Information Continues to be Released Regarding Economic Stimulus Opportunities!

NorthSky staff had an opportunity to participate in a webinar, A Recovery Act Update for Michigan Nonprofits, presented by Leslee Fritz, Director of Michigan’s Economic Recovery Office. The presentation was helpful in highlighting the ways in which the Recovery Act funding will come into communities, the status of those streams, and where we need to go to get up to date information. The ARRA funding that is available to nonprofits is coming in two ways:

1. Through formula grants to existing programs (e.g. Medicaid, school funding, Food Stamps, Community Development Block Grants, etc.). This funding is moving out quickly to state and local governments and other organizations through existing mechanisms. Many of the formula funds to states and governments require that they work with community organizations. Nonprofits are encouraged to check with their municipalities for opportunities to partner.
2. Through competitive grants, the vast majority of which will be at the federal level. These competition announcements are coming out more slowly. There are some out now, but according to recent briefing they are expecting the bulk of these competitions to be open in July and August. All ARRA federal grant competitions must be posted on www.grants.gov (more information below). The state will likely have some competitive grants which will be posted on www.michigan.gov/recovery (more information below).
   

The funding made through formula grants to existing programs and through competitive grants will cut across almost all sectors – health, education, human services, transportation, energy, housing and community development, the environment, and arts and culture.

Prior to the signing of the ARRA, the Governor requested summaries of “shovel ready” projects from organizations around the state. The purpose of the list was to assess the need in the state and lobby for resources to come to Michigan. Most of the ARRA funding is being coordinated at the federal level, or simply passing through the state to local communities through formula grants. The little discretionary funding that is left for the state is going to meet their ongoing budget shortfalls and will not be used to fund any of the “shovel ready” projects. Organizations with shovel ready projects are encouraged to pursue competitive ARRA grants and contact the units of local government that received formula allocations to pursue partnership opportunities.

If you are interested in securing economic stimulus dollars for your nonprofit, it’s important to check three resources daily for updates:

www.michigan.gov/recovery - State of Michigan’s portal for ARRA information. Click on “Grant Opportunities” for a summary and contact information for all ARRA grant opportunities (formula and competitive).
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/recovery.jsp - The grants.gov page dedicated to federal recovery act competitive grant opportunities. There are links to all the federal departments’ newly created recovery web pages as well as a link to a listing of all of the open Recovery Act competitions.
www.recovery.gov – The federal government site for Recovery Act news and reporting.

The PowerPoint and question and answers from this webinar can be accessed at: http://www.mnaonline.org/pdf/MNAGovOfcPPTPresentation_April142009.pdf. Look for a link to the full transcript of the presentation and question and answer session in next week’s update.

Additionally, on April 9, the White House held a special “briefing for outside organizations about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)” to provide an opportunity “to learn about how the ARRA funds are being distributed in the various departments and how you as organizations can participate.” The National Council of Nonprofits attended the briefing and has published this Special Report so nonprofits across the country can have equal access to this important information. (Source: National Council of Nonprofits)