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.

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. 

The schedule for funding is as follows: 

NOFO Issue Date: Click here for application

April 1, 2022

Applicant Informational Session (recommended) 
Recording available here

 April 11, 2022 at 1pm

Deadline to Submit Questions & Request Feedback of Early Submissions

 April 15, 2022

Response to Questions & Feedback Requests
Q&A Document available here

 April 22, 2022

 Final Application Submission Deadline

 May 2, 2022 by 2 p.m.

 Notice of Intent to Award

 June 3, 2022

 Grants Award (by Council)

 June 7, 2022

 Funding Expenditure Deadline

 December 31, 2024












As of 2:00PM CT on May 2, 2022, the Community Investment Notice of Funding Opportunity is no longer accepting applications in accordance with the application deadline posted. Funds have been allocated. Please refer to the below Expenditure Dashboard for more information.

Access application below: Community Investment American Rescue Plan Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) 

Resources

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.