Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and the Northampton American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Advisory Commission on Monday announced that applications are now being accepted for community recovery projects. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 14 and will be reviewed by the 12-member commission, of which I am a member.
A total of $4 million, or 18% of Northampton’s ARPA funding, is designated for these one-time grants which must be used to respond to a negative health or economic impact of COVID-19.
The grants are available to individuals, groups, non-profits, small businesses, and organizations which are based in Northampton and/or whose proposed project will serve the Northampton community in recovering from the pandemic.
There are two applications for funding: a small projects application for projects up to $10,000 and a large projects application for applicants requesting more than $10,000 in ARPA money.
The request for proposals is available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/20566/ENGLISH-RFP
The small project application (up to $10,000) is available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/FormCenter/Mayors-Office-12/ARPA-Small-Project-Application-up-to-100-148
The large project application (more than $10,000) is available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/FormCenter/Mayors-Office-12/ARPA-Large-Project-Application-more-than-150
The ARPA scoring guidelines are available here:
https://northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/20560/ENGLISH-ARPA-Scoring-rubric
Applicants – or anyone considering applying – may ask questions at three information sessions that will be attended by members of the mayor’s staff and the advisory commission. All three will be hybrid meetings with in-person participation in the City Council chambers, Municipal Office Building, 212 Main St., and remote participation via Zoom. The dates are:
Thursday, Sept. 15, 11 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2 p.m.
Questions and answers from the information sessions will be posted after each meeting on the city’s ARPA page at www.northamptonma.gov/ARPA.
The commission will send its recommendations for funding to the mayor who will announce the awards in December. The money will be distributed in early 2023.