Franklin County, Columbus team up to help nonprofits through COVID-19 pandemic
Franklin County commissioners have approved a $5.4 million grant to help nonprofit organizations suffering from revenue losses and unanticipated expenses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Resiliency Grants, funded by federal CARES Act dollars, will serve as a lifeline for nonprofit groups throughout the county, said Jodi Andes, county board spokeswoman.
Since March, local agencies have endured significant losses, personal protective equipment (PPE) expenses and other related costs.
“We’re just trying to provide that lifeline in the various ways that we can, because these people are the heart and soul of our community,” Andes said. “They are allowing us to help one another and we want to help them.”
The county developed Resiliency Grants in partnership with the city of Columbus. During a commissioners’ briefing session Thursday, Community Partnerships Administrator Dayna McCrary said the two entities came together for a “momentous joint initiative,” creating a $20 million funding pool for the program.
The city and county looked at losses incurred by local agencies and agreed to use portions of their CARES Act money to help nonprofits recoup costs and fill any financial holes in their budget.
The city received a total of $157 million, with $51 million allocated to Health and Human Services, and the county received $70 million in CARES Act dollars.
Michael Corey, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County, said the county agreed to administer $5.4 million in grant funding, with the city giving out nearly $15 million.
County and city officials vetted 247 applications, with agencies requesting more than $90 million in aid. After reviewing the applications, a total of 110 agencies were selected for funding, including 30 by the county.
Organizations such as YWCA Columbus, Freedom a la Cart, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Muslim Family Services of Ohio and others were awarded between $8,500 to $650,000-plus under the initiative.
Judy Peterson, chief finance and operations officer at the YWCA, said the costs to manage the organization’s family homeless shelter and permanent supportive housing units were not scaled back for the pandemic.
Costs for PPE, additional safety and cleaning products and staff also took a toll on the center’s operations. And with the closure of the center’s before- and after-school programs due to schools opting for virtual instruction, the YWCA lost a significant source of revenue used to fund its family homeless shelter and programs.
Peterson said that with the grant of more than $650,000, the center will be able to recoup some of its financial losses and begin developing programs for community members.
But though the funding is helpful, Corey said, it’s still not enough to make up for the financial losses incurred over the past six months.
“These $20 million are enormously impactful, not only for the selected agencies, but for the sector as a whole,” Corey said. “That said, as valuable as these $20 million are, it’s still a far cry from the losses incurred and those anticipated going into next year.”
Corey said the county’s Health and Human Services sector has lost more than $40 million locally since March. As a result, the county’ Human Service Chamber has been advocating for another congressional stimulus package, even days after the CARES Act passed, with the hopes of filling the needs of these agencies and the communities they serve.
“We’re fortunate that the city and county have allocated this amount to the agencies,” Corey said. “But even with that, it isn’t really enough. We’re still trying to get more dollars to be made available to our communities to support all the agencies that are going to be on the frontlines of this thing well after the public health element of this crisis is over.”
The county will vote on approving the grant during Tuesday’s general session and the work will begin soon after, McCrary said. The deadline for grantees to spend the money is Nov. 30.