Mar 21, 2023 3 min read

Local nonprofits that work with immigrants, including providing food, shelter, transportation, basic health and first-aid, or offer other supportive services may be eligible for funding, the Department of Homeland Security announced last week.

Grant information is being shared with local nonprofits by the United Way of Washington County, which last year took the reins as the county’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, a federally funded program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that allocates funds to counties based on unemployment rate and other criteria.

As part of the EFSP, the United Way of Washington County is tasked with distributing information on grant opportunities like this one.

The DHS is offering a $350 million funding opportunity for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board to fund the program’s humanitarian portion. The funding aims to support local governments and nonprofits providing essential human services to immigrants with proof of an alien number through DHS.

Nonprofits do not need to be current or former EFSP participants to apply.

“We’re going into our second year of handling the EFSP. They sent this information to anyone who had a local board. Some of our nonprofits do help immigrants, such as the Literacy Council. We just wanted to share the information,” said Sue Urcho, marketing and program manager, United Way of Washington County. “They (DHS) are going to mostly focus on the southern border, but they also said if anybody else wants to apply for funding, they’re welcome to.”

Local recipient organizations may be eligible for reimbursement for eligible humanitarian relief expenses incurred between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. The deadline to apply is April 2.

Learn more about the Humanitarian Reimbursement Application Process online at www.efsp.unitedway.org.

Humanitarian Advanced Funding Request (HAFR) funding is also available to fiscal agents soliciting financial assistance from the National Board on behalf of their community’s service agencies. Only fiscal agents may submit applications to the National Board.

HAFR applications are open from March 3 through April 2, and may be submitted at the HAFR portal online at www.efsp.unitedway.org.

A packet explaining the funding opportunity, including how grant funding may be used, along with eligibility and application requirements may be found online at https://www.efsp.unitedway.org/efsp/website/.

For assistance with this funding opportunity, or for more information on the United Way of Washington County, visit https://www.unitedwaywashco.org/ or call 724-225-3310.