Relief for Non-Profits Affected by COVID-19

What is it? | Who is eligible? | How do I apply? | FAQs

Last updated: August 23, 2023

What is the Non-Profit Relief Program?

The City and County of Honolulu has made $15 million available in relief to assist non-profits who have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honolulu will now be accepting applications for $15 million in relief for non-profit organizations that have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-profits may be eligible to receive up to $100,000.

Funds awarded through this process may be used as working capital to cover day-to-day operating expenses such as rent/lease payments, mortgage payments, asset maintenance, utility expenses, payroll and benefits costs, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for internal organization use or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations that have not been covered by other federally supported programs or an insurance claim.

On April 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued the Final Rule governing the Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) established under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), directly acknowledging the negative economic impact of the pandemic on the non-profit sector. The City and County of Honolulu Department of Community Services (DCS) will be directly administering this program reviewing applications for completeness, determining whether the non-profit meets the eligibility guidelines, determining the amount of award based on the application and distributing funds to qualified applicants. 

*When you click the button, you will be taken to a page that asks you to log in. Please click “log in” to create an account. Click here for instructions on using the application portal.

Who is eligible for the Non-Profit Relief Program?

To be eligible to apply for the City’s program, each non-profit must meet certain criteria established by the City and the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Treasury for utilizing ARPA funds under the SLFRF program.  The non-profit must also demonstrate the need for economic support resulting from financial hardship caused by declines in revenues such as the loss of donations or fundraising revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Examples of economic harm include, but are not limited to:

  • A decline in charitable donations and gifts as a result of COVID-19 restrictions affecting regular fundraising events. 

  • Staffing inefficiencies related to COVID-19 restrictions, workplace exposures or infections

  • An operating loss due to carrying costs of a facility that went unused or under-utilized during the pandemic due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions

Non-profit organizations seeking to apply for funds must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for funding:

  • The Applicant must be a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) non-profit organization on Oʻahu and provide direct assistance, services, and/or benefits to Oʻahu residents.  

  • The Applicant must have been established long enough to have complete tax filings for tax years ending 2019, 2020, and 2021.  

  • The Applicant must be able to document and substantiate that it has experienced an economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts.  

  • The Applicant must submit only one application and all the required supporting documentation described in the Application Process.  

  • The Applicant must provide Equity information as required in the application.  

  • The Applicant must be in compliance and good standing with all State and City laws, rules and regulations.

How do I apply for the Non-Profit Relief Program?

The following documents must be submitted with the application:

  • Internal Revenue Service Tax Exemption letter.  

  • Statement of Hawaii Attorney General Charitable Organization Registration, Current Filing or Exemption.  

  • Current list of board members and affiliations.  

  • Current non-profit organization by-laws.  

  • Current IRS Form W-9.  

  • The Applicant’s 2019, 2020 and 2021 IRS Form 990 or Form 990-EZ tax returns.  

  • If the 2021 IRS Form 990 or 990 EZ is not available, or if the Applicant filed IRS Form 990-N for tax years 2019, 2020 and 2021, the applicant must provide its financial statements, and its best estimate of its annual results with a signed attestation on the accuracy of the estimates provided.  

  • If the Applicant’s financial statements and/or Form 990/990-EZs aggregate all revenues and expenditures for its Statewide or national operations, then the Applicant must disaggregate the data and provide its best estimate of its annual results for its Oʻahu operations. The Applicant must provide a signed attestation on the accuracy of the disaggregated estimates provided.

  • Authorization from the non-profit board that the person applying for the Program grant is authorized to apply for grants on behalf of the organization if the person is not designated in the by-laws.

The deadline to submit an application for the second tranche of relief funding is September 8, 2023 11:30 p.m. HST.

Frequently Asked Questions

+What is the deadline to apply?

The deadline to submit an application for the second tranche of relief funding is September 8, 2023 11:30 p.m. HST. No applications will be accepted after that time, and application submissions via email are prohibited and will not be accepted.

+ How much money can non-profits receive?

This year, relief funds up to $100,000 will be awarded to non-profits on a first-come, first serve basis until funds are exhausted.

+ When can non-profits apply?

Eligible non-profits on O‘ahu can apply from when the application portal opens on July 14, 2023 until it closes on September 8, 2023.

+ Who can apply?

Click here to see who is eligible: oneoahu.org/nonprofitreliefprogram/#eligibility

+ What are examples of financial harm from the pandemic?

  • Loss of income documented by tax returns or bank statements;
  • documented loss of labor;
  • late rental fees or unpaid utilities;
  • deferred maintenance;
  • unpaid invoices.

+ What are appropriate uses of the funding?

Day-to-day operating expenses such as:

  • Rent/lease payments,
  • Mortgage payments,
  • Asset maintenance,
  • Utility expenses,
  • Payroll and benefits costs,
  • Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for internal organization use.

Repairs due to disuse which was caused by the pandemic.

+ What are ineligible uses of the funding?

  • Rainy day funds or financial reserves.
  • Funding of executive compensation and bonuses, or workforce pay bonuses.
  • Capital campaign contributions, or capital expenditures, upgrades or improvements, including but not limited to land purchases and new construction.
  • Lobbying activities.
  • Reimbursement to donors for donated or gifted items or services.

+ My nonprofit suffered a loss in 2020 only. Can we apply for relief?

  • Yes, you can apply for relief under Tranche 2 guidelines. In Tranche 2, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) non-profit organizations that suffered net losses due to the COVID-19 public health emergency in either the 2020 tax year or the 2021 tax year, or both, may apply for grants from the Program, provided, however, that the other eligibility requirements are met.

+ My nonprofit applied in Tranche 1, but did not receive an award due to not having an accumulated net loss for years 2020 and 2021, however we suffered losses in year 2020. Do we have to reapply?

No, you do not have to reapply. Completed Tranche 1 applications that met all of qualifications for a grant except for establishing a net loss in both the 2020 and 2021 tax years are carried over into Tranche 2 and will be re-evaluated under the eligibility requirements of Tranche 2.

+ I applied for Tranche 1, but did not receive an award due to the lack financial information. Can I reapply for Tranche 2?

Yes. Your application will be reopened and you can provide the required documents. Please carefully review the updated program guidelines to ensure that you provided the required documentation.

+ My nonprofit falls under a church, however, we have our own EIN and file a form 990. Can we apply?

Yes, as long as the church is a 501 (c)(3) you can apply for relief under Tranche 2 guidelines. Please carefully review the updated program guidelines to ensure that you provided the required documentation.

+ Our nonprofit does not file a form 990. Can we still apply?

You must provide attested detailed financial statements in lieu of the form 990 for the requested years.

+ Our nonprofit identified programs that we administer that experienced losses. Can we carve out those figures and use them to apply?

Your organization must demonstrate that it suffered net losses due to the COVID-19 public health emergency in either the 2020 tax year or the 2021 tax year, or both. We will review the net losses reported on the requested tax forms/financial statements for your organization as a whole and not by specific program(s).

+ If I got an award in Tranche 1, but my organization lost a lot more than the $100,000 we received, can we apply in Tranche 2 and receive an additional $100,000?

No. Per the program guidelines, the total award payment shall not exceed $100,000.

+ Will I receive any confirmation that my application has been received?

Yes, you will receive an email notifying you that your application has been received. Prior to submitting your application, please carefully review the updated program guidelines to ensure that you provided all the required documentation.

+ If I apply, how soon can I expect my award check?

You will receive notification via email on the status of your award after your application has been reviewed. Please note that this will be after the list of scheduled events outlined in the program guidelines. The email will provide you with next steps and a list of documents to provide. Assuming that there are no issues or corrections, you can anticipate payment within 2-3 weeks from receiving your award letter and submission of all the requested documents.

+ We are waiting for the IRS to confirm that our tax issue has been resolved. Can we apply, even though our Certificate of Vendor Compliance currently shows us as non-compliant?

Your organization may apply for relief in Tranche 2, however the issue of noncompliance will need to be corrected before any payment can be made.

+ We are a church organization and we are exempt for doing tax returns. Can we apply?

Yes, as long as your organization is a 501(c)(3). If your organization does not file form 990’s, you must provide attested detailed financial statements in lieu of the form 990 for the requested years. Prior to submitting your application, please carefully review the updated program guidelines to ensure that you provided all the required documentation.

+ When COVID hit, we suspended operations for a while and we significantly cut back our spending. Our tax returns do not show a loss because of this, even though we lost the money we would have gotten if we had remained open. Can we apply for Tranche 2?

In Tranche 2, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) non-profit organizations that suffered net losses due to the COVID-19 public health emergency in either the 2020 tax year or the 2021 tax year, or both, may apply for grants from the Program, provided, however, that the other eligibility requirements are met.

+ Our program is located on the Big Island and most of our services are provided here. But we do offer services to some folks on Oahu. Can we apply and if so, how should we show you our Oahu information?

One of the minimum requirements to be considered for grant funding is that the Applicant must be a 501(c)(3) or 501 (c)(19) non-profit organization on Oʻahu and provide direct assistance, services, and/or benefits to Oʻahu residents. Only the portion of the operations serving Oʻahu residents will be eligible.

+ We started our nonprofit in 2019, but didn’t get our 501(c)3 designation from the IRS until later. Can we apply for this funding?

The effective date the organization was recognized as a 501(c)(3) on the IRS determination letter would establish your eligibility. For example if you received your determination letter in 2020 but the date of the IRS recognizing the organization is in 2019, then your organization would qualify.

+If funds are awarded on a "first come first serve" basis, how will the determination be made as to who was first?

Applications submitted are automatically timestamped when received by our application portal which determined the order of review.

+I received payment less than $100,000 based on total losses in Tranche 1, but I had a huge losses of over $100,000 in 2020 and a net increase in revenue in 2021 that resulted in us getting less than $100,000, do I qualify for more payment?

Because only one year of loss is required with Tranche 2, your organization will be eligible to receive up to a total of $100,000. You will not need to resubmit another application, however, you will need to provide all substantiating documents if you have not done so and your organization is awarded additional funds in Tranche 2.

+How do I use the application portal?

A training video is available and can be accessed by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO94mydEBvI&ab_channel=HonoluluDepartmentofCommunityServices.

+ What happened to the Equity Questions?

Equity Questions were only to be used for data collection and does not determine the award. If you are awarded funds, you will need to complete the equity questions with the Final Report you will need to submit.

+ What's different in Tranche 2?

Tranche 1 Requirement What’s Different in Tranche 2
Must have an aggregate net loss in 2020 and 2021 Must have a net loss in either 2020 or 2021
Must complete Equity Questions, although not used for determining award. Equity Questions will only be required to be answered in the Final Report. Again, this is only for data collection.

+ Have additional questions?

Click here for additional Tranche 2 questions and answers.

If you still have questions, you may contact us at bfspurchasing@honolulu.gov.