American Rescue Plan Act
Sterling Funding Application

^{The purpose of this ARPA funding application is to aid the maximum number of organizations and to ensure that the allocations of public funds derived from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are used strategically to offer services that are better provided by non-profit community and other partners while creating clear expectations and improved outcomes from the services rendered. It is important that all public funding assigned to outside organizations are distributed and monitored in a transparent and accountable manner on behalf of the citizens of Sterling, Connecticut.}

 

_{Organizations must complete an application to be considered for funding from the ARPA funds. Complete applications must include answers to all questions and be accompanied by all requested supporting documentation. Applications will be reviewed by the town for completeness and then for consideration and final approval.} 

 

Award of Funds & Ranking Criteria

The Town anticipates that there will be more demand for funding than is available to meet the needs of every applicant. A scoring/ranking system, even split of allocated funding, first-come first-serve, or revised caps on funding support may all be used at the discretion of the Town dependent upon the quantity of eligible applications received. All program guidelines are subject to change.

Below is a list of general characteristics that may be considered as part of the process. This list may be refined by the Town as deemed necessary. Preference will be given to organizations that:

• Provide services to Town residents that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
• Serve the Town's most vulnerable populations, low income, seniors, handicapped, unemployed or other underserved residents. 
• Have partnered with or assisted other non-profits to provide needed services.
• Have actively provided needed services to Town residents for the longest period of time.

Contractual Agreement

Applicants approved for funding will enter a contractual agreement with the Town that outlines general obligations and reporting requirements. The ARPA includes language that may require grant recipients to meet additional financial compliance guidelines including the need for a formal audit if certain thresholds are met. Recipients are expected to be familiar with these requirements and willing to comply with all terms.

If an organization spends over $300k of federal funds in a fiscal year, they may be required to have an audit of not only those funds but also their financial statements, internal controls, and compliance. Please seek legal counsel for any impact.

 Grant Disbursal & Reporting Requirements

Approved grants will be distributed on a rolling basis and approved organizations  will be required to submit a report outlining how funds were utilized. The report must be submitted by September 30, 2022 or earlier if additional guidance from the Federal government becomes available.

Funding as a Percentage of the Organization's Expenses

The Town will not consider any funding request in excess of 50% of the organization's total annual expenses.

This ensures that public funding is not the sole support at risk in any organization's efforts and allows the Town to provide a base leverage of at least 1-to-1. If an organization meets all program requirements and has annual operating expenses of less than $50,000, the Town may grant up to half of the organization's operating expenses or $25,000 whichever is lower.

Limited Term of Support

Applicants should understand that this grant application is for a one-time grant process as a result of the Town's access to ARPA funding. The Town is not obligated provide any funding commitments beyond this support cycle. 

History of Service in the Town of Sterling

Organizations applying for support must have at least a three-year history of service in the Town. This helps ensure that applicants have been operationally viable and have a history of commitment to the Town with a proven record of accomplishment.

Size of Organization

It is the Town's assumption that larger organizations have more diverse funding and support options and that this program's support should be reserved for smaller organizations. However, this is not a requirement so long as the benefit to the Town is sufficient, as determined by the Town, to warrant funding. Any organization with annual operating expenses that is larger than $5 million, will not generally be eligible to apply.

COVID-19 Impact

The ARPA requires that any sub-recipient of funding would have to demonstrate detrimental impact from the pandemic. The application will provide an area for the submitting organization to provide their explanation of impact, whether this be estimated revenue loss due to closure, reduced capacity, reduced services, employee layoffs or reductions in grant revenues or some other explanation.

Application (electronic submission)