CARES Act grants available for Centerville nonprofits hit by COVID-19

Credit: Cosette Gunter

Credit: Cosette Gunter

CENTERVILLE – Qualifying Centerville nonprofits can receive up to $5,000 in aid from CARES Act funds in a program being offered by the city.

Centerville has allotted $100,000 from CARES Act funds — which assist with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic — to help 501(c)(3) organizations, officials said.

Grants will go to those organizations that are registered with the state and the Internal Revenue Service, according to the city.

They also must also be registered as a charitable organization in good standing with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

The city is seeking to help organizations “with direct costs of providing services necessary to respond to the pandemic,” according to Centerville Development Director Michael Norton-Smith.

“A church in general, for example, would not qualify; however, a church food pantry feeding families during coronavirus certainly would,” he added.

Eligible organizations are social and family service providers focused on access to food, domestic violence support services, substance abuse, services benefiting seniors and foreclosure prevention, according to the city.

Applicants must demonstrate and document that they incurred increased costs due to the COVID-19 public health emergency from March 15 to Oct. 31, 2020, according to the city.

Organizations applying should know if they have been awarded funds in a few weeks, Norton-Smith said.

The initial review would be “within a few days or a week, assuming all of the documentation was provided,” he said. “And then checks would be cut probably a week or two after that.”

Norton-Smith said the city is processing applications “on a rolling basis” because the deadline for awarding CARES Act funds is before Thanksgiving.

“So we have a quick turnaround for processing and payment because any unspent funds have to be returned by Nov. 20,” he said.

The grant application and more information are available at centervilleohio.gov/nonprofitrelief.

Earlier this year Centerville received about $340,000 in CARES Act funds. The city allotted $200,000 of that to help local businesses.

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