Winnebago County Spirit Fund, ‘a generational opportunity,’ will give awards of $50K to $500K
OSHKOSH – The first round of applications for Winnebago County’s Spirit Fund will be due July 15.
The $33 million fund was created in March using county reserves.
Overseen by the ARPA Strategy and Outcomes Commission, the fund is divided into two categories: County Government Projects and Government Identified Projects.
With review on a rolling basis, the county is seeking capital project ideas and applications from organizations across the county.
The ARPA Strategy and Outcomes Commission approved an instructions document guided by the Framework of Spirit Fund Spending. A subsequent application was created to guide organizations in the necessary information. The application is available on the front page of the county’s website, winnebagocountywi.gov.
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After applicants apply, the commission will review recommendations in September with county board approval in the fall.
The Office of the County Executive and ARPA Strategy and Outcomes citizen member Beth Oswald are leading the collation of project ideas.
Projects will be reviewed by a four-member citizen work group and reported to the ARPA Strategy and Outcomes Commission.
The Winnebago County Board and county executive will have to sign off on all projects recommended by the commission.
Oswald, also the Oshkosh Area United Way executive director, said in a news release: “Our goal is to have as many projects submit applications as possible with a process that is easy. We will not be disqualifying applications on technicalities. We will be working with applicants to get all the information for the commission to make a recommendation. This is a generational opportunity to fund projects that would not otherwise be funded.”
County Executive Jon Doemel added: “With this one-time infusion of capital, community projects seeking funds should improve our county’s quality of life for years to come. At this time, we will not be funding operations, programs or pilots; rather, we are seeking to increase the infrastructure and resiliency in our county through one-time investments.”
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The total amount of funding and awards will be determined by the commission with awards ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.
Applications and questions can be sent to spirit@winnebagocountywi.gov. Applications should be about 2,000 words. Ideas for County Government Projects should be sent to spirit@winnebagocountywi.gov in a letter to the county executive.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Winnebago County Spirit Fund will support Oshkosh area projects
