County Announces Community Recovery Grant Program

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  MONMOUTH COUNTY – The Monmouth County Board of Commissioners has announced that federal funds will pay for the COVID-19 Community Recovery Grant Program to support local nonprofit organizations.

  This program will aid Monmouth County businesses that serve veterans, combat food insecurity, provide animal welfare services, support the special needs community as well as organizations that promote and preserve art, historical and cultural resources.

  “With the American Rescue Plan money, we wanted to make sure we took our time and prioritized certain types of organizations that may not have received federal funding under our previous grant programs,” Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said. “We helped our municipalities with the first round of CARES Act funding, we helped our businesses twice with two different grant programs and today we are proud to announce our Monmouth County Community Recovery Grant Program funding for particular types of nonprofits that may still need financial assistance due to the pandemic.”

  Each nonprofit organization can receive up to $500,000 for expenses and/or lost revenue during the pandemic. In addition, nonprofits can apply for funding for enhanced programs and services related to pandemic recovery.

  Those interested can visit the county’s website for official funding notice and program guidelines. Applications must be submitted no later than May 13 at 4:30 p.m.

  Also at the press conference announcing this, Director Arnone gave an update on the success of the Monmouth County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). This funding can be used for such purposes as rental arrears, prospective rent, and other household-related expenses such as utilities. 

  “The purpose of the Monmouth County ERAP is to prevent evictions and homelessness by providing up to $30,000 in rental assistance for income-eligible households in Monmouth County. To date, the county has disbursed approximately $23 million of our $38 million in federal allocation to assist eligible households,” Arnone said. “We also would like to remind residents with the State’s moratorium on utility shut-offs that ended on March 15th, and we want to assure Monmouth County residents that we are here to help with utilities through our partnership with NJ Shares.”

  For those in need of rental assistance and would like to learn more about ERAP, visit monmouthcountyerap.com or call the hotline at 848-801-1297.