Decatur divvied out $300,000 worth of grants to assist local nonprofits affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The city used federal COVID-19 relief funds and will award the money to the nonprofits next week, City Council announced during Monday evening’s meeting. More than 30 organizations applied for the relief funds, and 22 applications met the city’s criteria for eligibility.
The qualifying nonprofits, which had to be Decatur-based 501(c)(3) organizations and could have no more than 30 full-time employees, applied for nearly half a million dollars in aid. Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon said the city used a double blind lottery process to determine which qualifying organizations received funds.
“The objective was to be fair and nonbiased during the grant approval,” Saxon said during Monday’s meeting,
The recipients will be required to spend the grant funds by March 31. They can’t use the money for expenses that were already addressed by Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs enacted by Decatur or DeKalb County.
Here are the 15 nonprofits awarded CARES funds, the intended use for the funds and the specific amount of their grant:
• Academe of the Oaks: $23,266 for funds for technology for online learning.
• All Walks of Life: $2,830 for technology and program support.
• Beacon of Hope Women’s Center: $6,000 for medical and health education supplies.
• Citizen Advocacy of Atlanta & DeKalb: $6,000 as payroll support and for office supplies and training.
• Decatur Book Festival: $20,904 as reimbursement for payroll and businesses expenses.
• Decatur Makers: $25,000 as payroll and stipend support.
• DeKalb History Center: $25,000 as payroll support.
• DeKalb Rape Crisis Center: $16,000 as payroll and technology support.
• First Christian Church of Decatur: $25,000 as payroll and program support.
• Global Growers Network: $25,000 as payroll support and for supplies.
• Global Village Project: $25,000 as payroll and educational program support.
• L’Arche Atlanta: $25,000 as payroll and technology support in addition to training services for clients.
• Oakhurst Recovery Program: $25,000 for counseling fees, supplies and training.
• Phoenix School: $25,000 as a revenue supplement to help recover from the loss of its 2020 summer program.
• Threshold Community Program: $25,000 for technology to provide for online learning, financial aid and fundraising.
