United Way of York County has announced that it has been selected to administer a grant from the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. UWYC has been designated to provide the administrative support for EFSP’s fund distribution through a local board of community volunteers, which is responsible for making disbursement decisions among local emergency food and shelter programs that apply for funds.
This funding will supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county for expenses incurred Oct. 1, 2014 through Oct. 31, 2015. The funds are earmarked to provide special emergency assistance in the areas of food, shelter, rent/mortgage or utility assistance. EFSP funds provide assistance over and above those services already provided by area agencies through their annual budgets.
“The funds cannot be used to make up for budget shortfalls or to replace other funding sources,” explains Vicki Swerdlow, UWYC’s Director of Administrative Operations. “They are intended to assist with economic-related emergencies.”
To be eligible for funds, an organization must: be a 501(C)(3) nonprofit or governmental organization; have an accounting system; practice nondiscrimination; have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs; and, if it is a private voluntary organization, it must have a voluntary board.
On a federal level, the distribution decisions are made by a national board that is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Council of Jewish Federations, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and United Way of America. United Way of America provides the administrative staff and functions as fiscal agent. The National Board is charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country.
Completed applications must be received by noon on Tuesday, March 24.
Applications must be mailed to: Ken Murray, EFSP Board Chair, United Way of York County, P.O. Box 727, Kennebunk, ME 04043; or emailed as an attachment to [email protected] (download from www.buildcommunity.org). For more information, email Ken at [email protected], or go to the EFSP website at www.efsp.unitedway.org.
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