Recovery.gov - Track the Money

• The National Board selected jurisdictions of highest need for food and shelter assistance and determined the amount to be distributed to each. The National Board’s formula is based upon average unemployment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor for the most current 12-month period available and poverty statistics from the 2000 census. Poverty and unemployment were selected as the best indicators of need available nationwide at the city or county level. The National Board adopted this combined approach in order to more effectively target funds for high-need areas and to allocate these funds rapidly and fairly. EFSP ARRA funds were awarded to the National Board on April 9, 2009, and this selection process has been accomplished.

• The National Board selected United Way of America as the Secretariat and fiscal agent to perform the necessary administrative duties for the Board, and has determined an administrative allowance of one percent of the total award may be used for National Board administration. Of the total allowed administrative costs of three and one-half percent, one-half percent may be used by State Set-Aside Committees and two percent may be used by Local Boards or by LROs at the Local Board’s discretion for administrative expenses.
• As fiscal agent, United Way of America will process all Local Board plans and make payments directly to LROs recommended by Local Boards for funding.
• In jurisdictions that received previous awards, the National Board will notify the jurisdiction that new funds are available. In areas newly selected for funding, the National Board will notify the local United Way, or other National Board organization, to request that a Local Board be formed. The National Board will notify qualifying jurisdictions of award eligibility within 60 days following the award of funds by FEMA (April 9, 2009).
• All awards will be paid in two equal installments. Except for the first check to newly funded organizations, the National Board will make all payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) only. If an organization has received funds subsequent to October 1998 (Phase 17), they are not considered new for payment purposes; therefore they must have EFT in place to receive payments.
• The National Board will issue first payments by EFT to LROs funded in the previous phase. The National Board will issue checks to newly funded LROs (those not funded prior to the EFT requirement) for the first payment only. The National Board will not issue any payments to a jurisdiction until the previous phase’s final report has been received. No first payments will be issued to any LRO with any known or unresolved compliance problems in any jurisdiction in which they have previously received funds including the previous phase's final report, if reviewed.
• Second payments will be made once the jurisdiction's compliance review of the previous phase is completed and any compliance problems resolved. Compliance resolution after the end of the funded phase is no guarantee that any remaining award will be forthcoming. Notice of second payments will be mailed to Local Boards and LROs only upon the submission of each LRO’s interim report/second payment request form. The Local Board chair will authorize second payments once assured the LRO is implementing the program as intended and according to the guidelines in the EFSP manual and other requirements established by the Local Board. Second payments will be held until all compliance exceptions (if any) are satisfied by the LRO.

FEMA awards a grant in the full amount that Congress appropriates to the National Board (i.e., the Grantee), who qualifies local jurisdictions for funding based on a formula involving the most recent population, unemployment, and poverty statistics. Each civil jurisdiction (a county or city) funded by the program must constitute a Local Board. The Board must be composed of representatives of the same organizations as those on the National Board, with a local government official replacing the FEMA representative. In jurisdictions where affiliates of National Board agencies do not exist, other appropriate groups and individuals should be invited to sit on the Local Board. Jurisdictions that are located within or encompass a Federally-recognized Native American reservation must have a Native American representative on the Local Board. Each Local Board is required to include a homeless person, a formerly homeless person, or former recipient of program services on the Local Board. Additionally, the National Board encourages that organizations representing or serving the special emphasis groups named in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act be included on Local Boards. These groups include the elderly, families with children, veterans, and the physically and mentally disabled. Additionally, the National Board encourages Local Boards to expand to be representative of their communities.

Local Boards decide which local non-profit community and government organizations are to receive funds in the qualifying jurisdictions, and funds are disbursed directly to these local recipient organizations (LROs) by the National Board. In addition to direct funding awards, a portion of the funds available are awarded by the National Board to State Set-Aside (SSA) Committees. SSA Committees select jurisdictions for funding with significant needs or service gaps that may not have qualified for direct funding from the National Board.

The National Board conducts compliance reviews of program expenditures for specified LROs. The National Board, FEMA, the National Board’s public accounting firm, or the Inspector General's office may also conduct an audit of these funds. The National Board is responsible for monitoring LRO compliance with Circular A-133 of the Office of Management and Budget.

A copy of the program guidance, the grants.gov announcement, and the signed grant document for the EFSP can be found on www.recovery.gov. The public can obtain comprehensive information on the EFSP and ARRA funding at www.efsp.unitedway.org, which is the program’s official website maintained by the National Board. Allocations to local jurisdictions and State Set-Aside Committees are located on the website. Information can also be obtained in the National Board’s Phase 27 Responsibilities and Requirements manual.

Every grantee is required to report on a regular basis during the performance period. These performance and financial reports are available for review. The EFSP follows these reporting requirements as outlined in 44 CFR Part 13, 2 CFR Part 215, and 2 CFR Part 230.

As every federal grant recipient that expends over $500K per year, the National Board is required to have an A-133 audit performed according to guidelines in OMB Circular A-133. These audits can be viewed and downloaded from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, https://harvester.census.gov/sac. FEMA also prepares a report to Congress on each year’s program activities, independently, and through the U.S. Interagency Council on the Homelessness Annual Report.

The Disaster Assistance Directorate will be directly responsible for the timely application and obligation of these funds.

Our specific plans to meet the following objectives are as follows:

• Funds Obligated Timely: FEMA obligated 100% of the funds to the grant recipient, the National Board, as scheduled, on April 9, 2009.
• Funds Expended Timely: FEMA will work with the grant recipient to ensure a 100% expenditure rate within the 24-month performance period of the grant.

Although FEMA chairs the National Board, the Agency does not retain discretion as to the expenditure of grant funds awarded under the Program either by agreement or by statute, and therefore National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements in 42 U.S.C. §4321, et seq. pertaining to environmental review are not applicable to the Program. Similarly, although Program funds may be used for modification of existing facilities, which may include historic properties, the Agency retains no discretion and therefore this action is not considered an undertaking by FEMA as defined in 36 CFR Part 800, implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).