City of Muskegon creates community grant program with COVID-19 relief funds

February 21, 2023

MUSKEGON, MI – In the wake of the two-year-plus COVID-19 pandemic, there are many, many needs in the City of Muskegon – needs that the Muskegon City Commission hopes to begin to meet with a new community grant program.

The commission recently authorized a $1.6 million ARPA Community Grant Program to assist the 15 recognized city neighborhood associations along with non-profit organizations and small businesses located in the city. One-time grant funds in the range of $25,000 to $250,000 are available to help eligible applicants overcome the public health and economic challenges created by the pandemic.

The community grants come from the nearly $23 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds received by the City of Muskegon. The commission already allocated federal funds for replacement of lost city revenues, affordable infill housing and major gifts to Muskegon non-profits conducting significant capital campaigns, among other needs.

Of the $6.1 million remaining, $1.6 million will be directed to the community through the ARPA Community Grant Program.

“There are so many people who are still hurting from the effects of this public health emergency. The city wants to provide direct assistance to meet the challenges and ease the burdens of the pandemic,” said Muskegon Mayor Ken Johnson. “We want to help those in need across our city.”

Be it a city neighborhood association, non-profit or small business, the ARPA Community Grant Program is not intended to provide operational funds nor payroll support but instead fund one-time capital initiatives and special projects to target disproportionately impacted households and small businesses in the community.

Information on the grant program is being released with online applications opening March 1, 2023. The application deadline is midnight on March 31, 2023.

Anticipating more requests than financial resources, the city commission has established a citizen-led review committee with one citizen representative from each of the city’s four commission wards, the city manager and a city staff member.

With the help of two representatives from community-based organizations with grant funding expertise, the ARPA Community Grant Review Committee will work in April to provide a recommendation to the Muskegon City Commission, which is slated to make final grant decisions at its April 25 meeting.

The non-profits must be registered 501 (c)(3) organizations and the small businesses must fit the standard sizes by industry outlined by the U.S. Small Business Administration to be eligible to apply for the community grants.

The City of Muskegon has its on-line application, a program guideline and a Frequently Asked Questions document on its website at mkgcity.com/ARPAGrant. Questions can be directed to city staff in the city’s Development Services Division at (231) 724-6702 or at [email protected].

For further information contact:
Deborah Sweet

Community Engagement Manager

City of Muskegon

[email protected]