American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)ARPA Eligibility Requirements

ARPA Eligibility Requirements

The City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant programs are designed to support residents, organizations, programs, and activities that benefit City of Scranton residents and the community.

Below are general eligibility requirements that all organizations must meet:

  • Organizations must be physically located in the City of Scranton OR provide evidence that the organization directly serves the residents/community of Scranton
  • Organizations must have been in operation for a minimum of three (3) years
  • Be in good standing and registered with the City as well as current with local taxes and trash fees
  • Must have no current unpaid code enforcement liens or violations of any state, federal or local laws
  • Must be current on all taxes including payroll, sales, unemployment, property, State, and Federal
  • No owners, including all managing members and/or officers, have been convicted of financial crimes within the past three (3) years
  • Provide proof of insurance to the satisfaction of the City prior to the receipt of any funding.
  • If applying for a direct beneficiary award, the applicant must demonstrate, through the application process, negative financial impacts directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be due to an increase in services provided, an inability to hold fundraising events, loss of revenue related to government-mandated shutdowns, increased costs for complying with reopening requirements, or costs of new programming designed to assist those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and its economic effects
  • During the period beginning on March 3, 2021, and ending on August 1, 2022, the applicant has not received alternate Federal grant funding to cover these same costs and/or impacts

Note: Organizations that received other COVID-19 funding assistance such as, but not limited to Federal CARES Act funding; Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans; Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL); or Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds are eligible to apply for ARPA funding, so long as expenses are not duplicated.

Program-Specific Eligibility Requirements

In addition to the general eligibility requirements, below are specific eligibility requirements for each program available for funding award:

Non-Profit Organizations, Educational Catch-Up Grants, and Literacy/Finance Grants

  • Must be a non-profit with a current 501(c)(3) or 501(C)(19) status
  • Must have been providing service for at least (6) six months at the time of application
  • Must be licensed to provide service in the County and/or City of Scranton

DDAP Drug Overdoes Prevention, Behavior Health Response and Violence Prevention, and Wellness Programming

  • Must be a Non-Profit, Private Entity, or Governmental Agency
  • Must have been providing service for at least (6) six months at the time of application
  • Must be licensed to provide service in the County and/or City of Scranton

Affordable Childcare

  • Be currently licensed as a Child Care Home or Child Care Center with a Provisional or Operating license, or be approved to offer after-school programs through the local school district
  • Be in good standing with, and have a current Child Care Subsidy enrollment
  • Requested funding must be used to improve the quality of the program/curriculum of the childcare

Small Businesses Grants and Wage Supplement Grants

  • Business is a “for-profit” business
  • Business is not a publicly traded company
  • Business will be physically located within the City of Scranton
  • Business has experienced a business interruption(s) or closure(s) due to COVID-19; or COVID-19 has created an economic impact that makes this grant request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the business
  • Business is licensed to do business, in the state of Pennsylvania
  • Business had 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees prior to March 3, 2021.
  • Business was in operation on March 3, 2021, and if required paid income taxes to the state and federal government, as reported on individual or business tax returns
  • The grant will be used to cover COVID-19-related costs and/or impacts
  • No business owners, including all managing members and/or officers, have been convicted of financial crimes within the past three years.

Small Business Start-Up or Expansion Funding

  • Business will be a “for-profit” Business
  • Business will be physically located within the City of Scranton
  • No business owners, including all managing members and/or officers, have been convicted of financial crimes within the past three years.

First Time Homebuyer Program and Home Rehabilitation Program

  • Must be a non-profit, private entity, or governmental agency
  • Must have been providing service for at least (6) six months at the time of application
  • Must be licensed to provide service in the County and/or City of Scranton
  • Program services must benefit full-time Scranton residents that are at least 18 years of age or older
  • Program must be designed to assist impacted and disproportionately impacted households according to the following criteria:
    • Impacted households include:
      • Moderate income households or communities
      • Households that experienced unemployment
      • Households that experience increased food or housing insecurity
      • Households that qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, childcare subsidies through the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Program, or Medicaid 
      • Households that qualify for the National Housing Trust Fund and Home Investment Partnerships Program
      • A moderate-income household at or below 65% of the Area Median Income for the County, or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines per the table below is considered to be Impacted
      • Program must be designed to verify these impacts and income limits
Size of Household12345678
65% AMI 33,759 38,553 43,388 48,181 52,041 55,900 59,759 63,619
300% FPG 40,770 54,930 69,090 83,250 97,410 111,570 125,730 139,890
  • Disproportionately Impacted households:
    • Households that qualify for certain federal benefits including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Free- and Reduced-Price Lunch (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast (SBP) programs, Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidies, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Head Start and/or Early Head Start, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Section 8 Vouchers, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Pell Grants
    • A low-income household at or below 40% of the Area Median Income for the County, or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines per the table below, or a household located within a Qualified Census Tract, or receives services provided by Tribal governments, is considered to be Disproportionately Impacted
    • For households located within a Qualified Census Tract, QCT guidance will follow
    • Program must be designed to verify resident income limits
Size of Household12345678
40% AMI 20,775 23,725 26,700 29,650 32,025 34,400 36,775 39,150
185% FPG 25,142 33,874 42,606 51,338 60,070 68,802 77,534 86,266

Grant Applications

Additional Help

Comments are closed.

Skip to content