In 2021, the City of Tulsa launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to award $6.5 million in grants from COVID-19 relief funding to help local nonprofits address the effects of the pandemic. These ARPA grants focused on at least one of the following purposes:
Nearly 200 organizations applied for funding. After careful review by the City Council and the Mayor, 70 nonprofit organizations were selected for a reimbursable grant award. The period of service of these projects have generally been one year and have focused on building a more resilient Tulsa.
An ARPA Community Needs Survey, was conducted in late July and early August of 2022 and received more than 1,300 responses from the Tulsa community in a demographic breakdown that proportionally matched the city's.
Housing assistance, mental health, food security, children and youth services, health care and financial stability topped the list of issues citizens wanted to see addressed.
The topics are closely related to the self-reported challenges the same people faced recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic: reduction in income, new debt and an increase in expenses, fear of illness, emotional isolation, and educational and emotional support for children.
Results helped guide and influence funding award decisions for the 2023 Relief Grants for local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations on this needed investment in our community.
In 2022, the City of Tulsa issued a Letter of Interest (LOI) to award up to an additional $7 million in reimbursable grants to local 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Responding organizations had to address the pandemic recovery needs of Tulsans, be consistent with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) guidance and could be informed by the City's Community Needs Survey or other needs identified independently by the nonprofit community. Project proposal budgets had to be at least $10,000 and no more than $1,000,000. Projects prioritizing impacted or disproportionately impacted citizens and organizations collaborating with other nonprofits were highly encouraged to apply.
The City received 147 Letters of Interest and 89 organizations were invited to apply for the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. After careful review by the City Council and the Mayor, 37 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations were selected to receive funding. Awardees were announced in October 2023.
These ARPA grants focused on at least one of the following purposes:
For questions, please email arpa@cityoftulsa.org
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