Stimulus plan includes nonprofit grant opportunities
The National Council of Nonprofits, HANO’s national affiliate, is publishing special reports to help nonprofit organizations better understand the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and quickly prepare for their role in the nation's economic recovery.
Section 3(b) of the Act directs the “President and heads of Federal departments and agencies” to “manage and expend the funds made available in the Act so as to achieve” the following purposes:
- To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.
- To assist those most impacted by the recession.
- To provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health.
- To invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.
- To stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.
Nonprofits should note that Congress appropriated the stimulus funds for particular reasons, so when preparing your grant application, stress the official purposes so you can convince the grant making authorities you will help them achieve the official purposes of this historic legislation. If nonprofits assert their proper role as champions of the common good, they should constantly remind decision‐makers, the media, and others about these official purposes.
The ARRA includes $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants – a victory for arts advocates who generated an estimated 85,000 letters to members of Congress. The exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds was also removed.
General areas of funding with potential opportunities include:
- Arts
- Education
- Youth services
- Environment
- Energy
- Housing and community development
- Health and human services
- Volunteer and national service
- Nonprofit assistance
- Technology access
- Workforce development
More specifically, the new law provides funds for:
- Arts organization assistance
- Child Care and Development Block Grants
- Community Development Block Grants
- Community Development Financial Institutions
- Community Service Employment for Older Americans
- Community Services Block Grants
- Economic development assistance
- Emergency food and shelter
- Emergency food assistance
- Energy assistance focused on weatherization and energy efficiency and conservation
- Environment and conservation through Public Lands Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, Student Conservation Association and other programs serving young adults
- Head Start and Early Head Start
- Health centers
- Health prevention and wellness
- Health technology
- HOME investment grants
- Homeless prevention and rapid re-housing
- Housing foreclosure assistance and redevelopment
- Job training, employment and reemployment services
- Native American Housing Block Grants
- Nonprofit capacity building
- School-based and youth programs, including Title I, special education and education for homeless children and youth
- Senior meals
- Service learning through National Service Trust
- Technology access for broadband services in unserved areas
- Volunteer service through AmeriCorps and VISTA
To read more about these specific funding streams, download these special reports from NCN:
- Click to download NCN’s Special Report, Number 1, which includes Provisions of Potential Interest, Information on specific grants in program areas in the Act that could be of interest to a wide range of nonprofits including the nature of the program and amounts appropriated, and an appendix, which summarizes the major appropriations and tax cuts in the 407-page Act.
- Click to download Special Report, Number 2, which includes grant application information, tips and considerations
- Click to download Special Report, Number 3, which examines whether and how states are accepting and distributing federal stimulus funds. So far, there is no information about Hawaii.
Important links for learning more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – the complete text of the 407-page AARA.
- State-by-State Estimates – estimates of major spending and tax programs affecting low- and moderate-income individuals. For example, Hawaii will receive an estimated $360 million for Medicaid, $83.5 million for education, $6.4 million in child care and development block grants, and $6.2 million in emergency shelter grants among other grants.
- www.Recovery.gov – a new government website that answers Frequently Asked Questions, provides a timeline on when various events are to occur and is the official "go to" site for the public to keep track of how the money is spent.
- www.grants.gov – where official information regarding available grants will be posted.
