By Kim Dishongh

A $25,000 COVID-19 Phase 2 Adaptation Grant from Arkansas Community Foundation is making it possible for Child Care Aware of NWA to help facilities that have been caring for the children of essential workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Childcare for essential workers has remained a critical need throughout the pandemic, but many childcare centers are suffering because a significant portion of their clients are working from home or have lost their jobs and aren’t currently using childcare services.

Carolene Thornton, director of Child Care Aware of NWA, said some of the grant funds will be used to purchase equipment and programs to make it simpler to provide childcare center staff with required professional development and training.

“We have a big conference every year in May for about 300 or 400 people, and we had to cancel it,” said Thornton. “We did that virtually. We had about 50 or 60 people come online to do it. We may do that again in the fall. They had problems with their professional development requirements, and we wanted them to be able to get in their professional development hours.”

Some of the centers, especially those where several of the children have parents who are on the front lines treating patients in hospitals or in poultry plants where COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported, have asked for help in sourcing cleaning products, personal protection equipment, hand sanitizer and paper towels.

“We couldn’t find booties for a while. They’re supposed to have booties to go into the infant toddler room,” said Thornton. “I was surprised when some of them told me they couldn’t get paper towels. There’s a lot more cleaning they have to do, a lot more they need to wipe things down. We’re just scrambling trying to find what they need.”

Other childcare centers need assistance in making payroll payments, with the number of children enrolled down and the expenses associated with caring for them up, both situations the result of COVID-19.

Thornton plans to survey child care centers in the area to see what their biggest needs are so Child Care Aware NWA can direct grant funds to assist with as many of those as possible in hopes of helping struggling centers keep their doors open so they can be ready to serve families as they do return to work.

“We’ll just do what we can to help them,” she said.

For more information about Child Care Aware of Northwest Arkansas, visit them online or find them on Facebook.

By Kim Dishongh

Southern Bancorp Community Partners is using a $25,000 COVID-19 Phase 2 Adaptation Grant from the Arkansas Community Foundation to support Arkansans’ long-term financial health.

Southern Bancorp will offer credit counseling for individuals who had to defer payments because of COVID-19-related lost wages or unemployment as they return to the workforce. The organization’s certified counselors will work with people, either remotely or in person, who may want to focus on rebuilding credit, avoiding foreclosure and remodeling or even purchasing homes. Past data suggests many of these clients will be small business owners, according to Karama Neal, president of Southern Bancorp Community Partners.

“There are a number of organizations who are providing immediate support for folks, which is fantastic – people who provide food support or rent support, things which are incredibly needed,” shares Neal. “What we can do is make sure that as the recovery happens, people are well-positioned to recover and to ideally be in a bit better shape than they were maybe even before the pandemic.”

The grant is also supporting Southern Bancorp Community Partners’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, through which IRS-certified volunteers prepare taxes for income-eligible families and making sure they have access to refunds and that they take advantage of any and all tax credits they may have earned.

“For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit, which many have called the largest poverty reduction measure in the country,” said Neal. “That’s federal dollars that could be in our state circulating in our families’ pockets, in our communities’ pockets, in our businesses’ pockets, but if we don’t claim it, it never gets to Arkansas. So we want to make sure that people who are eligible for that Earned Income Tax Credit receive it.”

Southern Bancorp Community Partners is also using grant money to support other programs that help people become more economically mobile, like Individual Development Accounts that encourage savings efforts through counseling and education and rewards those efforts with matching funds. The goal is to help people accumulate assets that they can depend on when emergencies arise.

“When folks have those kinds of assets, then they’re more likely to be economically mobile,” said Neal. “That’s really what Southern was founded for, and the kinds of things that this grant is supporting really facilitate that.”

To contact Southern Bancorp Community Partners and to learn more, visit https://southernpartners.org/

The work continues. We have surveyed our nonprofit network and they are still reporting a higher than usual demand for services across the state. Nonprofits are still experiencing the “perfect storm” of increasing demand for services with decreasing donations. From food insecurity, housing, transportation, utility and rental assistance, social distancing requirements and broadband access… People still need help and they are turning to local nonprofits to find it.

Since March and the activation of our COVID19 Relief Fund, we have made 799 grants to 722 organizations in 149 Arkansas towns in 67 counties. That was part of a two-phased approach of grantmaking and we are actively developing criteria and a plan for Phase Three.  As the state and businesses open up, but cases of COVID19 also are on the rise, the nonprofit sector is still feeling the strain more than ever.  That’s why Arkansas Community Foundation continues to connect donors with nonprofits doing frontline pandemic relief.

Gratefully, Arkansas businesses and families have stepped up in amazing ways.  Just this week, one Arkansas Family Foundation made an anonymous donation of $150,000 to the COVID19 Relief Fund specifically for six Arkansas nonprofits providing food to those in need:

We are so thankful for the generosity that still abounds in our state. If you or your business is interested in helping with pandemic relief, our Development staff will be happy to help connect you to a cause or community. We are still accepting donations to the relief fund and hope that businesses and individuals who can help, will.

By Kim Dishongh

The Central Delta Community Action Agency in Pine Bluff works with many families who were struggling financially even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Lost wages and unemployment have made their circumstances even more tenuous.

The agency is using a $25,000 COVID-19 Phase 2 Adaptation Grant from Arkansas Community Foundation to help low-income families with immediate needs and giving them a chance to reach financial stability.

Rosalind Thompson, executive director of the Central Delta Community Action Agency, said the agency has recently become overwhelmed by requests for help with rent, utilities and groceries. The grant will allow the agency to offer up to $1,000 per family or individual to help with those expenses.

“Some are still trying to get unemployment. They keep getting denied,” she said. “Without that support and without being able to find work immediately, their needs are snowballing.”

Thompson said some of the agency’s clients may not qualify for unemployment benefits, even if they lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re helping low-income people with past due rent, utilities, housing, groceries, finding employment and with other things such as cleaning supplies,” said Helen Teresa Snyder, who works in the accounting office at Central Delta Community Action Agency. “Since this COVID thing is going on now, people are just having lots of different troubles. People are losing income while also getting extra expenses.”

The agency has a clothing closet and a food pantry. The staff there also help people create resumes and develop skills that will help them get and keep a job. The agency counsels clients who are trying to transition out of poverty. by offering budgeting skills and financial education. The agency can typically cover half of their rent and utility costs but require clients to pay the other half on their own. Because of the COVID-19-related hardships faced by so many clients, though, the agency’s board of directors decided to waive the clients’ half of the payments.

 “We are trying to prevent homelessness,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to take people out of poverty, but along with that we’re trying to provide relief for those that were affected by this pandemic.”

By Kim Dishongh 

The Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas (HWOA) used a mini-grant from Arkansas Community Foundation to help Hispanic women in northwest Arkansas. The grant helped HWOA clients access information and resources while schools and other organizations were closed or offering limited services because of the spread of COVID-19.

“There is certainly social distancing, but the needs of the community have not changed,” said Margarita Solorzano, executive director of the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas.

The Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas was founded in 1999 to provide Hispanic and Latino women with educational opportunities, celebrate their cultures and encourage active community participation.

With a $1,000 Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund mini-grant from the Foundation, Solorzano developed tutorials to help the population served by Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas understand how to use telemedicine and to avoid becoming victims of scams. The organization also prepared and distributed information about how clients could lower their risk of contracting Covid-19 and how to get tested if they think they might have the novel coronavirus.

“That is very important because a lot of times the Spanish speaking community relies only on the national news, which is in Spanish,” said Solorzano. “They don’t know what measures or what guidelines the local cities are putting in place to protect their communities.”

Solorzano also used mini-grant money to have the organization’s office phone routed to a home phone number so that she or another of Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas’s employees could answer calls and respond to requests for help.

“Most of our clients prefer more in-person, face-to-face meetings,” said Solorzano, explaining that clients often don’t schedule appointments in advance but call when they reach the building. “A lot of times they are calling because they are lost in the building and need to find where our offices are.”

Being able to take the calls quickly and in person made a big difference for one client in particular, a single mom, who was experiencing a drainage issue on public property that caused flooding on her property every time it rained. The issue is being addressed by city inspectors now, thanks to the facilitation by the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas.

“In having that trusting voice on the other side of the phone, we can get the information quickly,” said Solorzano. “We can help these women with what they need.”

Little Rock, Ark. (June 5, 2020) – Arkansas Community Foundation has awarded the second phase of funding from its COVID-19 Relief Fund to help organizations statewide adapt to new and increased demands of the pandemic.

These grants of up to $25,000 totaled $1,947,788 made to Arkansas nonprofits. When added to the 678 $1,000 Phase 1 Mini-grants made to organizations in 67 counties in April and May, more than $2.6 million in grants have been made from the Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund in the 11 weeks since the fund was created.

“These Phase 2 Adaptation Grants help organizations who are adapting their operations to meet the ongoing needs of Arkansans affected by the pandemic and shore up critical systems like healthcare, education and food distribution,” said Heather Larkin, President and CEO of the Community Foundation.“

Grant recipients for Phase 2 were selected by a committee of reviewers based on criteria designed to determine the best use of COVID-19 Relief Fund assets. A list of the organizations that received grants is available here.

More than $3.4 million has been donated to the COVID-19 Relief Fund from the Community Foundation, other Arkansas foundations, businesses and individuals. A list of donors to the fund is available at  www.arcf.org/covid19. The Foundation is currently determining the criteria for additional rounds of grants to be awarded later in the year.

“It was astounding to see the depth and breadth of need for operational change caused by COVID-19 described in these grant proposals,” Larkin said. “For example, one grant will allow a city to purchase supplies and provide training for local businesses to help them re-open in compliance with COVID-19 regulations. Another will help a nonprofit healthcare clinic modify its patient intake areas to allow for better social distancing.”

Priority for the Phase 2 Adaptation Grants was given to organizations addressing the following services:

  • Adapt their operations to meet new needs in the community that have arisen from the pandemic or
  • Deliver services in new ways to accommodate social distancing and other health and safety guidelines or
  • Serve an expanded client base, i.e. reaching individuals who are experiencing new economic hardships due to the pandemic.

Uses of this funding also include:

  • Modifying or upgrading technology systems to serve clients remotely.
  • Modifying facilities to enable greater social distancing among essential personnel and clients.
  • Implementing changes to operating procedures necessitated by COVID-19.
  • Scaling up service delivery to support increased demand.

The COVID-19 Relief Fund was created March 18, 2020. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the Community Foundation’s fund as a way for Arkansans to best help those in need during the pandemic. In addition, the Arkansas Republican and Democratic Parties jointly requested donations to the fund.

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Arkansas Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. The Foundation typically issues about 2,500 grants totaling $20 million dollars each year to Arkansas nonprofits. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation supports charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $250 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

By Kim Dishongh 

Main Street Russellville Inc., one organization that received a mini-grant from Arkansas Community Foundation, used it to support essential workers while helping some of the city’s downtown businesses.

Danielle Housenick, executive director of Main Street Russellville, said the $1,000 COVID-19 rapid response mini-grant from the Foundation made it possible to purchase more than 850 meals from Russellville restaurants. These meals were delivered to staff at the COVID Triage Center at Saint Mary’s Regional, the city’s fire and police departments and others.

“We love this sort of endeavor because it’s a win-win,” said Housenick. “We’re able to spend money in some of our small businesses, and we’re able to help our local people who are right on the front lines, stressed out and just in need of a pick-me-up.”

Main Street Russellville was founded in 1992, part of a national program geared toward revitalizing the city’s downtown area. The organization hosts quarterly downtown art walks, summer concerts and festivals, all with the goal of creating a community spirit and encouraging people to shop and dine downtown.

Some of Russellville’s downtown businesses have seen a 50% downturn in sales in the last few months because of the outbreak of Covid-19, Housenick said. Throughout the crisis, Main Street Russellville disseminated information about various sources of assistance to small businesses and recently held a conference call on the topic for more than 250 businesses.

Some of those same businesses, Housenick said, have been the backbone of Main Street Russellville’s efforts over the years, donating money, space and resources for programs and events. Main Street Russellville has done what it can to infuse money back into them during these uncertain times.

Housenick set out to do something to help emergency personnel, who are providing vital services to the community during a time of need, and also support the businesses that were suffering. Buying to-go lunches from downtown restaurants and delivering that food to essential workers who are providing vital services to the community throughout the pandemic allows Main Street Russellville to do both simultaneously.

The people who have received meals are grateful, said Housenick, for the sustenance and for the recognition of their hard word work and sacrifice.

“Some of the business owners have said, ‘I paid my rent this month and that’s at least partially because of your support,’” Housenick said. “Small businesses have held up our community for so long by donating to nonprofits, and it’s just really good to give back to them.”

North Delta Community Foundation Seeks Executive Director

LITTLE ROCK, ARK (June 4, 2020) – Arkansas Community Foundation announces the newest addition to its affiliate network with the formation of the North Delta Community Foundation. This 29th affiliate office for the Foundation serves the regional community of Clay, Lawrence and Randolph counties in northeast Arkansas.

“We are excited about the creation of the North Delta affiliate office and its impact in helping build stronger communities there,” said Heather Larkin, President and CEO of Arkansas Community Foundation. “This new local office will help us tap the resources and expertise of community members and will ultimately strengthen our work in northeast Arkansas and our entire network of affiliates across the state.”

The goal of the North Delta Community Foundation is to continuously evaluate and meet the complex needs of the local community through equitable grantmaking and education. A fund has been established that will provide annual grants supporting nonprofits and community-based organizations in all three counties. A full list of funds can be found at https://www.arcf.org/affiliates/north-delta/.  

“I am grateful to the team of leaders from Randolph, Lawrence and Clay counties that came together to build an organization with the ideals of regional cooperation and sustainability in mind”, said Board Chair Graycen Bigger. “We know the needs of our communities and neighbors are great, and the North Delta Community Foundation provides an opportunity to respond to those unique needs equitably and quickly in times of crisis. We are delighted to be a part of a strong, statewide network that has proven its dedication to community growth and the wellbeing of all Arkansans time and time again.” 

Based in Pocahontas, the North Delta Affiliate has a newly established local advisory board and is actively recruiting a new Executive Director. Interested applicants can learn more about the position at the https://www.arcf.org/about/employment/or send a resume and cover letter to lmorris@arcf.org by June 26, 2020.

To learn more about the North Delta Community Foundation, visit their website at www.arcf.org/affiliates/north-delta or contact Graycen Bigger at 870-335-7409 or email arcf@arcf.org.

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Arkansas Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. The Foundation typically issues about 2,500 grants totaling $20 million dollars each year to Arkansas nonprofits. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation supports charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $250 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

Little Rock, Ark. (May 20, 2020) – Two months after the creation of its COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist in pandemic relief, Arkansas Community Foundation has awarded $1,000 rapid response mini-grants to 678 organizations in 149 cities and towns located in 67 counties.

“These mini-grants support immediate, essential community needs in human services, food, health, housing and education,” said Heather Larkin, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “Recipients range from youth basketball leagues distributing food to hungry families to summer reading programs opening early, to the purchase of software that allows child abuse hotline staff to accept calls at home.”

A list of the organizations who have received mini-grants is available at www.arcf.org/covid19.  Community Foundation Phase Two Adaptation Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 are now being processed and will be awarded by the end of May. These grants will continue to help organizations who are adapting their organizations to meet the ongoing needs of Arkansans affected by the pandemic and shore up critical systems like healthcare, education and food distribution.

The total amount raised for the COVID-19 Relief Fund has topped $3.4 million, with donations coming from the Community Foundation, other Arkansas foundations, businesses and individuals. Called the Gratitude Report, a list of donors to the fund is available at  www.arcf.org/covid19.

“The response of the public to requests for donations has been amazing,” said Larkin. “Just as impressive has been the response of the Community Foundation staff, Board and volunteers who have faithfully reviewed grant applications every day since we started accepting applications. Our finance staff members have processed and mailed grant checks at a record pace.”

The COVID-19 Relief Fund was created March 18, 2020. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the Community Foundation’s fund as a way for Arkansans to best help those in need during the pandemic. In addition, the Arkansas Republican and Democratic Parties jointly requested donations to the fund.

Donations are still being accepted online at www.arcf.org/covid19 or by mailing a check to Arkansas Community Foundation, 5 Allied Drive, Suite 51110, Little Rock, AR 72202. All donations to this fund will be granted to Arkansas organizations working to serve the state’s most vulnerable populations and those disproportionately affected by the coronavirus and its economic fallout.

Arkansas Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. The Foundation typically issues about 2,500 grants totaling $20 million dollars each year to Arkansas nonprofits. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation supports charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $310 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 28 affiliates are fully tax deductible.

Arkansas Community Foundation continues to see generosity pouring in from across the state. Since activating our fund on March 18, we have seen millions of dollars donated, pledged or reallocated from our fundholders and the general public. Every week businesses, private foundations, individuals and civic groups are giving. In turn, we are granting dollars out the door as quickly as we can receive, review, vet and process grant applications. 

While recognizing that this is a challenging time for the nation and its businesses, we still see Arkansans from every corner of the state stepping up to help. Arkansas is trending with the rest of the nation. Nearly 250 community foundations in all 50 states have collectively mobilized more than $375 million for the pandemic, according to the Community Foundation Public Awareness Initiative. To date, community foundations have publicly announced more than $64 million in grants to local nonprofits.

The COVID-19 Relief Fund serves as a link between those who want to give and those who are in need. Whether to the COVID-19 Relief Fund or your favorite nonprofit, however you have the means to help, do. Arkansas is a generous state, and we always find ways to help each other—and now, more than ever, help is needed.

You can see the list of local nonprofits that have received grants so far.  We will be updating both our donor list and our grantee list each week.

THANK YOU to the following Arkansas entities that have donated generously to the COVID-19 Relief Fund:

  • Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation      
  • Ally Financial
  • Anonymous  Donor
  • Arkansas Community Foundation
  • Arvest Foundation
  • Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas
  • Mary and Dabbs Cavin                    
  • Entergy Charitable Foundation
  • JenByRo Charitable Fund
  • Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation 
  • Masco Walmart Support Services
  • Riggs CAT
  • Cathy and Denton Seilhan
  • Tyson Family Foundation
  • Walmart Foundation
  • Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation
  • Wells Fargo
  • Windgate Charitable Foundation
  • Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation