American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021, and established the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, which together make up the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds ("SLFRF") program. The program provides $350 billion for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to meet pandemic response needs and rebuild a stronger, more equitable economy as the country recovers. The City of Sun Prairie has been allocated approximately $3.6 million in direct ARPA assistance in two tranches. The first half was received in the summer of 2021 and the City received the second tranche in summer of 2022.
ARPA Funds may be used to:
- Support the Public Health Response - support urgent COVID-19 response efforts to continue decreased spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control
- Respond to the negative economic impacts of COVID-19 - support immediate economic stabilization for residents, neighborhoods, and businesses
- Serving the hardest hit communities - address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the unequal impact of the pandemic
- Investments in infrastructure – meet the critical need for investments and improvements to existing infrastructure in water, sewer, and broadband
It is the city’s goal to use funds to enable the city and community to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its negative impacts, enhance City infrastructure, provide assistance to the hardest hit in our community by the pandemic, and set the stage for a strong and equitable recovery.
Transparency and public accountability are critical to upholding integrity and trust. An expenditure dashboard has been created to track the investments made using these funds. Scroll to the bottom of this page to review the dashboard.
Unhoused Support Services Grant
The City of Sun Prairie is distributing an Unhoused Support Services Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to assist individuals who are unhoused and experiencing homelessness in our community. $60,000 in one-time funding has been designated for this grant program. The Unhoused Support Services grant opportunity has been developed to assist community partners in activities that promote, achieve, or progress toward more stable housing arrangements for persons or families experiencing homelessness, or at risk of becoming homeless. The objective of this funding is to address one or more of the following areas:
- Prevention: prevention aims to reduce the number of people who experience homelessness through financial assistance and housing stabilization services that keep people in housing.
- Diversion: diversion is a flexible short-term intervention that assists households at imminent risk of homelessness with innovative solutions to overcome their housing crisis and avoid entering the shelter system whenever possible. Diversion is typically offered at the point households are seeking shelter or emergency housing options.
- Emergency Shelter: emergency shelters provide immediate and low-barrier access to shelter and other resources until participants can move into more stable housing.
- Capacity Building or Expansion: planning efforts to expand current facilities or offer additional services.
Schedule for Funding
| NOFO Issue Date | January 3, 2024 |
| Deadline to Submit Questions | January 15, 2024 |
| Response to Questions & Feedback Requests | January 22, 2024 |
UPDATE: No questions were submitted to the City. | |
| Final Application Submission Deadline | February 5, 2024 |
| Notice of Intent to Award | February 16, 2024 |
| Grants Awarded (by Council) | February 20, 2024 |
| Funding Expenditure Deadline | December 31, 2024 |
Access Application Here
Community Investment Program
The City of Sun Prairie’s Community Investment Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was developed in response to the economic crisis facing our community due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the impact of the pandemic revealed socio-economic disparities in low-income and minority populations resulting in those communities suffering a greater negative impact from COVID-19. The objectives of the C-ARPA Fund are to support the City's priority areas:
- Support urgent COVID-19 response efforts to continue decreased spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control
- Support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses
- Address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the inequal impact of the pandemic
Community Investment awards under this NOFO are intended for projects benefiting the community, projects must have a community impact and are intended to be self-sustaining. These funds are intended for one-time expenses and will not cover ongoing operational costs (i.e., personnel salaries, utilities, rent, maintenance, etc.) City of Sun Prairie to discuss and provide updates.
The NOFO was approved by the Council on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 and was open to nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and for-profit organizations that have a physical location(s) and operate within city limits. Eligible projects under this funding opportunity were programs that responded to the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, which could include assistance to households, small businesses, non-profits, and providing aid to impacted industries. From the $1 million allotted for external funding, the maximum grant award amount that could be requested is $150,000 per organization or project with a minimum award of $5,000. Organizations could also partner together to submit a single proposal.
NOTE: THE Community Investment NOFO is closed and not accepting applications.
Annual Reports
Resources
- Treasury's State & Local website
- ARPA Presentation - 7/6/21 Committee of the Whole
- Staff Memo on Phase 1 ARPA Grant - 7/16/21 Council
- Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds FAQ
- ARPA NOFO Q&A Document
Public Engagement
A community survey was recently made available and closed on Friday, February 25, 2022. Survey results are available here.
Recording of informational session on the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) available here. You can review the presentation slides here and see the responses to the poll questions asked during the session here.
Contact Information
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding ARPA, how funds are being expended, or the Community Investments Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process, please contact us at (608) 825-1175 or by email here.