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Rockingham County Cares Fund accepting applications

The Rockingham County Cares Fund at The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County (TCFHR) was created for the purpose of supporting Rockingham County individuals and families via nonprofits by addressing necessary expenditures due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. In June 2020, funding was made available to Rockingham County under section 601(a) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act).

The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and appropriated $150 billion to distribute to States and certain local governments; the District of Columbia; U.S. Territories; and Tribal governments. The County granted a $250,000 portion of this funding to establish the Rockingham County Cares Fund to support local nonprofits via grants.

Grant Guidelines, Basic Eligibility & Timeline
The Rockingham County Cares Fund will provide grants, that meet eligibility criteria, to nonprofit organizations. Applications will be reviewed and, if approved, processed within one week of review. Grant applications will be accepted starting October 15, 2020. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of Rockingham County representatives. The last day to submit an application is October 28, 2020 at 5:00 pm.

Eligibility:

Grants are limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and groups fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are not, able to fund individuals or businesses directly, labor unions, or other 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(6) organizations.
• Have local leadership in the form of a board of directors or advisory committee, local financial support, and local program management and accountability.
• TCFHR honors the rich diversity of our community and promotes equal opportunities for all people. TCFHR supports organizations, projects and programs that do not illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristics. TCFHR does not knowingly award grants to organizations that illegally discriminate in their hiring, those they accept as volunteers or the clients they serve.

Specific Requirements:

• Nonprofit organization must have a principal place of business located within or serving the County or with substantial activities occurring within Rockingham County, and with organizational missions and relief efforts focused on children’s services, and on basic needs such as utilities, shelter, food, and other COVID-19 relief efforts.
• Have been legally established 501c3 nonprofit organization as of February 2020.
• The CARES Act provides that funds may only be used to cover costs that: (1) Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); (2) Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020; and (3) Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.
• If you have already received CARES Act funding, you are eligible to apply however you can not use a Rockingham County Cares Fund grant to support losses or expenses already covered by March 23rd CARES Act legislation that you already received.
• Applicants will be required to acknowledge and agree that the grant funds will be used only to reimburse expenses that were incurred due to the COVID-19 crisis. Applicants shall further acknowledge that if funds are not expended in a consistent manner, the funds are subject to be returned to TCFHR by December 30.
• Applicants must follow standard procedures and federal guidelines to ensure grants funds are distributed in a timely manner for designated purposes.
• Applicants must agree to submit reporting of all expenditures by January 15, 2021 to The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County who will then provide these reports to Rockingham County.

APPLICATION

 

Timeline:
• October 28, 2020 at 5pm – Application Due Date
• November 2, 2020 – Applications reviewed
• November 6, 2020 – Grant checks processed and mailed
• December 30, 2020 – All unused funds must be returned by NPO to TCFHR
• January 15, 2021 – Grant report on how funds were spent is due to TCFHR

 

Have questions?
Contact:
Ann Siciliano
Director of Program Services at TCFHR
[email protected]
540-432-3863