United Way of Central Alabama Announces Request for Proposals

Proposals Due:    June 20

United Way of Central Alabama, Inc. (UWCA) has been awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) funding from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Community Service, under the Strengthening Communities Fund (“SCF”) in order to fund local grants in at least 12 Alabama communities throughout the state in the amount up to $45,000 each.
The purpose of SCF is “to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to address the broad economic recovery issues present in their communities, including helping low-income individuals secure and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better-quality jobs, and gain greater access to state and Federal benefits and tax credits, including ARRA benefits” (Section 1110 of the Social Security Act, and Title VIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111- 5).
Proposals are being sought from secular and faith-based organizations that are established in their respective communities and provide community development services in distressed communities that lead to economic recovery.

For the purposes of this announcement:

Distressed Community is a well-defined geographic service area with an unemployment rate and/or poverty rate greater than the State or national rate.
Community development activities may include any constellation of financial education, tax assistance, benefits enrollment, housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, career/workforce development, community planning, homelessness prevention, microenterprise, etc.
Organizations may also provide ancillary support services/programs, but the ideal applicant for this solicitation will have an established history of providing services/programs that lead to financial and economic stability.
There will be at least twelve (12) grantees. Each grantee will be able to request up to $45,000 to conduct SCF capacity-building activities. Application materials are attached to this announcement. There will be two separate and independent solicitations based on geographic regions of the state:

Solicitation Round One – Proposals Due June 20, 2010
West–Tuscaloosa (10 western counties) North Central–Birmingham (9 north-central counties) North–Huntsville (12 northern counties). Map attached

Solicitation Round Two – Proposals Due January 2011
South–Mobile (10 southern counties) East Central–Montgomery (14 east-central counties) East–Auburn (12 eastern counties)