A special grant committee has whittled a list of more than 150 grant applications from Montgomery County nonprofit agencies down by two-thirds and is recommending the County Council pay out less than a quarter of the sought-for $16 million.
The report, by a 30-member grants advisory board, calls for funding about 50 of the projects — ranging from after-school activities to continued revitalization efforts in Silver Spring.
These suggestions still must go to the County Council for final rulings this month.
But the advisory group’s list recommends the largest payout go to the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, which runs a 3,000-student Saturday school program.
The suggested $600,000 to expand tutoring and mentoring programs is a third of the organization’s original $1.8 million request.
Next in terms of the size of its recommended grant amount is Foundation Schools, which provides special education teaching to 75 predominantly Montgomery County students whose emotional needs are too great for public school instruction.
According to Foundations Development Director Philippe Dupont, the $250,000 the advisory board granted would pay for half of a major facilities move.
That move is necessary because Montgomery County Public Schools owns the previous space in Bethesda. Dupont said school officials want to use the building as a temporary school, which means Foundations has entered into a deal to convert a Gaithersburg office into a school site.
“This money will allow us to put up some walls, refurbish the library area, put in some bigger bathrooms, put up some walls,” he told The Examiner.
Some of the other major proposed recipients include: CASA of Maryland, which could receive $200,000 for infrastructure improvements to its day labor center; the Latino Economic Development Corporation, tapped to get $100,000 for small business assistance loans; and the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, which could receive $125,000 to replace its emergency public communications system.
In general, the other agencies slated for county funds are likely to collect five- or four-figure grant amounts based on the advisory group’s findings.
