Rutherford County Awarded $244,432 in Federal Funds
Rutherford County has been awarded $244,432 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county under Phase 37 of the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFSP) and the CARES Act.
The selection was made by a National Board that is chaired by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Jewish Federations of North America, The Salvation Army; and, United Way Worldwide. The Local Board was charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country.
The Local Board, made up of representatives from the American Red Cross, local government, The Salvation Army, United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties, and others, will determine how the funds awarded to Rutherford County are distributed among the emergency food and shelter programs run by local service agencies in the area. The Local Board is responsible for recommending agencies to receive these funds and any additional funds made available under this phase of the program.
Under the terms of the grant from the National Board, local agencies chosen to receive funds must 1) be private voluntary non-profits or units of government, 2) have an accounting system, 3) practice nondiscrimination, 4) must not charge a fee for service 5) have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs, may not require religious/counseling services, and 6) if they are a private voluntary organization, they must have a voluntary board. Qualifying agencies are urged to apply.
The EFSP was authorized under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77 signed into law on July 24, 1987, since renamed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and subsequently reauthorized under P.L. 100- 628, signed into law on November 7, 1988). Since 1983, in its 35-year history, the EFSP will have distributed over $5.03 billion to over 14,000 human service agencies in more than 2,500 communities across the country through this collaborative effort between the private and public sectors.
Public or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funding should contact Dan Caldwell at the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties at (615) 893-7303 or [email protected] for an application. The deadline to submit an application is 4:00 PM on Friday, May 22.
