Nonprofit Relief FAQs

Application is NOW OPEN.

Fill out the Application

Michigan’s small nonprofits can now formally apply for the $35M relief fund. The intent to apply was simply a tool to gauge need and interest statewide.

Other important facts for you to know:

• Nonprofits do not have to be members of MNA to apply for/receive grant funding
• The formal application opened March 22, 2023 at 12:00 PM EST
• The application will close on Friday, May 5, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

Each eligible application will be reviewed by nonprofit and community leaders from the applicant's region. Applications will be scored based upon demonstrated need, narrative, and supporting documentation. Grant awards will be disbursed by the beginning of July 2023.

To be eligible for this funding, organizations must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits or projects fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)3 and able to demonstrate necessary expenditures and/or losses due to the COVID-19 public health emergency incurred after March 3, 2021 including lost public service revenue, costs for responding to a public health emergency, providing assistance to households, payroll protection, and other economic impacts negatively affecting service delivery.

Funding is being made available through The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP0127 awarded to the State of Michigan by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is federal pandemic funding that, through the MI Nonprofit Relief Fund, the State of Michigan intends to utilize to help ensure equitable recovery for small nonprofit organizations statewide.

Nonprofits are eligible to receive a minimum of $5,000 up to $25,000 per grant application and specified need.

The Intent to Apply Questionnaire is now closed but this does NOT mean you missed the window to apply for the grant. The Intent to Apply Questionnaire was used used to determine interest in the fund, ascertain if current outreach efforts are effective, or if additional measures are needed.

The formal application will launch on March 22, 2023.

Organizations who did not fill out the intent to apply are still able to fill out the application.

No, your nonprofit does not have to be member organization to apply.

Non-eligible Applicants

The following organizations are not eligible for the Nonprofit Relief Grant Program:

• For-profit entities
• Organizations that are 501(c)(4)s, 501(c)(6)s, or otherwise other than 501(c)(3)
• K-12 schools, including charter, public and private
• Higher Education Institutions
• Municipalities, municipal subdivisions, and other government agencies
• Hospitals
• Trade associations
• Credit unions
• Insurance trusts
• Fraternal orders
• Religious Programming (faith-based nonprofits may request funding to support services that are not religious based programming and do not discriminate based on religion)

Ineligible Costs

• Corporate debts
• Contingencies
• Contributions and donations
• Entertainment costs
• Fines and penalties
• Legislative expenses
• Any religious activity
• Political/advocacy activity

Please visit https://www.michigan.gov/leo/initiatives/poverty-task-force/opportunities-for-mi-nonprofits for more information!

Nonprofits interested in learning more or staying up to date should sign up for LEO's newsletter at the bottom of the webpage above. The newsletter will announce when the Impact Grant is live.

The application portal is not yet open. It is expected that the grant application will launch on March 22, 2023.

The application portal for the Relief Fund will open online March 22, 2023, at 11 AM and will close May 5, 2023 at 11:59 PM.

Eligible applications from 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are located in Qualified Census Tract (QCT) areas; assisting disproportionately impacted populations; or lifting residents out of poverty above ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) thresholds; with an operating budget of one million dollars or less will be prioritized over those that do not meet these criteria.

The applicable timeline is intended to capture negative economic impacts sustained from March 3, 2021, up through the date of the application submission.

Yes, your organization must operate in Michigan and primarily serve Michigan residents to apply.

No, only 501(c)3 organizations or organizations with 501(c)3 fiscal sponsors can submit an application for the Relief Fund.

In general, all applicants will need to provide evidence they have experienced negative economic impacts due to COVID-19, or that COVID-19 has created an economic impact that makes this grant request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the organization. Examples of general documents that may be required for organizations submitting an application include:

• Proof of Nonprofit status (if applicable)
• Copy of IRS letter or certificate, verifying tax-exempt status
• Copy of Annual IRS 990 Form
• Federal Tax Identification Number
• Current copy of IRS W-9 Tax Form
• Copies of invoices showing an increase in administration or program costs since March 3, 2021 (If applicable)
• Past-due Mortgage/Rent Statements (If applicable)
• Past-due utility bills (If applicable)
• Evidence of reduced or inhibited fund-raising activities due to COVID-19 (if applicable)
• Copies of invoices or evidence of COVID-19-related expenses incurred (Fees related to shift from in-person to remote, for example (if applicable)
• Evidence of lost funds or income due to COVID-19 (if applicable)
• 990-N or 990-EZ from the impacted operating year(s)

The specific dates are not exclusive; as long as the organization can provide documentation of a loss, or an increased need, from March 3, 2021, to the present day.

A nonprofit must have been established for at least one year prior to the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency in order to apply for ARPA funding. Recipients must certify that they have been in operation providing in-state services since January 1, 2019.

Organizations that received other federal, state, or local COVID-19 funding assistance are eligible to apply for ARPA funding through MNA as long as what you are currently applying for is for different uses than previously funding received. In other words, there should be no duplication of benefits.

Yes.

No. The nonprofit will need to document/demonstrate their financial records as separate from their fiscal sponsors.

(For example, we distribute over a million dollars in small grants each year, but our organization’s annual revenue is well under $1 million.)

Nonprofit organizations functioning as intermediaries or managing pass through grants are eligible to apply. Supporting documentation, such as 990s or the most recent audit, will be used to determine actual revenues for an organization.

Non-eligible Applicants
The following organizations are not eligible for the Nonprofit Relief Grant Program:

• For-profit entities
• Organizations that are 501(c)(4)s, 501(c)(6)s, or otherwise other than 501(c)(3)
• K-12 schools, including charter, public and private
• Higher Education Institutions
• Municipalities, municipal subdivisions, and other government agencies
• Hospitals
• Trade associations
• Credit unions
• Insurance trusts
• Fraternal orders
• Religious Programming (faith-based nonprofits may request funding to support services that are not religious based programming and do not discriminate based on religion)

Ineligible Costs

• Corporate debts
• Contingencies
• Contributions and donations
• Entertainment costs
• Fines and penalties
• Legislative expenses
• Any religious activity
• Political/advocacy activity

The Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) is partnering with the State of Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to design the grant program and select grantees as well as manage the application portal, grant process, and award payments.

The fund being administered by MNA is designed to provide aid and recovery to nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on those with annual revenues of less than $1 million that were negatively impacted by the pandemic.