Nonprofits can apply for relief grants

Groups with 30 or fewer full- timeworkers eligible for $ 5,000 to $ 25,000.

Decatur non-profits can now apply for up to $ 300,000 worth of coronavirus relief grants.

Funds for the DeKalb County city come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security ( CARES) Act, and will assist non-profits affected by the pandemic. The city said 501( c) ( 3) organizations with 30 fulltime employees or less are eligible for grant awards between $ 5,000 and $ 25,000.

“The pandemic has been especially diffifficult for the non-profit sector, increasing the need for services while depriving it of traditional sources of funding,” Mayor Patti Garrett said in a news release.

Decatur, with a population of about 23,000 residents, received approximately $ 2.9 million in CARES funds. The county received about $ 125 million from the federal government and shared roughly a fourth of it among its 12 cities, with Decatur receiving the sixth largest allotment.

The city budgeted $ 975,000 for small business and nonprofifit relief efffffffffffforts, which includes this grant program. About $ 905,000 will go toward pandemic- related employee expenses, $ 700,000 will be spent on personal protective equipment purchases and the remaining 11% of the money was unallocated as of last month.

The money must be spent by Dec. 10 or else it will go back to the county, whose leaders would then have 10 days to spend it before it goes back to the federal government.

Applications will be accepted through 5 p. m. Monday. The applications will be reviewed by a city staff selection committee, and the funds will be disbursed Dec. 18. If applications for assistance are oversubscribed, the city will use a blind lottery to divvy out funds.

To apply, visit www.decaturga.com/ems/page/covid- 19updates.