TOGETHER: Greater Rochester Area COVID-19 Community Support Fund

Rochester Area Foundation (RAF) will oversee the City of Rochester Nonprofit Relief Grants Program. This program is funded by the CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security) Act.

This program will make available grants up to $25,000 to nonprofit organizations who serve the residents of the City of Rochester that can demonstrate financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, specifically a decrease in net revenue. Grant recipients may receive up to 50% of your organization's decrease in net revenue from March 1st - June 30th, 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019 or $25,000, whichever is less.

For example: If from March-June of 2019, your organization had positive net revenue (net revenue = revenue – expenses) of $30,000, but in March-June of 2020, your organization had negative net revenue of $5,000, you would have a net loss of $35,000. You are eligible to apply for 50% of that loss, or $17,500. You may or may not receive the full $17,500 depending on how your organization meets the priority criteria.

A total of $300,000 is available for grant awards, with a priority given to organizations focused on health and educational equity, reaching under-served and/or marginalized populations, small organizations (those with six employees or fewer), nonprofit agencies directly impacted by Governor Walz's Executive Orders, and nonprofit organizations that have not received aid from other government sources. Any 501(c)3 nonprofit that has been operating before March 1st, 2019 is welcome to apply.

Awards will be disbursed and administered by RAF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Grant funds received by nonprofit organizations shall be used to cover operational expenses since March 1, 2020, including but not limited to program expenses, payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, and other expenses in the regular course of operations. These funds cannot be used to pay for expenses that are being funded by other CARES Act programs, or to pay tax liabilities. These funds are grants and no repayment will be required; they are not loans.

Applications for the City of Rochester Nonprofit Relief Grant Program open on Monday, September 21st at 9 am, and will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 2nd, 2020. Awards will be processed over the following two weeks.

To complete your application, you will need:

• Accounting software output (or spreadsheets) showing total income and expenses for March 1st- June 30th, 2019, if your nonprofit organization was operating during that period;
• Your 2019 (or most current) 990, if your nonprofit organization was operating in 2019; or Board of Director approved 2019 year-end financial statement 
• Accounting software output (or spreadsheets) for March 1st - June 30th, 2020 showing total income and expenses; Amounts of other CARES Act program awards to your nonprofit organization (PPP, etc.).
• Evidence of employment in 2020. Acceptable documentation may include period reporting from the applicant’s 3rd-party payroll processor, applicant’s Federal Form 941/Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, or other State or Federal payroll-related filling. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: All documentation MUST include organizational name in the name of the file, e.g. Agency1.pdf.

 
To qualify, an organization must:

• Have a 501(c)3 nonprofit designation or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)3
• Be a nonprofit that does NOT have a mission dedicated to entertainment, recreation, or arts.
• Provide significant services to residents in the City of Rochester.
• Be in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State and Minnesota Attorney General as of March 1, 2020.
• Be current on property taxes (if applicable) for 2019 and all years prior, as of March 1, 2020.
• Have been in operation on or before March 1, 2019.

Priority Considerations:

• Organizations with programming focused on health and educational equity.
• Organizations that provide services to underserved and/or marginalized populations.
• Organizations that provide services to low to moderate-income individuals and families.
• Organizations that employed six people or fewer full-time equivalent as of March 1, 2020.
• Organizations that have not received aid from other government sources. Organizations directly impacted by Governor Walz's Executive Orders.
• Organizations that can demonstrate financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, specifically a 30% loss in net revenue for the time period March 1 through June 30, 2020, compared to the same time period in 2019.

Other Considerations:

• Please submit only one application per organization. An eligible nonprofit organization may receive at most one grant under this program, regardless of how many direct service programs offered.

What will NOT be considered for funding?

• Organizations whose main service area or mission is related to arts, entertainment, or recreation.
• Political campaigns, candidates, parties, partisan activities, or lobbying efforts.
• Religious organizations whose proposals support theological functions.
• Youth and adult sports leagues.
• Labor or fraternal groups.
• Projects that discriminate in any way.
• Capital campaigns.
• Funding that solely benefits an individual or individual family.
• An organization that has been suspended or debarred, and is not eligible for federal funds. The Federal government has the ability to either suspend or debar persons or entities from federal contracts and from receiving government assistance dollars. This would include organizations that have committed fraud, or falsified documentation against the Federal government.

If you have all the necessary documentation, this application should take less than 20 minutes to complete.