Somerville, Massachusetts
March 7, 2024
Fayetteville, North Carolina
March 6, 2024Chatham County, Georgia, is located on the Atlantic coast of the state, and is the sixth most populous county in Georgia. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was enacted with the goal of providing urgent and targeted funding for workers and families. Chatham County set aside a portion of their total ARPA allocation to distribute to small local businesses within the County who were negatively impacted by the pandemic, and sought assistance with managing and administering this funding.
SITUATION
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chatham County was awarded a total of $28.1 million in ARPA funding. The County decided to earmark $1.75 million to address the negative impacts caused by the pandemic, specifically to local small businesses.
TASK
iParametrics was asked to administer a Small Business Assistance program for Chatham County in order to provide funding to small businesses whose operations were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This task included community outreach and developing a marketing campaign to ensure targeted local non-profits and small businesses were taking advantage of funding opportunities. We were asked to guide the County staff on grant application strategies in regards to eligibility, readiness, and grant application evaluation.
ACTION
iParametrics is providing Chatham County with a comprehensive and customizable Grant Management System, implementation support, and training. We worked with County leadership to provide strategic planning for the best ways to utilize ARPA funding for their Small Local Business program. Our outreach initiatives for the businesses within the County included information regarding the program, eligibility, and application instruction. The iParametrics team provided training to a County-based grant management team in the proper review and approval of grant applications. We maintain comprehensive record-keeping and accounting systems for all dollars expended, applications received, and amounts awarded.
RESULT
We are managed their Small Local Business Grant program, which awarded eligible businesses who were negatively impacted by the pandemic. We processed over 215 applications, and approved 92 of these applications with a total award amount over $1.8 million. We also prepared and received post-award survey responses to better improve the program going forward.
