By Neil Johnson njohnson@gazettextra.com April 11, 2022

 

JANESVILLE

All seven Janesville City Council Members endorsed an ad-hoc panel’s recommendations to divvy up $2 million in a new city of Janesville “Pay it Forward” grant program eight ways for eight local nonprofit projects.

Erin Davis, an assistant to the city manager and a member of the panel who vetted the 55 grant applications collected earlier this year, said the greatest weight was given to pitches by nonprofits for projects that would directly benefit people with critical financial needs—particularly for programs that provide support that’s in short supply here, such as housing.

ECHO’s pitch for $851,000 for six new transitional housing units would provide months of housing at a time when the city is short of available units for people facing short-term homelessness.

The Boys and Girls Club of Janesville was the second biggest beneficiary of the grant program, which is part of a $4 million pot of federal money the city had disbursed for COVID-19 recovery.

The council approved the recommendation to award grant funding of $750,000 to help the Boys and Girls Club build a new facility that would allow it to enroll a growing number of students in its after-school club programs. Now, the Boys and Girls Club is facing waiting lists for a growing number of students, some who would also be eligible for “wraparound” day care services.

Many of the families the club serves are west side and south side residents, Boys and Girls Club officials said.
 
The club hasn’t selected a site yet for its new center, but officials for the club say a few private donors have said they’d support the project, and the Boys and Girls Club is seeking multiple grants for the project, which might total $5 million.

All recipients of grant funding would be required to spend the funding by 2024 or return any unused funding to the city.

Paul Benson, a city council member selected as one of nine-person panel consisting mostly of city staff, said the group had discussed parsing out smaller grant funding amounts to more of the 49 groups that pitched the city on a total of 55 grant requests.

The city had expected maybe 15 or 20 applicants to the program, Davis said.

Benson said the panel ultimately sought to craft the allocations in a way that made the “biggest impact” possible for projects that otherwise may never go forward.

Among the eight recommendations, the panel also recommended the city award:

  • The Wesley Avenue Alano Club $100,000 for accessibility upgrades to its facility.
  • The Janesville Lions Club $59,327 for a fully accessible pavilion and walkway at Lions Beach.
  • The Red Road House $61,587 for upgrades to office equipment and transitional housing.
  • The Isaac Strong Foundation $50,000 to buy vehicles to transport cancer care patients to appointments. 

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