Fountain Valley News - Your Hometown Community Newspaper

Good day. I am thankful for the bit of moisture we've gotten over the past several days, but we remain dry for our region, so I'm hopeful for additional rain and/or snow in the coming weeks. For today's column, I want to highlight a newly announced non-profit fund as well as advertise for applicants for an opening on the County Board of Adjustment.

El Paso County is accepting applications for its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help non-profit organizations assist individuals and households adversely impacted by the COVID-19. Funds may be used to create or expand programs meant to provide a wide range of services that respond to the pandemic while addressing the public health and economic challenges associated with such. The application will remain open through November 19, at 5 p.m.

Organizational Eligibility: Entity must hold a non-profit status 501 (c)(3); Entity must be able to document how the proposed program / service will address an identified negative impact resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic; the organization must be located in El Paso County.

Eligible Uses of Funding include:

• Establish / expand programs in the following areas: Counseling; Substance Abuse; Mental Health; Behavioral Health; Suicide Prevention; Employment Assistance; Financial and Debt Counseling or Budgeting; Legal Aid to prevent eviction or homelessness;

• Hire and pay staff that provide a wide range of case worker services for the above-mentioned programs

• Provide sports, music and club scholarships meant to cover the cost of enrollment and registration fees to youth residing in El Paso County. Youth must be in a family financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (unemployed or loss of hours)

• Expenditures covered by Community Services Block Grant dollars are not eligible for funding.

For more information about the ARPA grant assistance and how to apply, please visit https://admin.elpasoco.com/arpa/. Completed applications and required financial documents must be submitted by Nov. 19, at 5 p.m.

Also, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners is seeking community-minded citizen volunteers to serve on the Board of Adjustment. Applications for the open position are due by Nov. 12. The Board of Adjustment hears and decides on issues of physical variances related to the county zoning code. Variance requests may include changes to dimensions, structural location, bulk limitations, or other development requirements. Board meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 9:00 am at the Centennial Hall Hearing Room, 200 S. Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The volunteer application is located at http://www.elpasoco.com and can be accessed at: https://bocc.elpasoco.com/volunteer.

Have a wonderful week everone.