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PARKERSBURG -- Half a million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist nonprofits have yet to be awarded, but some in the community think the City of Parkersburg should consider increasing that amount.
Parkersburg City Council approved an allocation of $500,000, plus a $25,000 administration fee, to the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Bernard McDonough Foundation to administer to nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundations sought letters of inquiry from interested entities as a first step in the process.
"We got $1.1 million in requests," said Marian Clowes, associate director for community leadership at the PACF. "We had far more requests than we have funding."
A number of those submitting letters of inquiry were invited to submit full applications, which are due by Aug. 1. The letters were a first step in whittling down the applicants due to not only the availability of funds but also the strict criteria for how ARPA funds can be used, Clowes said.
Clowes said she expects announcements about the funding awards to be made sometime in September.
Council on Tuesday held a special meeting seeking input from individuals on how the second $10.925 million tranche of ARPA funds should be used. John Apgar, president of the Ohio Valley Rowing Club, suggested the city look at providing additional funds for nonprofits, citing the amount of requests the foundations received.
"That doesn't surprise me at all," Parkersburg resident Sue Ellen Waybright said when she spoke to council. "There are many needs, and many of those organizations were hit hard."
Mayor Tom Joyce said Thursday that he's not opposed to providing more ARPA funds to nonprofits, but he wants to consult with foundation representatives first.
"We'll just have to see what council wants to do and how council wants to proceed," he said.
Joyce reiterated his belief that the foundations are the right ones to disseminate the money based on their experience in that arena.
"If we're going to fund nonprofits, I think that using the foundations is the way to go, to maintain consistency and proper scrutiny that is non-political," he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.