When you hear the acronym ARRA (America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act) what comes to mind? Green jobs? Domestic spending on health care? Education? Likely, all these things come to mind, but how is this beneficial to your association or nonprofit organization? The ARRA calls for $825-billion in tax cuts and spending in areas including clean energy, education, health care, and road and bridge projects. President Obama endorsed the measures, saying the administration would save or create 3 million jobs and offer a “...down payment on our most significant challenges.” Many nonprofit experts have proposed that the stimulus package include billions of dollars of spending to help charities both weather the recession and put people to work solving the country’s problems. These leaders also asked for a “nonprofit stimulus fund” to distribute government and private money to innovative nonprofit groups. President Obama endorsed both of these ideas in his stimulus plan.

Many state and local entities including foundations have found ways to access ARRA funds and continue offering their mission-supported programming. For example, The National Science Foundation (NSF) is receiving ARRA funds that help them remain a leader in science and engineering research and education. NSF is receiving $3 billion which Dr. Arden L. Bement Jr., director of NSF, believes will have a huge impact on investigators, post-docs, graduate and undergraduate students, and teachers throughout the nation. NSF will use the grants funded by ARRA swiftly and efficiently to create jobs and reinvestment. With financial support coming from ARRA, NSF can carry out the goals of their organization.

Another non-profit organization benefiting from ARRA is the American Dental Association (ADA). According to federal medical assistance percentages, ADA can use these funds to provide additional funding to help states maintain their Medicaid programs in the face of state budget cuts, as the individual states would not qualify for these additional funds because most have built restrictive requirements into their Medicaid programs.

According to the National Council of Nonprofits, there are seven general areas within the stimulus plan that are of special interest in funding nonprofit organizations:
• Arts and Humanities
• Education and Internet Access
• Employment and Job Training
• Energy
• Housing and Community Development
• Human and Social Services
• National Service

Nonprofit organizations can access ARRA funds in various ways. Some funds will be redistributed by federal agencies. Most, however, will first go to state and local government agencies for redistribution. The following website can give you tips and thoughts about ARRA to help nonprofit organizations get the most out of funding opportunities.

In these trying economic times, alternative funding sources through ARRA or grant funding can provide revenue outside usual channels to support continued programming and the achievement of an organization’s mission.

References:
http://maps.foundationcenter.org/economic_crisis/stimulus/
http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/files/Special%20Report%202%20-%20Nonprofit%20Grant%20Tips%20(Feb%2024%20FINAL).pdf
http://www.merit.edu/stimulus/pdf/NSF_ARRA_Fact_Sheet.pdf
http://fluoridealert.com/prof/advocacy/arra_detailed.pdf