Mecklenburg County to roll out $60M of federal pandemic funds. Here’s who will get it.

Mecklenburg County approved nearly $60 million of pandemic funding from the federal government Tuesday, allowing the county to negotiate contracts with more than two dozen organizations, each of which will each receive hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

The money is divided into five categories: workforce and economic development ($6.7 million); affordable housing and homelessness ($8 million); parks, environment and infrastructure ($14.6 million); childcare and early childhood development ($3 million); and behavioral health and health equity ($26.9 million).

Deputy County Manager Michael A. Bryant, speaking to county commissioners on Tuesday, said the county would continue to evaluate the ability of each organization to meet the goals that the funding is supposed to achieve.

The county will also evaluate claw-back provisions and reporting requirements for the organizations that will receive the money.

Even after this round of funding, the county will still have about $150 million of federal pandemic funds to distribute through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The money will be distributed over the course of several years, and applications will open again for a second round of disbursements.

Among the organizations expected to receive funding are Habitat for Humanity (to buy land for affordable homes); the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (to install wifi at the jail); Loaves & Fishes (to expand its grocery home delivery service); and the Charlotte Bilingual Preschool (to help Spanish-speaking families prepare their children for pre-kindergarten).

Every organization will agree to spend the money in certain ways and will agree to quarterly reporting, Bryant said.

“These recommendations will help our residents to be healthier and to be more prosperous,” county commissioner Leigh Altman said. “It really does demonstrate that we’re going to put our money where our values are.”

Where’s the money going?

Here’s a brief breakdown of where the money will be distributed. A full breakdown of how each organization plans to spend the money is available as an attachment on the county’s agenda for the meeting on March 15:

Affordable Housing and Homelessness ($8 million):

• Freedom Fighting Missionaries, Inc.: $750,000
• Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region: $1 million
• Pineville Neighbors Place: $300,000
• Roof Above, Inc.: $1,275,000
• Smithville Community Coalition: $3 million
• Socialserve: $992,000
• The Relatives Inc.: $719,448

Behavioral Health and Health Equity ($26.9 million):

• Camino Community Development Corporation Inc.: $2,511,360
• Care Ring: $3,366,798
• Charlotte Rescue Mission: $3 million
• Grace Mar Training and Employment LLC: $900,000
• Loaves & Fishes: $2,979,540
• Mental Health America of Central Carolinas: $1,275,000
• Pat’s Place Child Advocacy Center: $957,224
• Project 658: $3,157,000
• Promise Resource Network: $4,856,292
• Right Moves for Youth: $350,000
• Teen Health Connection: $310,625
• The Center For Community Transitions: $773,367
• University City Foundation: $990,770
• Vision To Learn: $1,517,136

Childcare and Early Childhood Development ($3 million):

• Charlotte Bilingual Preschool: $300,000
• Charlotte Community Services Association: $393,725
• CORE Programs Inc (By INLIVIAN): $510,000
• ourBRIDGE: $665,000
• Smart Start of Mecklenburg County: $342,500
• The Summer Camp Fund: $791,000

Parks, Environment and Infrastructure ($14.6 million):

• Cherry Community Organization: $250,000
• Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Agency: $3,582,500
• Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department: $10,810,000

Workforce and Economic Development ($6.7 million):

• Angels & Sparrows Community Table & Resource Center: $854,906
• ASPIRE Community Capital: $275,000
• Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce: $600,000
• City Startup Labs Inc.: $962,800
• International House: $677,538
• Muller Craft & Trade Academy: $1,575,600
• National Center on Institutions and Alternatives: $750,000
• Power Up USA: $250,000
• Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office: $800,000

This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 9:23 PM.

Will Wright

The Charlotte Observer

Will Wright covers politics in Charlotte and North Carolina. He previously covered eastern Kentucky for the Lexington Herald-Leader, and worked as a reporting fellow at The New York Times.