Survive and Thrive Nonprofit Grants, $7,500,000 – Distribution of funds to support nonprofit organizations and childcare providers for meaningful short- and long-term investments that will stabilize their business condition, workforce, and operations (Survive). These funds will come with the requirement that awarded nonprofits engage with a variety of entities that provide business support services (Thrive).
Direct Cash Assistance to Families with Young Children, $6,000,000 – Direct cash assistance to low-income families with young children aged 0 to 3 years old, which have been particularly impacted by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and live in lower-income and vulnerable households. Modeled after the expanded Federal Child Tax Credit, funding amounts are $300 per month per child aged 0 to 3.
YMCA Scholarships, $500,000 – The YMCA serves approximately 1,200 children annually in childcare – preschool, before and after school care – at an average cost of $3,250 per year (which does not include the thousands of children served at camps, swimming, sports, and other programs). One third of childcare families receive financial aid at a cost to the YMCA of $1.3 million annually. ARPA funding will support financial aid at the YMCA for high-quality, accessible, English as a second language childcare for working families.
YMCA Mapleton Site, $975,000 – The need for high-quality, affordable childcare highlighted by the pandemic and now a national priority was already known to the YMCA of Northern Colorado. ARPA funds will help renovate the Boulder Mapleton site to expand infant, toddler, and pre-k licensed childcare into three shifts (24 hours) to accommodate essential workers from industries such as law enforcement, hotels, hospitals, etc.
Childcare Village Hub, $975,000 – Capital funding and funding for operational support will contribute to development of an Early Childhood Community Village (The Village) in southeast Longmont to expand and support early childhood development in multiple aspects. Funding will be used as seed money to support the design and development of an Early Childhood Community Village concept focused on serving children ages 0 to five. The Village will bring together in one facility:
- Professional development and training opportunities for early care providers, especially Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers;
- High-quality and culturally and linguistically matched early childhood care and education;
- Medical, social-emotional, and language support for families and professionals; and
- Peer and community support for providers and families.
Family Connects Home Visitation, $2,000,000 – Family Connects is an evidence-based model that combines engagement and alignment of community services and resources with short-term nurse home visiting beginning in the first month after birth. Family Connects is designed to be provided to all families with newborns, voluntarily and at no cost. Family Connects ensures that families have a medical home; provide physical and mental health screenings; assess family strengths and needs comprehensively; and connect families to community resources that support their individual family needs and preferences.
Small Businesses Back Taxes, $750,000 – Funding will cover past Business Personal Property Accounts taxes for eligible businesses that closed during the pandemic. There were 1,735 Business Personal Property Accounts that have been deactivated because the business closed or struggled to pay tax obligations between the start of the pandemic and summer 2022. Not all businesses closed or are in arrears because of the pandemic, but many restaurants, gyms, hair studios, and other “contact” businesses that closed did so, at least in part, because of pandemic restrictions, loss of revenue, and other pandemic-related factors. Funds will support paying tax obligations, allowing business owners to recover and move on with their lives.
Affordable Housing Pipeline, $9,480,000 – Working with Boulder County Housing Authority, Boulder Housing Partners, Longmont Housing Authority, and other non-profit developers on affordable housing pipeline projects for gap financing and to deepen affordability on existing projects. Specific projects to be determined as part of the vetting process.
Manufactured Housing Park Acquisition and Upgrades, $5,000,000 – A reserve fund will supply grants or zero-interest forgivable loans to provide partial support for (a) acquisition of manufactured housing parks by residents that form resident-owned communities (ROCs) or assign their rights to the County or nonprofit land trusts; (b) major infrastructure improvement projects for ROCs or landlords who commit to long-term affordability; and (c) home repair assistance for low-income residents in these communities.
Regional Housing Partnership, $1,500,000 – This project builds organizational capacity to:
Expand the home-ownership program throughout the County to purchase, re-sell, and administer existing and new ownership units;
- Increase capacity to smaller cities that don’t have affordable housing policy, rental compliance, and fund compliance staff;
- Expand eviction prevention services, both rental assistance and legal assistance; and
- Expand foreclosure prevention services regionally for affordable ownership homes, with a revolving loan fund.
The purpose of the Regional Housing Partnership is to centralize compliance and homeownership program services through the Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership (BCRHP), a regional partnership and expansion collaboration not seen elsewhere in Colorado.
Habitat for Humanity, $800,000 – This Habitat for Humanity development will consist of a development of three tri-plex townhomes. Two of the buildings will be two-story structures with four three-bedroom and two four-bedroom units. The third building will be a single-story structure designed with a zero-entryway and doorways wide enough to allow for wheelchair access. The homes are designed for families to age in place and be easily modified to be handicapped accessible. The third building is one story and will have two two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. ARPA funding will support the costs for construction of the infrastructure for the development.