ARP Committee 4/12
Hello! I apologize for not keeping up with the last couple of meeting blogs like I was hoping to. Shout out to CM Mendes! I don’t know how he does it. Something to strive for.
At our last meeting we took up a number of items. As we are nearing the end of the funds. After all of these allocations are made, we will have around 4M in ARP funds left. There is also the possibility that orgs do not spend all of the money allocated by their deadline (12/31/24) and it returns to us. We will need to decide what to do with remaining funds at that point. The committee has decided to hold it in reserve in the meantime. We also do not know if any is needed to cover unreimbursed FEMA claims. Our next meeting will be in July.
Nashville Food Project- $621,750 RECOMMENDED
The project will aim to respond to food insecurity. “More than 1 in 10 Nashville residents lack reliable access to food. This number is even starker for children; in Nashville, 1 in 5 of the city’s young people, experience food insecurity.” The project will take a three step approach.
Diagnose the root causes and effects of food insecurity in Nashville to reveal the current barriers to and opportunities for food systems transformation.
Facilitate inclusive opportunities for community members and food system stakeholders to co-create visions and solutions for a just and sustainable food system for Nashville.
Establish capacity and governance among Nashville community members to lead the city’s transition to a just and sustainable food system in the present and future.
Details can be found here.
2. Big Brother Big Sister and TSU Collaboration- $471,694 RECOMMENDED
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT) and Tennessee State University (TSU) are partnering to provide mentoring services for first-year college students through an initiative called Big Futures. These organizations will build a system to support college freshmen in 1) understanding how to achieve financial stability/success, 2) advancing career goals, 3) setting a trajectory for academic success/completion, and 4) maintaining/improving mental health. Through providing no-cost access to mental health supports and connecting students to financial success professionals”
Details here.
3. WeGo & HBCU Pilot - $400,125 RECOMMENDED
I want to thank CM O’Connell for helping lead this with WeGo. WeGo will partner with our 4 HBCUs (TSU, Fisk, Meharry, American Baptist) to provide unlimited bus rides to students and staff. We currently have something similar with our Metro schools. I think this a great initiative and am curious to see what ridership will look like. A pilot like this can open doors and change habits. Nashville should be a pedestrian friendly city. This is a great step forward.
More information here.
4. Fifty Forward Bordeaux Collaborative- $2.5M RECOMMENDED
This is the second time we heard from this group. We had some outstanding questions about financing moving forward and if Metro will be able to use the facility at a discounted rate. The concern was that we would be paying to build a facility that did not belong to Metro. Creative Girls Rock and Fifty Forward will be collaborating to create the new facility and rent out space to other nonprofits. They did offer to let Metro use the space for free.
More information here.
There were a number of items that came back before us to amend either to expand scope or add more time.
5. Nashville Hispanic Chamber- They have originally received 50k and fulfilled all requirements to address small business relief. The new request is for 75k out of the remaining funds for a 1 year contract. RECOMMENDED
6. Corner to Corner- Originally received 475k for small business relief. They requested 150k for 1 year. RECOMMENDED
7. Pathway Lending- is asking to change the criteria for those applying for small business relief. Changes include credit score waiving, revenue threshold, and changing the year the business should have been established. RECOMMENDED
8. United Way- Revision for those requesting assistance. Revision would eliminate AMI requirement, 0-100% AMI rent relief, remove the form they sign saying they were impacted by covid 19, they are also requesting extension to 12/31/23. RECOMMENDED
9. Flea Market/ Fairgrounds- They originally received $1,046,000 to help merchants. They asked for an extension to 9/30/23. The funds will be used for rent relief and they would like to remove the limit of months the merchants can use it. RECOMMENDED
10. TLACC- was not addressed because all reports are still in the process of being submitted.