Human Services Committee approves Round 2 small-agency grants, adds clause barring district fund sharing

The DuPage County Human Services Committee voted to approve Round 2 of the county’s small-agency grant program, allocating $1,050,000 across six districts and adding a clause that prevents unused district funds from being redistributed to other districts.

The program, funded from ARPA and prior Human Services grama funds, sets each district’s allocation at $175,000, with individual awards ranging from $5,000 up to a $30,000 maximum. Awardees will receive funds up front, run their projects for up to 12 months, then submit required performance metrics and invoices; reporting is due by June 30, 2026.

County finance staff said the Round 2 design reflects lessons from Round 1, which opened in 2023. Mary Catherine, a DuPage County finance staff member who presented the proposal, summarized Round 1 results: the county received 73 applications totalling about $1.5 million, awarded 37 grants totaling approximately $653,000–$654,000, and by the end of 2024, 23 of those 37 awardees had not submitted required performance metrics. She said many Round 1 applications were ineligible or incomplete, including submissions from entities without active 501(c)(3) status, incomplete forms and requests for ineligible expenses such as direct cash giveaways or personal vehicle repairs.

To reduce administrative burden going forward, the county will require applicants to submit active certifications of nonprofit status at application time, standardize performance metrics on the application, and confirm organizational addresses are in DuPage County. "You have to have your certification on the front ends," Mary Catherine said when explaining the documentation changes.

Committee members debated program design details, including the increase of the individual award cap to $30,000. One member voiced concern about perceived fairness if some organizations in one district received higher awards than others, and whether districts with few applicants could transfer unused funds. Finance staff clarified that $30,000 is a cap and districts may award smaller amounts as appropriate. Joan, a county communications staff member, said outreach will include a news release, social media and targeted email blasts to nonprofit networks. "We will send out a news release, and we generally get pretty nice uptake on grant opportunities through small media," she said. Mary Keating, county community services staff, said the county also distributes releases through municipal communications networks.

During discussion, members asked staff about unused funds from the prior round. County staff said the unspent balance from Round 1 had been rolled back into ARPA interest and was available for other board-approved expenditures. Committee members agreed to add explicit language to the Round 2 resolution stating that unused district funds would not be redistributed among districts and directed staff and the state’s attorney to include the wording in the final resolution.

The committee approved the amendment to the resolution covering the non-sharing provision and then approved FIR 1725 — "Approval of Round 2 of the small agency grant program in the amount of $1,050,000" — as amended. The resolution and accompanying timeline will proceed to the Finance Committee and full County Board next week; staff said further changes could be made on the floor if necessary.

The committee was explicit that failure to submit final performance metrics or eligible expenditure documentation for Round 1 makes an organization ineligible for Round 2. Staff reiterated that invoices, W-2s where required, and a fully executed grant agreement are required for payment, and county processes include clawback language if funds are not spent on eligible expenses.

The committee’s approval ends with the county staff preparing final resolution language and communications materials for the public rollout.