COVID-19 Local Emergency Assistance for Nonprofits Program

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

In mid-April 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality (OEV) launched the COVID-19 Local Emergency Assistance for Nonprofits (LEAN) Grant Program. The purpose of the LEAN Program was to provide initial, rapid, and meaningful assistance to the most vulnerable members of our local nonprofit community. The LEAN grant program was established in direct response to an acute economic crisis and was designed to provide a “bridge to a bridge,” helping local nonprofits (which serve all Leon County residents including veterans, children, elderly and/or disabled citizens, and others) remain viable during the application period for other state and federal relief programs and incentives yet to be launched. Leon County was the first community in Florida to create a grant program of this type to support nonprofit organizations impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, the LEAN grant program provided over $600,000 in assistance to 267 businesses, supporting the retention of more than 2,400 local jobs.