The United Way of Northwest Alabama has been raising money through the Northwest Alabama COVID-19 Emergency Fund since March. Even prior to the Stay-at-Home Order issued by Gov. Kay Ivey, United Way anticipated a need for those who would be affected.  One of the promises made for use of the funding was to aid non-profit agencies that have been affected by the virus financially – and United Way is now accepting applications from those agencies.

Agencies are not required to be current United Way partners, but must be operational and providing services in some capacity in Colbert, Lauderdale, Franklin or Marion counties.

This application is the first round of funding specifically designated for non-profit agencies.  Agencies must submit their 501c3 letter and their 990. Grants will be awarded up to $2,500 per organization.

“This pandemic has been difficult for everyone, and most non-profit agencies have been quietly working through it without complaint,” said Jennifer McNulty, CEO of United Way of Northwest Alabama. “They serve those in our communities who need the most help and now they need our help.”

McNulty said the local United Way has been “so fortunate to receive generous donations to the emergency fund, and we’re incredibly thankful to every donor who has contributed so far.

“We are going to continue fundraising to provide the most assistance possible to our community,” McNulty added.

United Way has raised $43,000 thus far for the emergency fund, $5,000 of which was used to assist area food pantries by providing credits to applicants’ accounts at the Northwest Alabama Food Bank.

“We will continue to assess the needs of our communities as we move toward long term recovery,” said Kerry Del Pizzo, chief operations officer. “We feel it is important to support other non-profit agencies through this because not only has there been an understandable decrease in charitable giving, but many agencies were forced to cancel their planned fundraising events. We need to determine exactly how those lost funds are going to ultimately impact our area.”

Any interested non-profit agency can find the application on United Way of Northwest Alabama’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages or email kerry@uwnwal.org for a link.

Deadline for application submission is June 5 at noon.

For more information contact Pizzo at 256-764-5892.