By Mavis Bates
As a member of the Kane County Board and our American Rescue Plan Committee, I am thrilled to announce Kane County’s Community Support Grant Program. In recognition of the devastating impact felt by our local nonprofit organizations during the COVID-19 public health crisis, the Kane County Board has allocated a portion of its American Rescue Plan Act Fund for a program aimed at helping nonprofit agencies that support community mental health and social services.
This grant program is intended to help our local 501c3 nonprofit organizations continue serving our residents, especially in economically-disadvantaged communities.
Kane County has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for this grant program, which is posted on the ARPA page on our website at www.countyofkane.org/ARPA. To apply for a grant, your organization must use the application portal, which is embedded in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The direct link is kanecountygovernment.submittable.com/submit. The portal will remain open until January 31, 2022.
There is a wide range of eligible expenses, including sign-on and retention bonuses, operational expenses, equipment, including the purchase or leasing of vehicles, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting, and social distancing costs.
The minimum amount of a grant is $15,000. Maximum amounts are up to $100,000 for behavioral and mental health agencies and food pantries and up to $300,000 for homeless shelters. These ranges allow small or large organizations to be eligible for funding. Applications will be considered on a competitive basis subject to funding availability.
To be eligible you must serve the residents of Kane County, have a physical presence in the County, have been an incorporated 501c3 since January 1, 2019, and have a primary mission to serve Kane County residents in the areas of behavioral and mental health, homeless shelters, or food pantries.
I urge all of our 501c3 non-profit organizations that are delivering humanitarian aid to our residents to apply. Please look at the portal right away, to give yourself plenty of time to find the necessary documents. This money is intended to help the people of Kane County, and our local non-profits have the knowledge and expertise to help the most people with the least amount of waste. I hope we can bring some of these funds to Aurora.
Mavis Bates is the Kane County Board Member of District 4.