(Lawrenceville, Ga., April 21, 2020) – The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Tuesday took a step toward attaining and preparing for coronavirus-related grant funding. At the commissioners’ business session, the board voted to approve the application for and — if awarded — the acceptance of public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency as well as grant funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act. The CARES Act authorized $2.2 trillion dollars to facilitate stimulus relief for the American public, businesses and state and local governments.

While federal and state agencies are still working to clarify eligible expenses and their processes for releasing funds, this action is part of Gwinnett’s proactive approach to accepting disaster public assistance and CARES Act funding in order to facilitate timely relief to County departments and community partners who have played an instrumental role in preparing for and responding to COVID-19 needs. To date, the County has been informed of the following funding allocations: $314,000 for health care-related expenses; $4.8 million for community development, housing and homeless needs; $19.9 million for transportation needs; and $163 million for general COVID-19-related expenditures.

“I appreciate the proactive work that County staff, especially our Grants Management and Finance staff, have done to capture costs that may be eligible for reimbursement and to follow closely the progress of federal funding and associated guidance” said Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash. “We all want to be sure that we use funding appropriately in ways that will benefit the community.”

Valuing the services provided throughout the community by Gwinnett’s nonprofit and faith-based partners, the County published an informational booklet that communicates COVID-19 grant funding opportunities and resources for nonprofits to assist community partners in maintaining services and responding to immediate needs. This resource has been distributed through a number of channels and is accessible on the grants page of GwinnettCounty.com.

All related updates are available under the COVID-19 update banner at GwinnettCounty.com. Information about how entities can apply for Gwinnett County COVID-19 grant funding will be released at a later date.