Bethlehem Community Recovery Fund application is almost available. Here’s who qualifies
Bethlehem officials on Wednesday shared a first peek at the criteria that will be used to determine who qualifies for the city’s first round of Community Recovery Fund grants to be released this year.
The money is targeted at supporting sustainable projects that tackle long-standing systemic issues made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, city officials said during an information session on the program.
The application to apply for the money will open on March 1. Application deadline is scheduled for April 30. Details about the program are posted on the Department of Community and Economic Development section of bethlehem-pa.gov.
A follow-up informational session on how to submit the application is in the works to be hosted by the city on March 1.
Some $750,000 is up for grabs initially, officials said Wednesday. That sum is part of a larger $3 million Community Recovery Fund that would be dispersed over the next few years, from the city’s $34.4 million allotment in the federal American Rescue Plan Act coronavirus relief package.
“The pandemic exacerbated problems in a way that required systemic approaches to fill in the gaps in a number of areas” Bethlehem Director of Equity and Inclusion Janine Santoro said.
Surveys conducted by the city between 2021 and 2022 helped identify 16 areas residents considered to be most important to improving their general quality of life.
Areas of interest pointed out by residents included child care support, climate justice, education and literacy, food assistance, high speed internet, job training, mental health and counseling, public health, senior services, utility assistance and violence prevention and more. The list is not exhaustive, Santoro told the public.
Housing needs and assistance are being addressed separately by the city through its ARPA allocation. The city in its 2023 budget broke out three funding areas for its pandemic recovery efforts: affordable housing, homeless initiatives and the Community Recovery Fund.
Projects that fall into the areas identified for the Community Recovery Fund would be eligible to apply for grants of $10,000 to $75,000, the city said.
So, how do you know if your organization qualifies for the Community Recovery Fund?
Applicants must be a nonprofit or community organization, not operating as a business.
Applicants must be located within Bethlehem or serve Bethlehem residents.
Applicant Organizations must have been established before March 1, 2022.
Applicant projects must be secular and intended for public use or benefit.
Applicant projects cannot be political.
Proposed funding should not exceed 50% of expected expenditures for the year.
The broad range of eligibility was intended to make the application accessible to various types of organizations that have initiatives that intersect community needs, Mayor J. William Reynolds said.
The Community Recovery Fund “will hopefully make it so we don’t always have to be playing catch-up,” Williams said.