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Arlington approves FY26 'Race to Rebuilding Trust' nonprofit grants after public pleas from ECDC
Summary
The County Board approved FY26 'Race to Rebuilding Trust and Community' grant awards to 23 nonprofits, using the scoring process staff described; advocates for the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) urged additional county support, noting layoffs and increased client demand.
The Arlington County Board approved awards from the FY26 "Race to Rebuilding Trust and Community" grant program on March 18 after a staff review process and public comment from nonprofit advocates.
Staff presented the grant process and recommended awards. "This year we received 55 complete applications and requested nearly $6.4 million; the advertised pool was $1.5 million," Elizabeth Matlock, assistant to the deputy county managers, told the board. Matlock said reviewers combined objective scores for written proposals with community presentation scores and applied a rule to fund requests at full value at or above the 90th percentile and 75% for those below the cutoff, then used remaining funds and qualitative reviewer feedback to reach the final recommended list of 23 awardees.
During public comment multiple speakers representing the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) urged the board to provide additional help to that organization, which provides refugee resettlement, employment services, emergency assistance and other programs. ECDC staff and clients described recent layoffs at their agency and continuing caseloads: "So far, we have laid off 107 people from our payroll since January 24," said Sihai Tafaro, who identified himself as associated with ECDC. He added that 44 of those layoffs were from the Arlington office.
ECDC speakers described services including job readiness, sewing and knitting classes, housing assistance, vaccination clinics during COVID and other client supports. "We are the only place those clients can go to," said Sarah Zullo of ECDC, who said the agency still had more than 200 open cases.
Vice Chair De Ferrante moved approval of the staff list and amounts shown in the staff report; the motion authorized the County Manager to execute the grant agreements subject to approval of the FY26 operating budget. The clerk recorded the vote as four in favor and one abstention: Mr. De Ferrante, Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Coffey and Mr. Spain voted yes; Chair Takis Karantonis abstained. The motion carried 4–0 with one abstention.
Staff said applicants would receive individualized score sheets and could meet with staff to review feedback; finalized grant agreements and reporting metrics will be completed through June so awards can begin in July, subject to budget approval.
