Yolo County Donates Additional $250,000 to Yolo COVID-19 Relief Fund

Yolo County has donated $250,000 to the Yolo COVID-19 Relief Fund, bringing the County’s support to $500,000 and the overall funds raised for the Relief Fund to more than $680,000. The Yolo COVID-19 Relief Fund is a partnership between Yolo County, the cities of Woodland, Winters, West Sacramento, and Davis, and the Yolo Community Foundation. This donation is funded via CARES Act funding, the federal government’s response to COVID-19 that was passed through to States and then allocated at the local level to counties such as Yolo.

With this funding, the Relief Fund anticipates making grants to support three high-need causes: eviction prevention, childcare, and equity in education in the context of distance learning. These causes were selected in part because Yolo County already funded several other key causes with CARES Act funding, including food insecurity, homelessness, small business support, and mental health.

CARES Act funding is restricted by state and federal requirements, including a spending deadline by December 30, 2020 and a focus on activities that respond directly to COVID-19. To ensure that grantees meet this requirement and provide services in previously identified high-need cause areas, it is anticipated that the Relief Fund will allocate funds only to organizations who have previously applied and have been scored through the Steering Committee and Leadership Advisory process. This will ensure that the organizations invited for funding are active within those causes, are able to spend the money by the deadline, are able to work with us to meet the governmental reporting requirements, and reach a comparatively large number of beneficiaries.