The federal government has allocated trillions in federal funds toward relief and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund alone has made about $19 billion dollars available to the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois for the purpose of economic recovery. These funds present a unique opportunity for the city, county, and state to invest in an equitable and inclusive recovery, especially for Black and Latinx communities that have experienced historic disinvestment and felt the greatest economic burden from the pandemic. Community-based organizations that are working on issues such as housing, workforce development, and community safety play a critical role in ensuring federal funds reach communities that need them the most. However, from challenges related to staffing and capacity to administrative burdens, many nonprofits struggle to access and leverage these funds.  

In this episode of Trust Talks, we will explore the barriers nonprofits face in accessing government funds, as well as opportunities to overcome them. This episode is hosted by Aimee Ramirez, manager of policy and advocacy at the Trust, and features Lisa May Simpson, chief program officer at Forefront; Johnny Page, executive director at ConTextos; and Matt Cole, director of public funding and partnerships at The Resurrection Project.

Production by Juneteenth Productions. The podcast was recorded at the Sound Foundation.

In partnership with Urban Institute, the Trust launched a Federal Recovery Funds Dashboard in October 2022 to track how the city, county, and state are spending these unprecedented funds. Learn more by visiting https://www.cct.org/research-and-reports/federal-recovery-funds-dashboard/.