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Governor Gordon reveals county-led Community Charitable Relief Program

CHEYENNE – Governor Mark Gordon has unveiled the Community Charitable Relief Program, which provides grant funding to nonprofit organizations that have provided public assistance or seen a decline in donations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Governor has allocated more than $12.1 million in CARES Act funding to Wyoming counties and tribal governments for the program. All decisions on funding will be made at the local level, with county commissioners and tribal governments placed in charge of distributing the grant funds to local entities to have the most impact.

With the new Congressional aid package extending the deadline states have to use CARES Act dollars, counties and tribes have until March 1 to distribute the grant funding. Governor Gordon is urging counties to act quickly to ensure the funds reach organizations in need.

“No one can say this has been an easy year. There are so many needs that have been highlighted by the challenge of this virus and all that accompanied it,” Governor Gordon said. “Never has the work of charitable organizations been more important and they have shouldered additional responsibilities in so many ways. This program will give county and tribal governments the ability to provide some more support to those organizations that they know have served the public and been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.”

Wyoming nonprofit organizations are encouraged to contact county commissioners or the tribal business council in their service area for additional details on the grant process. Rules of the program are available at https://rules.wyo.gov/ by searching Emergency Rules for the “Community Charitable Relief Program.”

Washakie County will be receiving $181,519.22 through the Community Charitable Relief Program. A transfer of funds hearing to include the funding in the county budget will be during the next regular meeting of the commissioners on Tuesday.