The City of Largo is launching a grant program for nonprofit organizations funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. This grant is intended to provide support to qualified 501(c)(3) and 503(c)(19) tax-exempt organizations that provide safety net services (food, education, counseling, childcare, etc.) to Largo residents. The grant application will be open from August 15- November 15, 2022.
Please review the grant details on this website and in the informational packet. If you have additional questions or need assistance with this application, please contact Mecca Serfustini at [email protected] or 727-587-6700 Ext. 7423 to schedule an appointment.
Pinellas County is also launching a grant program for nonprofit organizations for small and large capital purchases; to learn more, visit PinellasCF.org/grants/arpa/arpa-nonprofit-capital-project-fund.
Grant Overview
To qualify for this funding opportunity all conditions below must be met. See the Frequently Asked Questions section for additional details related to these qualifying conditions.
- Fully licensed 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19)
- Active, open, and operating (in person or virtually)
- Current on tax payments/filings
- Independently audited statement from the most recent year can be accepted for those that are not required to submit an IRS form 990, 990-N or 990-EZ
- Provide City of Largo residents with essential safety net services covering:
- Housing stability services (including shower, laundry, and hygiene products), congregate living safety services, medical services, substance abuse services, food services, elder care services, training and adult education services, mental health services, abuse services, or childcare and education services, and mentoring services
- Physically located within the City of Largo planning service area, or
- Provide essential safety net services to impacted City of Largo residents that is not otherwise offered within the City of Largo
- Directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in at least one of the following manners:
- Lost revenue due to pandemic-based causes, e.g., due to shutdowns, lost sponsorships, inability to hold fundraising events
- Incurred unplanned costs to comply with safety and health standards and/or reopening requirements, e.g., modifying facilities for social distancing
- Incurred unplanned costs for new programming designed to assist those disparately impacted by the pandemic and its economic effects
- Incurred unplanned costs for technology to enable virtual work
- Operating for 12 months prior to application submission
- Exceptions to this requirement will be made on a case-by-case basis, and will require a site visit by City staff
- Must attest to not using requested funds for the same costs for which funding was previously received via a separate initiative, project, or program
Funding may only be applied to eligible costs incurred March 3, 2021 through December 31, 2023. Eligible Costs include:
- Lost revenue due to pandemic (fundraiser losses / cancelations, etc.)
- Increased costs for:
- Compliance with safety and health standards or reopening requirements; or
- Technology to enable virtual working; or
- Assistance to those disparately impacted by the pandemic and its effects (expanding office hours to meet needs, additional resources to match community demand, etc.)
- See the Frequently Asked Questions section for specific examples of eligible uses.
Award amounts are determined by the organizations’ revenue threshold as reflected on the organization’s filed IRS Form 990, 990-N or 990-EZ from the 2019 or proceeding year, or an independently audited financial statement from the most recent fiscal year.
- Level I – Revenue levels up to $49,999 shall be awarded $10,000
- Level II – Revenue levels from $50,000 to $99,999 shall be awarded $15,000
- Level III – Revenue levels from $100,000 to $499,999 shall be awarded $20,000
- Level IV – Revenue levels over $500,000 shall be awarded $25,000
- IRS Form 990: All pages of your filed IRS Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N as referenced above, or an independently audited financial statement, or an independently reviewed financial statement.
- Signed W9 Form: A signed copy of your W9 Form as a pdf file. The address listed on your W-9 must match your physical location in the City of Largo. Download a blank W9 Form
If your organization is in the city limits of the City of Largo and the address on your IRS Form 990, independently audited financial statement, or independently reviewed financial statement does not match our physical City of Largo location you are required to provide the following:
- Proof of Physical Location: One piece of documentation verifying the nonprofit’s physical location within the City of Largo. Acceptable documentation will include the name of your nonprofit organization and its City of Largo address. Examples include current property lease/deed, recent utility bill (no older than two months), recent bank or credit card statement, insurance policy or paid premium bill; and
- Physical Location Verification Letter: A statement on agency letterhead stating why the address listed on your IRS Form 990 does not match your City of Largo location and affirming that any monies awarded under this program will be utilized for expenditures incurred at the Largo location. This letter should be placed on agency letterhead and signed by the CEO, Executive Director, or Board Chair.
- Supporting Data: The count or percent of each program that serves City of Largo residents. This must be well documented and not estimates; and
- Narrative: A detailed narrative explaining why the organization serves City of Largo residents.
- Open Largo ArcGIS: Largo GIS Viewer
- Type in organization address (or service area) and see if it is in the highlighted City limits (shown as the colored-in area of the map)
- If your organization's address (or service area) is not in the City limits, click the map layer icon 4. In the map layers search bar, type in "Planning" and then click on the "Largo Planning Service Area" option and see if your organization's address (or service area) is within the planning service area border
- The awardee will be required to produce online follow-up reports describing how the funding was used.
- Awardees will submit reports through the city provided online form on a quarterly basis or until the funds are completely spent.
- For specific examples of required reporting documentation, please see the Frequently Asked Questions section
Frequently Asked Questions
Lost revenue due to pandemic: Funds claimed under this category may be used for any operational or administrative costs normally funded by these revenue sources. Examples of lost revenue reasons include cancelled fundraiser events, lost sponsorships, shutdowns, waived feed with the intention of assisting residents served.
Unplanned/increased costs to comply with safety and health standards or reopening requirements: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with modification of facility or operations to allow for social distancing, including but not limited to workspace dividers, splash guards, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies and services, sanitizing supplies and stations, COVID-19 tests.
Unplanned /increased technology costs to enable virtual working: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with virtual work, including but not limited to computers, tablets, internet service, telephones, and service.
Unplanned/ increased costs to assist those disparately impacted by the pandemic and its effects: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with any program or service increase that is not funded by another source. This can include the purchase of supplies that are distributed or needed to administer the program or service; payroll increases to recruit or maintain employs; costs associated with operating outside of the organizations normal operating hours to serve those in need.
Unplanned/increased costs to comply with safety and health standards or reopening requirements: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with modification of facility or operations to allow for social distancing, including but not limited to workspace dividers, splash guards, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies and services, sanitizing supplies and stations, COVID-19 tests.
Unplanned /increased technology costs to enable virtual working: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with virtual work, including but not limited to computers, tablets, internet service, telephones, and service.
Unplanned/ increased costs to assist those disparately impacted by the pandemic and its effects: Funds claimed under this category may be used for costs associated with any program or service increase that is not funded by another source. This can include the purchase of supplies that are distributed or needed to administer the program or service; payroll increases to recruit or maintain employs; costs associated with operating outside of the organizations normal operating hours to serve those in need.
- If you canceled a fundraiser between March 31, 2021 and today due to COVID-19 pandemic, that lost revenue can be covered by the Safety Net Grant.
- If you raised half of the funds, you would normally raise in a fundraiser; you can claim that gap as a result of the pandemic.
- That is, you don’t have to have canceled the fundraisers just showed a loss (e.g., if your 990 or financial audit shows a decrease)
- If you lost money or had to cancel a December 2020 fundraiser but that funding typically goes to fund programs after March 31, 2021, then that would be eligible.
- For example: Would need to see verification that Winter fundraisers typically fund the following year’s spring/summer activities
Yes, if the funding is not applied to the same expenditure claimed under a different program.
No. You must meet all the eligibility requirements to be eligible.
It is anticipated that payments will be made by January 31, 2023.
You will submit quarterly reports through the City’s Neighborly Software. See below on how to set up an account.
No. Once you have reported all expenditures your grant is closed out by City team members, and no additional information is required. This means if you spend all of your grant funds in the first quarter and complete a quarterly report indicating all funds have been spent you do not need to complete any additional quarterly reports.
No, each local government has a separate account. To access this opportunity, you must register as a participant at https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/largo/Participant .
- Go to: https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/largo/participant
- Select ‘Register’ in the top right-hand side of the screen
- Enter the name of the organization submitting the application, the email that you want to receive notifications to, and your desired password
- Press Continue. A confirmation email link will be sent to the email address provided above
- Access email inbox and confirm email address through the link sent
- Return to the site listed above and sign in using your email address and password
Log into the City’s Neighborly Software and scroll to the bottom of the page. There will be a link to each funding opportunity currently being offered by the city. Look for the opportunity named Safety Net Grant Cycle 1 and select the hyperlink to the right titled Click here to start a new application.
No, you may setup an account at any time; but the application will not be visible within your account until the official application start date.
You can have a consultant or auditor from outside of your organization review your books and provide verification of that review.
Yes, if you went beyond your legal requirements and filed an IRS Form 990, 990-N, or 990-EZ even though you were not required to, you may use that document for the Safety Net Grant program.
You must spend funds on a program or location that currently serves or is open to Largo residents. For example, if you have multiple locations across the County, this funding should go to the location that is available for and serves a portion of Largo residents.
The award category is based on the entire revenue bracket of your organization not the specific program that serves Largo.
You need to save all documentation related to what you are using the grants for (receipts, official statements, etc.) to be available upon request in the case of an audit by the federal government. You must save these supporting documents for 5 years from the time you expend the grant funds.
If you are chosen for an audit and cannot provide documentation to support the claims of impact by the pandemic and/or expended funds on eligible uses, you will be required to pay the money back to the City.
Submit with Application: Examples include a trend analysis or report that serves as an official document of the organization; a schedule of stops for mobile operations, etc.
Keep for Audit Records: Any attendance sheets, client records, or other documentation used to compile the analysis or report.
Keep for Audit Records: Any attendance sheets, client records, or other documentation used to compile the analysis or report.
No, you don’t need to report on the individuals you are serving, just on the overall expenditures and briefly describe how it serves some Largo residents. For example, if you are providing free food for residents, you do not need to gather and provide identification or demographics for each person to include in the grant reporting. You only need to state that the program is available for and serves some Largo residents.
Lost Revenue
- Formal notification of cancelled fundraiser (email, mailer, etc.) ; or
- Multiple IRS Form 990 that demonstrates a decrease in revenue from before the pandemic. One must be from 2019 and the other from years 2021 or 2022. Florida PTAs may use the PTA Annual Audit / Financial Review Form to reflect revenue changes; or
- Trend analysis or report that serves as an official document of the organization
- Purchase receipts
- Service contract (new contracts to support remote work)
- Statement from vendor that includes:
- Item description
- Total cost incurred
- Date of purchase
- Trend analysis of costs (three year minimum)
- Written explanation (the why)
Lost Revenue Scenario Examples
- My 2019 IRS Form 990 states that I received $5,000 in revenue from fundraising, and I cancelled my 2021 fundraiser... Up to $5,000 of my grant award may go towards lost fundraiser revenue.
- My 2019 IRS Form 990 states that I received $5,000 in revenue from fundraising, and my 2021 IRS Form 990 states that I received $1,000 in revenue from fundraising. Up to $4,000 of my grant award may go towards lost fundraiser revenue.
- I purchased four plastic barriers in April 2021. I can claim 100% of this cost towards my grant spending.
- I purchased hotspot service in 2020, 2021 and 2022 to allow my staff to work remote. I can claim 100% of costs accrued after March 3, 2021.
- My food pantry increased in demand, so we started staying open an extra three hours. I hired an extra person to assist during these hours (these two sentences make up the why). I may claim 100% of the increased utility bills for staying open later, and 100% of increased payroll not already covered by a different funding source.
If you have additional questions or need assistance with this application, please contact Mecca Serfustini at [email protected] or 727-586-7423 to schedule an appointment.
Gasoline in excess amounts is eligible when attributed to:
- A building utility due to additional hours available to clients
- An employee hiring or retention incentive/bonus
General increased gasoline prices are not eligible. The United States White House does not attribute rising gas process to the COVID-19 pandemic.
