The second round of funding for charities and non-profit organizations through the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) is now open for applications as funds will be dispersed before the end of the year.
The Chatham Kent Community Foundation, United Way of Chatham-Kent, and the Canadian Red Cross will go through applications and disperse funds, made available through the federal government's ECSF, to local groups and programs that are supporting Chatham-Kent's most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced the $350 million ECSF in April. In August, a long list of non-profits and charities in Chatham-Kent received a total of $435,897 through the first round of funding.
“We are thankful to the government for its support during this challenging time. We are pleased to be working alongside our community partners that provide vital services to individuals who are vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19," said Cathy Cabral of the Canadian Red Cross.
The application process for the second round of funding will be open from October 5 until October 30.
United Way of Chatham-Kent CEO Steve Pratt said funding through the ESCF needs to be spent by March 31, 2021, which is why the application process is so short. He said funding decisions will be made by November 27 and organizations will receive funds by mid-December.
As the province copes with a second wave of COVID-19, Pratt said the need for help is "tremendous" as organizations deal with several hurdles, like not being able to have as much contact with volunteers or host fundraisers.
"We want to be able to keep their focus on helping people and not necessarily paperwork or fundraising," said Pratt. "So we're trying to make that process as easy as possible for folks to be able to apply for the funding support that they need."
Pratt said applicants who were successful during the first round of funding will be eligible to apply in the second round.
"It's also to allow us to see some of the initiatives that we funded from the first round to see what was really working well and if we need to top-up some of that funding," he said.
The amount dispersed in the second round will be less than the $435,897 seen in the first round, however, Pratt there are other funding opportunities applicants will be considered for.
"We have about eight different funds that we are able to provide access to through Chatham-Kent's first-ever Co-investor Roundtable that we were able to establish at the start of [the pandemic]," said Pratt. "If an organization doesn't qualify for funding support through the Emergency fund, there are other funds that we can dip into to make sure we are helping to bolster the community to the best of our ability."
Pratt said he encourages applicants to reach out to the United Way, Community Foundations or the Red Cross before submitting an application to go over specific needs or situations.
Charitable organizations and non-profits can apply through the United Way's website, the Community Foundation's website, or the Red Cross' website.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is also accepting applications from local groups seeking funding for community projects to be held in 2021.
Applications can be submitted for the Together CK: Community Projects Grant Program, which was previously called the Community Partnership Fund. The first round of funding opened to applicants in early September.
Groups are invited to apply for funding of up to 50 per cent of a project’s cost to a maximum of $10,000. The deadline for applications for this round of funding is December 3 at 4:30 p.m. Grant guidelines and applications are available on the Together CK website.
