Each year, the City of Portage awards grants from the General Fund and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program to non-profit entities that provide housing, food, clothing and other critical assistance to Portage citizens in need. Fiscal Year
2020-2021 Human Services funding will be available on July 1, 2020. While the exact amount of funding available for the fiscal year is not yet known, the city allocated $169,740 from the General Fund and $44,100 from the CDBG Program towards human services in the current fiscal year.
Interested agencies within the greater Kalamazoo area may submit a grant application to the Department of Community Development no later than Monday, December 9, 2019. For both the General Fund and CDBG Program, the following qualifying criteria will be considered in the evaluation of funding requests:
- Extent to which the program services meet a basic human need (e.g. provision of housing, food, health and safety services, job training, transportation and quality of life enhancements)
- Extent to which program services are accessible to Portage residents
- Extent to which clientele are economically or socially deprived, senior citizens or persons with disabilities
- The number of Portage residents to be served
- Outreach efforts to Portage residents to be served
- For new programs/agencies in the community, the ability of the agency to receive other funding. For programs in existence in the community for five or more years, the ability of the agency to leverage other funding
To qualify for funding from the CDBG Program, the applicant must deliver a service with direct benefit to low-income persons within the City of Portage. Further, the applicant must be able to provide more detailed information on the income and demographics of the clientele served.
Download the Human Services Funding Grant Application Form at portagemi.gov/180. To be considered for funding during the Fiscal Year
2020-2021 funding cycle, submit a completed application by 5 PM on Monday, December 9, 2019. Applications can be delivered to the Department of Community Development, 7900 South Westnedge Avenue, Portage, MI 49002. To obtain additional information, please contact the Department of Community Development at 329-4477.