Reading City Council approves $586,000 for 4 nonprofits
Oct. 4—Reading City Council has targeted an additional four city nonprofits for a total of $586,000 in funding from the city's pool of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Council previously allocated an initial $4.8 million in ARPA funds to 21 city nonprofits.
The approved funds will be distributed as follows: Reading FilmFEST, $200,000; Reading Science Center, $86,000; Opportunity House, $200,000; and RIZE, $100,000.
Council voted on each of the four nonprofits individually rather than as a group to allow those with real or perceived conflicts of interest to abstain.
Council President Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz and Councilman Wesley Butler abstained from voting on funding for FilmFEST.
Councilwoman Donna Reed cast the sole nay vote, opposing funding for RIZE, a nonprofit youth art organization founded by its Executive Director Edna Garcia-Dipini. Reed did not explain her decision.
The votes to fund Reading Science Center and Opportunity House were unanimous.
Some council members had expressed concerns about the fairness of the process after discovering at least two applications, including that of the shelter on North Second Street, were lost in the shuffle.
Reading received $61 million from the plan passed by Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden.
The city has until the end of 2024 to allocate the funds and until the end of 2026 to spend them.
