ARPA funds help Chess and Community expand robotics, debates and youth supports in Athens-Clarke County

Chess and Community used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to expand Project Rewire, a suite of robotics, debate, civic learning and chess programs that the group says has reached hundreds of students in Athens-Clarke County.

The support has let the nonprofit scale collaborative programming, hire local staff and build fundraising tools while also exposing limits: federal grant rules, rising insurance costs and family housing instability that can cut young people off from services.

Cameron McLaughlin, Equity and Engagement Coordinator in the People and Belonging Department for Athens-Clarke County, introduced the ARPA Highlights episode and framed the funds as a way the county distributed federal relief to local organizations. The podcast invited Lemuel Life LaRoche, executive director of Chess and Community and program director at Youth Force Innovation Hub, to describe how the money was used and what the organization learned.

LaRoche said ARPA support enabled a collective-impact approach that pooled small local nonprofits so programs would not “operate in their own silo.” He described an early collaborative network — “youth organizations united to help” — that included Chess and Community alongside groups such as Strong Base Inc., Cultivating Lifetime a Legacy and Education Matters. Those partnerships, he said, helped the organizations refer young people to services beyond any single program’s capacity.

On programming and outcomes, LaRoche described Project Rewire as the ARPA-funded initiative that supports robotics, debates, critical-thinking instruction and civic education. “We have data of a lot of the students that came through Chess and Community who are now graduated, who are in college, who come back during the summers, and now they're leading the programs,” he said. He told the podcast the nonprofit has worked with more than 350 participants in robotics programming and that “over 300” who completed those programs have moved on to college, the military or workforce pathways; LaRoche presented those figures as program-level totals derived from the group’s tracking efforts.

LaRoche detailed how Chess and Community recruits and retains participants: free library programs, school outreach to teachers and counselors for referrals, neighborhood leaders and hiring program staff from the local community. He said hiring local coordinators who “got connections in this community” is a major driver of recruitment and trust.

The podcast also described administrative hurdles tied to government grants. LaRoche said organizations must develop logic models, clear outcome measures and financial systems to meet reimbursement rules and grant scopes. He told listeners that insurance requirements and rising premiums — “where do you bill for that insurance cost?” — can add several thousand dollars of annual expense and complicate budgeting for small nonprofits. He asked for patience and technical support from local government during grant implementation, while noting the need for organizations to use offered trainings and compliance assistance.

LaRoche emphasized the limits of local control over some participant outcomes: housing instability and family moves can sever connections that take years to build. “You find out, you know, three or four years later, you see this kid homeless somewhere,” he said, describing how family circumstances can disrupt long-term interventions.

Looking ahead, LaRoche said Chess and Community plans to continue Project Rewire while expanding fundraising capacity, corporate partnerships and grant-writing support. He said the group is increasing work in artificial intelligence, coding and robotics so students “are ahead of the curve” on changing technology. He also said the organization plans a twelfth annual conference in 2025 and is developing recurring events such as Chessathon to generate revenue and bring visitors to Athens.

On sustainability once ARPA funds run out, LaRoche said the group has contracted a grant writer, pursued corporate sponsorships and is strengthening partnerships with institutions such as the Boys & Girls Club and universities to create more durable funding channels.

LaRoche invited community volunteers and partners to engage at Youth Force Innovation Hub, where Chess and Community runs weekly programs; he provided a contact email, info@chessandcommunity.org, for volunteer and partnership inquiries.

The episode framed ARPA as a one-time federal funding source that gave local groups a window to build capacity, while also highlighting common nonprofit challenges — compliance, insurance, cross-organization bookkeeping and family instability — that can limit long-term program continuity.