KALAMAZOO, MI — The city of Kalamazoo has designated $1.1 million to funding projects by nonprofits to address the impacts of the pandemic.
The Kalamazoo City Commission approved the expenditure at its Monday, Sept. 20, meeting, placing the money in a United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region (UWBCKR ) fund as part of a partnership that also includes the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
Local partners will be invited to submit project proposals to address the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 in the city of Kalamazoo through the UWBCKR grant system also used for disaster/urgent relief funding applications. In collaboration with city staff, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and United Way will leverage shared knowledge, assess alignment with stimulus funding priorities and compliance requirements, and steward dollars to address the needs of those experiencing the greatest harms due to the pandemic.
Open information sessions will be held prior to the opening of the application to provide an overview of the application, decision-making process, and reporting requirements for any interested parties or potential applicants. The application process could begin in early October, the agenda states.
Deputy City Manager Laura Lam said process meant to ease the burden on nonprofits so those organizations can focus on addressing the needs in the community,
Commissioner Chris Praedel said there are a lot of issues cause d by the pandemic. He asked about how the spending would align with city commission priorities.
Lam said there are guidelines about how the money can be spend, and the money would be the start of money flowing into the community, and the action doesn’t limit the city ‘s ability to do other things with the remaining stimulus money.
The city commission also accepted the total amount of stimulus funds, $38,872,877, on Monday.
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