Nonprofits in need of financial support, to help them deal with the effects of the pandemic, can now apply for phase two of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund.
The money “will continue to support nonprofit organizations dealing directly with the ongoing effects of the pandemic” in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties, according to a news release from the Cleveland Foundation, which provides organizational support for the fund.
More than $3 million has been committed to date for the second phase. The fund’s first phase led to the distribution of more than $8.6 million to nearly 160 organizations across Northeast Ohio.
Phase II will focus support in the following areas:
- Basic needs: “New and emergency needs, particularly for service offerings outside of normal operations to respond to social distancing, isolation and quarantine,” the release stated. “Examples include expanded services or hand-delivered products and services to people who are home-bound or quarantined as well as protocols to keep housing-insecure residents sheltered while reducing the spread of the coronavirus.”
- Family supports: “Services that help marginalized families and those most impacted by the pandemic maintain and/or secure employment, position students to thrive in a changing school environment, and assist families with other challenges they face as a result of COVID-19,” according to the release. Examples include distance learning, technology training, mental and behavioral health care supports, and learning pods.
- PPE, testing and contact tracing: PPE and community testing equipment, as well as services for marginalized populations and those most impacted by the pandemic.
The fund is designed primarily to support human service nonprofits with operational budgets of less than $20 million. Collaborative proposals that support multiple organizations working on common problems within their sectors or neighborhoods are encouraged.
Grants will be awarded every two weeks beginning the first week of November and will continue for a year, through Oct. 31, 2021. Awards will range in size from $5,000 to $100,000.
For more information and to apply, click here.
