said in order to stay in compliance, there will be after-action reports requiring documentation and proof of how the purchases are being used. To satisfy the requirements of those reports, she cited examples of proof, such as service areas and ride logs, for an ambulance purchased through the grant by a volunteer EMS. As another example, she said food boxes purchased through the grant would have to be accounted for, and proven with logs and receipts, clearly showing that the organization has followed through with the grant’s stated purpose.
Marta Cogburn is also considering the application process. She is the director of Recovery Ministries at United Methodist Church, and said the mayor encouraged her to apply.
“We put our heads together,” Cogburn said, “and we purchased a lot of equipment just to do Zoom, and paying a Zoom license, and those kinds of things, and she thought that I could probably use money for that, so that was great.”
There are still open questions about how monetary relief can be dispersed, but the mayor is encouraging everyone to apply who can show hardship. However, she said applicants should not combine requests for monetary relief with an application requesting equipment or material assistance.
“Separate from your application – don’t mix it with your application – write us something that says, ‘Hey, this is what I would need actual monetary funding for,’” she said. “That way, if they change it or – there’s going to be a lot of other grants that come out of this. The states got money, there are federal grants as well, so there’s going to be additional opportunities out there. Go ahead and figure out what you might need, that we can’t do—but maybe one of the other entities can.”
A tax status determination letter is also needed to apply, Ottinger said, and there is still time to request one.
“You should have time to go online and request that,” she said. “If for some reason it’s Wednesday the 29th, and you’re still holding onto this because you don’t have that one thing, turn in your application, because there are still processes after you get it turned in.”
Ottinger said she is considering holding a public workshop to help answer more questions and guide applicants through the process.
Applications are due December 29. Blazer suggests not waiting until the last minute to start the paperwork, because gathering the necessary documents takes time.
This story appeared in The Newport Plain Talk.