LIHUE — Kauai United Way has secured $25,000 in federal funds for emergency food and shelter for our island, said Scott Giarman, executive director for the Kauai United Way.
“We are pleased to announce that KUW has secured these funds which is more than we were able to receive, last year,” Giarman said. “However, we are under federal mandate to go through then proper paper process to release these monies in a very short amount of time.”
Tbe federal Emergency Food &Shelter program is designed to provide food, rent, utility, and other assistance to people in need, and funding is distributed based on a formula that measures relative poverty conditions across the nation.
Kauai United Way wrote a proposal requesting that a portion of discretionary set-aside statewide funds be directed to Kauai island to address the hardships facing many of the local citizens.
The funds secured by KUW needs to be used by Jan. 31, 2019. Kauai United Way will convene a special board to distribute the monies to qualifying Kauai social service organizations who need to apply through a hard copy of their proposal in two pages, or less, no later than noon, Sept. 11.
“This short time of response is in accordance with federal regulations,” Giarman said.
Once received, the special allocations board will consider applications from last year’s recipient organizations along with other organizations who apply, this year.
Kauai organizations which currently provide emergency food and/or shelter services, and meet the following criteria may apply for a portion of this special funding.
To be eligible for consideration, an organization must have certified nonprofit status, use funds to supplement and extend existing resources, have a Federal Employer Identification number, practice non-discrimination, comply with all local and federal reporting requirements, and provide complete documentation for all expenditures.
Organizations meeting the above-mentioned criteria, and wishing to be considered for funding must submit one hard copy of their proposal of two pages, or less, certifying compliance with the criteria as well as describing their organization, the project to be considered, the need for this project, the amount of funding requested, and the number of people to be served.
A copy of the proposal should be emailed to Lori Almarza at lori@kauaiunitedway.org by noon, Sept. 11. More detailed instructions are available by calling 245-2043.
Giarman said without Kauai United Way applying for, and administering the fund, this money would not have been available to those in need on Kauai.
