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Borough to seek council approval for second round of ARPA-funded nonprofit grants
Summary
Solicitor and borough staff described a proposed second round of ARPA-funded grants for local nonprofit organizations, outlining eligibility criteria, required documentation, and a $100,000 allocation to be prioritized for nonprofits that did not receive funding in the first round.
Borough Solicitor and borough staff told the council they plan to ask for authorization to open a second round of nonprofit grants funded from the borough’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation, with a recommendation to prioritize organizations that did not receive funds in the first round.
The solicitor said the borough must file a final ARPA report with the federal government at month-end and explained the proposed grant round would follow the same structure as the first round: applicants would document pandemic-related revenue losses (comparing pre-COVID 02/2019 to post-COVID years), submit financial statements or certified cost estimates, and provide tax or nonprofit status documentation.
Eligibility and requirements described in the meeting included demonstration of revenue loss or pandemic impact, submission of IRS Form 990 or a CPA-certified audit (or affidavit) if a nonprofit does not have a CPA, and a requirement that the applying organization have a physical address or operating presence in the borough. The solicitor said the pool for this second round would be $100,000 and that the borough intends to give preference to qualifying nonprofits that did not apply for or receive funding in round one, then open remaining funds to other nonprofits.
Timeline and process: the solicitor and manager described a simple application form with officer authorizations and meeting minutes, a May 1 application deadline, and awards to be announced on or about June 1. Award amounts would be determined proportionally across qualifying organizations based on each organization’s documented loss relative to the total documented loss among applicants. The solicitor provided an example from the first round: if the total documented nonprofit loss had been $730,000, an organization with a $100,000 documented loss received $13,006.33 under that proportional formula.
Accountability: recipients must certify use of funds as described in their application; the borough will require a CPA audit or Form 990 affidavit to close the file. The solicitor said letters requiring closeout documentation would go out April 30 for prior awardees.
Why it matters: the program redistributes ARPA funds locally to nonprofit organizations that document pandemic-related losses and have an operational footprint in Clifton Heights. The prioritization of previously unfunded nonprofits would shift some awards toward smaller or previously overlooked organizations.
No formal council action on the second round was recorded in the transcript; the solicitor said he would request council’s approval to launch the program at the March meeting.
