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September 6, 2022 - Announcement 

Please note, all parties that submitted a pre-application must also submit a formal application to be considered for ARPA grant funds. There will be no exceptions.  Applications are due to the County by 5:00 pm on Thursday, September 15, 2022.  

While not required at the time of application, applicants that receive an award will be required to show ACTIVE status in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) prior to executing a subrecipient grant agreement.

Please note:

• Government entities (including municipalities) are not required to provide a Certificate of Good Standing.  This requirement remains in place for businesses and non-profit organizations.
• Government entities that do not file taxes may submit audited financial statements in lieu of tax returns.
• This one-time competitive grant opportunity was developed due to the limited amount of available ARPA funds and overwhelming interest. Please note that all eligible projects will not be selected for funding.  An evaluation panel will review grant proposals and make determinations for funding.  Applicants should carefully review the Notice of Funding Opportunity and all grant application materials to produce a strong grant proposal/application package.

The County held three (3) Application Informational Webinars.  These recorded sessions provide detailed information on the ARPA grant application and can be found below.
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Luzerne County was awarded $112,890,152 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury. The purpose of this funding is to provide the needed relief to government entities for the continued support of the COVID-19 public health response, while laying a solid foundation for a strong and equitable economic recovery.  ARPA funding addresses revenue losses experienced because of the crisis and will help offset some of the costs incurred by Luzerne while responding to the public health emergency.  Additionally, funds may provide support for recovery efforts including assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, aid to impacted industries, and support for essential workers.  

Earlier this year, the County used information collected from nearly 200 pre-applications to identify the areas of greatest need for Luzerne. The County is pleased to announce its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for ARPA Grant Funds, made available to address the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  This one-time funding opportunity is designed to projects to make critical investments in the community.  Through approved projects, the County will address negative economic impacts and invest in public health, equity, infrastructure, and more to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency and continue to move Luzerne County forward! 

Please note, pre-applications were only used to conduct a needs assessment for the County and ALL interested parties are required to complete a formal application for funding. Unfortunately, we are not able to make any exceptions to this. The County will hold three (3) Application Informational Sessions to provide a detailed overview of the grant application process.  All sessions will be recorded; recording links/presentation materials will be posted to this site.  Register to attend on one of the following dates:

REGISTER: Wednesday, August 17th at 10:00 AM (EST)
Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application Informational Webinar 8-17-2022

REGISTER: Friday, August 19th at 1:00 PM (EST)
Luzerne County ARPA Grant Applicant Informational Webinar 8-19-2022

REGISTER: Wednesday, August 31st at 2:00 PM (EST)
Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application Informational Webinar 8-31-2022

Completed online applications (including all required attachments) are due to Luzerne County by 5:00 pm Eastern on September 15, 2022.  Luzerne County ARPA Grant Applications must be submitted online, at this link.  The County is unable to accept paper applications, including those by mail, fax, or email submission.  For technical assistance while completing your online application, please send an email to LuzerneARPA@bmc-llc.net.   Please note, technical assistance will be provided through 4:00 pm Eastern on September 15, 2022.

• Luzerne County ARPA Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (Luzerne County’s formal announcement of funding available to eligible applicants under the Federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, a part of the American Rescue Plan) 
• Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application

• Exhibit A – Eligible Activities (Excerpt from Treasury’s Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule document.  Detailed information on allowable projects under this grant)
• Exhibit B – Application Questions (PDF copy of application questions.  Use as a resource for preparing your organization’s grant application)
• Exhibit C - Luzerne County - ARPA Grant Budget Template (Required attachment to the Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application)
• Exhibit D – Form W-9 (Required attachment to the Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application – must be dated within the last 12 months)
• Exhibit E – Vendor Compliance Form – (Required attachment to the Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application.  Collected data will be used to contact financial point of contacts to set up payment accounts)
• Exhibit F -  Evaluation Score Card (Application scoring criteria.  Use as a resource for preparing your organization’s grant application)
• Exhibit G - Request for Advance or Reimbursement Form – (Required attachment to the Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application)
• Exhibit H – Eligible Expenses (General Information on determining eligibility of expenses under the Luzerne County ARPA Grant)

 Luzerne County ARPA Grant Application and SLFRF Resources

US Department of the Treasury’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

2 CFR 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles (This section of the Code of Federal Regulations identifies allowable and unallowable expenses with Federal grant dollars)

Treasury’s Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule (Highly Recommended Reading: a detailed summary of the Federal program through which these funds are made available)

Compliance and Reporting Guidance – State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (Highly Recommended Reading: a detailed overview of the reporting requirements for this program.  The County will require aggregate data from subrecipients to compile reports to the US Department of the Treasury)

SAM.gov – The System for Award Management (Applicants are STRONGLY encouraged to provide evidence of “Active” status in the System for Award Management.  All subrecipients for the Luzerne County ARPA Grant are required to provide this documentation in order to execute a subrecipient grant agreement).