OCEAN COUNTY non-profits responding to the current coronavirus health crisis now have until July 17 to apply for grants to fund activities that prevent, prepare for and/or respond to Covid 19.

“There are a number of non-profit organizations in Ocean County that can help our citizens through this difficult time with these funds,” said Ocean County Freeholder Deputy Director Gary Quinn, who is liaison to the Ocean County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. “We have extended the application deadline to 4 p.m., Friday, July 17 in order to make certain non-profits in Ocean County have the opportunity to tap into this program.

“I encourage our non-profits to take advantage of this opportunity,” Quinn said. “With so many of them doing great work already, I am sure this financial help will assist tremendously their ongoing efforts.”
The funding guidelines and application can be found on the Ocean County Planning Department’s website at http://www.planning.co.ocean.nj.us/frmCECommDev.

Under the federal government CARES Act, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated $820,810 in CDBG-CV funds to Ocean County to be used to prevent, prepare for and/or respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The County requested a waiver to use the funds specifically for grants to non-profits.

“We appreciate the efforts of President Trump and our Congressional delegation in securing this money for our non-profit organizations in Ocean County,” Quinn said. “Without these agencies, many of our citizens would be without the necessities and the care they need during this pandemic.”
In order to provide the funds to Ocean County non-profits, the County has prepared a substantial amendment to the Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Action Plan to make CDBG-CV funds available to qualified non-profit 501(c)(3) agencies serving Ocean County residents to support a variety of eligible public service activities.

The CDBG-CV funds will be able to support a variety of activities including but not limited to:
• Public service activities such as senior services, food provision, emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, childcare, health, drug abuse, domestic violence services, among others.
• Public service activities such as providing COVID-19 testing and diagnosis services at a fixed or mobile location.
• Public facilities and improvement projects that directly contribute to addressing COVID-19 related issues. This includes equipment and other property needed for the public service, labor, supplies and material to operate and/or maintain the portion of a facility in which the public service is located.
• Public facilities improvement projects such as rehabilitating a community facility to establish a COVID-19 testing/treatment clinic.
• Temporary emergency rental assistance for eligible households (up to 3 months).
• Other eligible activities that directly prevent prepare and respond to COVID-19.
Successful grant recipients will be based on meeting all eligibility criteria as outlined in the grant application.

“Non-profit agencies have extended a lifeline to many of our residents, especially our most frail and vulnerable senior and disabled residents during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, who is Chairman of Senior Services. “I am pleased we can assist in administering these grant funds. The many services that can be funded make an important difference for so many of our citizens.”