Phase Two was developed with feedback from the nonprofit community. While Phase One focused on local nonprofits making an impact in specific economic development areas like women and minority entrepreneurship and STEM education, Phase Two of the grant will offer broader eligibility.
Rather than specifying certain program areas, the Phase Two grant is open to nonprofits that offer programming in Montgomery County and can specify how the funds contribute to economic development.
The new Phase Two program will provide competitively selected grants ranging from $7,500 to $25,000. There is an additional potential of grants of $50,000 or $100,000.
The application will be available on the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) website on the day the grant period opens, Monday, Aug. 9. The application will be available at https://thinkmoco.com/covid-19-resources/nonprofits-grant-program.
Applications for the Phase Two grants must be submitted to MCEDC by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The funds will be distributed to selected nonprofits no later than Oct. 1. The nonprofit must make use of the funds no later than Dec. 31.
Grant funds may be used for normal operating costs, program funding or other COVID-19-related expenses in support of the nonprofit organization’s past or future work to strengthen the County’s economy.
The Maryland General Assembly enacted the bipartisan RELIEF Act of 2021 this past session and Governor Larry Hogan signed the bill into law. Among its provisions, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) received $20 million in Maryland Recovery Now Funds to support the work of local nonprofits throughout the State.
DHCD is providing proportional funding based on population to Maryland’s local economic development organizations to distribute the grants. Accordingly, $3,475,831 has been allocated to Montgomery County for this program, some of which was expended on Phase One of the Grant, with the remainder going to Phase Two.
Go to https://thinkmoco.com/covid-19-resources/nonprofits-grant-program.for a Phase Two program overview, a sample application and for Frequently Asked Questions available in English and Spanish.
Additional questions can be emailed to nonprofits@thinkmoco.com.
