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Students, nonprofits focus in second round of Spokane CARES funding allocations

Katie Dalton, center, with Meals on Wheels, motions to her spouse Mike Schreifer, right, as he helps volunteer Jack Kelly pick up holiday meals to be delivered to people in need on Dec. 25 in Spokane. The nonprofit is among those that received CARES Act funding from the city of Spokane. (TYLER TJOMSLAND)
By Adam Shanks adams@spokesman.com(509) 459-5136

The city of Spokane funneled $1.1 million of coronavirus aid into more than a dozen local nonprofits and organizations on Monday.

The organizations receiving a boost included several that will help families as they begin the school year without in-person learning.

The YMCA of the Inland Northwest won $134,000, while Spokane Public Schools was given $155,000.

Local community centers, similarly, earned the city’s support. The Northeast Youth Center, West Central Community Center, Southwest Community Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Outreach Center each received grants ranging from $30,000 to $67,000.

“I am particularly pleased that we can focus the majority of these awards on helping children and youth navigate the lack of in-person school days,” City Council President Breean Beggs said in a statement.

The awards announced on Monday were the second round of funding from the city’s $6.6 million share of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, commonly referred to as the CARES Act. The funds were further leveraged with use of emergency relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The funding dished out this week also supported organizations working to address food insecurity and homelessness. Catholic Charities and Volunteers of America received grants of $38,000 and $105,000, respectively. Meals on Wheels was given $50,000, while Feast Collective won $49,000.

The city continued its efforts to support local businesses, offering the Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance a $300,000 grant.

The Spokane City Council approved the grants on Monday.

The funding announced this week was more broad in scope than its first round of coronavirus relief.

The city awarded $2.9 million of coronavirus aid in August, with the money focused primarily on support for local small businesses, child care organizations, and rental and housing assistance. The funds were issued to a handful of providers that will issue subgrants to smaller organizations.

In both rounds of funding, the recipients were chosen by a review committee consisting of administration officials, including Mayor Nadine Woodward and City Council members. The recipients were unanimously approved by the City Council in both rounds.

The funding process began when the City Council passed a resolution in June that outlined its priorities for CARES Act funds. That was followed by a survey that asked the community to weigh its priorities for the relief funding.

Spokane County separately received about $90 million through the CARES Act, by default, because its population exceeds 500,000 people.

The city’s portion of the CARES Act funding was not granted directly by the federal government, but was allocated from the Commerce Department from the CARES Act money awarded to Washington state.

After grants are awarded on Monday, the balance of the city’s CARES Act funds will be used to cover the cost of its internal coronavirus response.