United Way of Aroostook to Administer Emergency Food and Shelter Grant Funding
News
Aroostook- — United Way of Aroostook has been selected to administer a $23,918 grant from the
Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program that will provide additional resources to local
organizations that meet these two basic needs.
United Way of Aroostook has been designated to provide the administrative support for EFSP’s fund
distribution through a local board of community volunteers, which is responsible for making
disbursement decisions among local emergency food and shelter programs that apply for funds.
The funds are to supplement and expand on-going efforts to provide shelter, food, and supportive
services. EFSP funds provide assistance over and above those services already provided by area
agencies through their annual budgets.
“We are so thankful for these dollars that are coming to Aroostook County to fund the neediest areas
and address gaps in services in the County. It allows our partners to respond to changing needs in the
community and expand the work they do,” said Sarah Duncan, Executive Director of United Way of
Aroostook. “With the decrease in assistance available, our partners are seeing an increase in services
which means they need more funding to be able to provide these services.”
To be eligible for funds, an organization must:
• Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or governmental organization
• Have an accounting system
• Practice nondiscrimination
• Have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs in Aroostook
County
• If it is a private voluntary organization, it must have a voluntary board
On a federal level, the distribution decisions are made by a National Board that is chaired by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from The Salvation Army, American
Red Cross, Council of Jewish Federations, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of Churches of Christ
in the USA, and United Way Worldwide.
United Way Worldwide provides the administrative staff and functions as the fiscal agent. The National
Board is charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and
shelter programs in high-need areas around the country.
Applications can be requested by calling the United Way Office at 764-5197 or by emailing Sarah at
sarah@unitedwayaroostook.org. A digital copy of the application must be emailed to the United Way
office by noon on Friday, May 24th.
A Volunteer Task Force will make funding distribution decisions after the deadline. Anyone interested in
serving on this task force should contact United Way of Aroostook.