Lehigh County COVID-19 Relief Nonprofit Block Grant Program

Geographic Scope: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Administering Organization: Lehigh County in partnership with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV)

Funding Source: American Rescue Plan (ARP)

Purpose: Financial assistance to eligible nonprofit organizations to respond to negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency

Funding Priorities

Funding priorities include, but are not limited to, providing services to Lehigh County residents that:

• Provide assistance for food access (grocery shopping resources, pantry resources or other meal delivery services)
• Reduce social isolation for all ages through virtual programming, resources to provide connectivity and equipment, and training to build skills
• Provide assistance to bridge the digital divide in grades PreK-12 through training, connectivity and equipment
• Provide resources to assist with added maintenance requirements brought on by COVID-19, such as additional PPE, sanitizing and disinfecting requirements in order to operate safely and in accordance with mandated guidelines
• Provide assistance to create an environment that can be safely experienced by Lehigh County residents due to requirements brought on by COVID-19 (i.e., social distancing, masks, etc.)
• Provide resources to people experiencing homelessness or supporting housing and homeless prevention
• Provide positive youth development, social emotional and mentoring services, support at home learning materials and virtual tutorials, purchase of curriculum for in person or online digital platforms with summer learning (services can be provided virtually or in person)
• Cover operating costs

Eligibility Requirements

All nonprofits must:

• Report on the number served and how served, and the impact on the community
• Identify the community need and how the service will mitigate that need
• Provide non-aggregated data that clearly identifies the demographics of those served
• Ensure all grant expenditures are directly related to COVID-19
• Spend all COVID-19 grant funds by December 31, 2024

Important Dates

• Eligible Expense Period: January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024

Review Process

All eligible applications were reviewed by a committee consisting of:

• Lehigh County Administration
• Lehigh County Board of Commissioners
• United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley

The committee made application recommendations to the County Executive who brought final recommendations to the Board of Commissioners for approval or denial.

Contact Information

United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley

• Phone: 610-758-8010
• Website: unitedwayglv.org
• Address: 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown, PA 18109

Additional Resources:
Full application and complete list of program guidelines available at unitedwayglv.org or lehighcounty.org

Application Process

Applications were available for the period ending September 30, 2022.

Application Materials:

• Full application form
• Complete list of program guidelines

Submission:

• Available at unitedwayglv.org
• Available at lehighcounty.org

Required Information:

• Report on the number served and how served, and the impact on the community
• Identification of community need and how the service will mitigate that need
• Non-aggregated data clearly identifying demographics of those served
• Detailed breakdown of how funds will be used (all expenditures must be COVID-19 related)
• Timeline for fund expenditure (must be spent by December 31, 2024)

Note: This application period has closed. The deadline was September 30, 2022.