The City of Parkersburg ARPA Recovery Grant Program seeks to invest in projects, led by nonprofit organizations, that respond to the COVID 19 public health emergency and its negative impact on residents of the City of Parkersburg and nonprofit organizations. This program will support projects that build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery. The grant program is designed to support transformational projects that result in long-term growth and impact and/or that address financial hardships experienced by nonprofit organizations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program is being administered by the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) and the Bernard McDonough Foundation (BMF).

Since 1963, the PACF has been a trusted partner with nonprofits in the community and has deep experience in community grantmaking. The PACF currently manages $82 million in assets in more than 400 named charitable funds. In fiscal year 2021, the PACF awarded more than $2.8 million in grants and scholarships. PACF is nationally accredited by the Council on Foundations.

Founded in 1962 by the late Bernard McDonough, the BMF provides grants throughout the state of West Virginia and in Washington County, Ohio. Grants are made primarily to address basic human needs but consideration is given to funding in the areas of health, social welfare, civic and community enterprises, art, and culture. Over the last 60 years, the BMF has funded more than $40 million in grants to hundreds of nonprofits for needy causes.

With 120 years of combined experience, the PACF and BMF have existing extensive relationships with nonprofits, effective and regular means of communicating with the nonprofit community, and secure online grant application and evaluation systems that are already in place and with which nonprofit organizations in the community are familiar and comfortable.

To be eligible for support, an applicant must:

• Have IRS 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) status.
• Have a physical address in the city limits of Parkersburg.
• Have been open and operating no later than January 1, 2020.
• Document how the proposed project addresses negative impacts from COVID 19 while strengthening and transforming the community to improve the ongoing quality of life for residents.

Applicants should note that eligibility criteria and eligible purposes for use of funds are designed to be in compliance with authorized uses of ARPA funding.

Funds may be used for capital projects, program development and delivery, and/or operating support. This grantmaking program is specifically focused on transformational community change designed to:

• Address economic impacts spurred or exacerbated by the pandemic.
• Stabilize and build resiliency for individuals, families, and households.
• Address systemic community challenges through improved service delivery.
• Plan and prepare for future events that may cause disruption in services.
• Address financial hardships experienced by nonprofit organizations.
• Build a stronger and more resilient community.

The program has a strong interest in supporting projects that address the needs of children and youth and in projects that address the needs of low to moderate income individuals. All projects must document how they address COVID-19 impact and must align with the approved purposes for the use of ARPA funds.

To learn more about eligible uses of ARPA funds, we encourage you to review the overview of the final rule from the Department of the Treasury, which can be accessed at:

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule-Overview.pdf

Specific pages of this document with relevant information include: pages 4-7, 12-20, and 23.

Examples of eligible projects include:

• Job training programs to accelerate hiring or rehiring of unemployed workers.
• Capital improvements to facilities that address COVID-19 prevention measures, including improving ventilation systems and enabling social distancing.
• Programs that improve access to medical and behavioral health care or other needed services for vulnerable populations.
• Evidence-based prevention, intervention, or mitigation programs to reduce substance use disorder and community violence.
• Projects that address the root causes of poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness.
• Services to expand or address affordable housing.
• Evidence-based educational services and practices (including tutoring, summer, afterschool, and extended learning programs).
• New or expansion of high-quality childcare to provide safe and supportive care for children.
• Projects that strengthen economic development and well-being for residents.
• Operating support for nonprofit organizations to mitigate financial hardship due to the pandemic; requests for operating support should not duplicate support already provided by other federal relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and/or EIDL loans or grants.

Grants are intended to be one-time and will not be renewable. Applicants should not anticipate or expect subsequent ARPA funding. Applicants can request support over a one-year or two-year grant period

Requests may range from $10,000 to $50,000.

$500,000

The application process will be a two-part process. Interested applicants must first submit a letter of inquiry that provides a brief description of the proposed project and a budget narrative. Upon review of the letter of inquiry, applicants may be invited to submit a full proposal. The application process will be competitive, and a limited number of projects will be invited to proceed to full application.

The letter of inquiry form, along with these guidelines, and a list of frequently asked questions, can be accessed through the PACF website, www.pacfwv.com/city-of-parkersburg-arpa

Letters of Inquiry are due April 29. Applicants will be notified if they have been selected to submit a full application by June 1, with full applications due August 1.

Grant awards will be announced by September 15.

Requests will be reviewed and evaluated by a committee composed of representatives from local foundations and grantmakers with expertise in grant review and administration. Those serving as reviewers will not be representatives of any applicant organization. The review committee will use a scoring matrix for application review and will ensure that selected projects align with eligibility requirements for ARPA funding.

In most circumstances, grant awards will be paid up front, unless the grant review committee determines it is prudent to make the grant payment in installments. All grant funds must be expended no later than September 30, 2024. If a grantee has not expended 90% of the grant funds approved by January 1, 2024, the grantee will be responsible for notifying the PACF and BMF and a plan for completion must be developed or the funds will be subject to recapture and redistribution on March 1, 2024.

The PACF and the BMF are partnering to administer the program. The PACF will be responsible for receiving the funds, creating and managing an online application process, paying grants, and including the grant program in its annual audit. PACF and BMF will partner to develop program guidelines, publicize the availability of grants, form a grant review committee, review and evaluate requests, and monitor the use of grants funds. PACF is an entity that builds permanent charitable funds and typically receives a small fee for its perpetual fund administration services. Since the ARPA funds will be fully expended, pass-through funds, PACF is receiving a fee of 5% for its services (this is half of what it typically receives for providing services for the administration of pass-through funds). The BMF is providing its services in-kind.