Nonprofits await ARPA dollars
Oct. 12—HIGH POINT — High Point nonprofits are seeking more than $18 million in federal funds that were made available to help communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The City Council Finance Committee is reviewing 58 applications for American Rescue Plan Act money for individual projects.
The city has about $5.3 million in uncommitted ARPA funds that was made available to applicants last spring.
Once the committee completes its review, it will bring forward recommendations for who should receive ARPA grant awards to the full council.
In the meantime, Guilford County has allocated a total of $5.5 million of ARPA funds to the city of High Point for three community projects that await final agreements governing how the payment process will work for the grants.
City staff are in the final stages of drafting agreements with D-Up, the Hayden-Harman Foundation and the YMCA of High Point that will formalize how the money will flow from the county to High Point and then to the organization for their project.
The city plans to reimburse the grant recipients with the ARPA funds from the county after the organizations spend their own funds on their respective projects.
However, city officials are considering advancing some of the funds to the organizations, including D-Up, which is a grassroots fitness and education nonprofit serving youth that is based on Washington Street.
County commissioners authorized $3 million in ARPA funds for D-Up to expand its programming. The organization plans to use the funds to demolish a vacant structure it owns at 500 Washington St. and construct an education, gym and arts complex on the site.
It has requested $408,926 of its $3 million allocation up front to go toward demolition and asbestos abatement costs, site-preparation work and other expenses, according to the city.
The county ARPA grant for the Hayden-Harman Foundation is for $2 million toward a project called "The Bridge," which would provide health-services outreach and healthy-food initiatives.
The YMCA was awarded $500,000 for its program that works with school children on academic deficits incurred during the pandemic, as well as physical activities.
The city was awarded a total of $22.6 million in ARPA funds and has committed all but the remaining $5.3 million set aside for nonprofit applicants.
City ARPA funding commitments include $5.86 million toward a prioritized list of capital projects that include various transportation improvements and fire station renovations; $6 million toward the purchase and renovation of the proposed small-scale manufacturing hub at 300 Oak St. and $2 million each for two proposed projects: a homeless shelter and day center and a commercial shared use kitchen.
