Attention Nonprofit Partners Serving Low Income Clients

The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits needs your help in ensuring that Arizona (through the Department of Economic Security (DES)) is able to receive Arizona’s full share of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for its annually allocated block grant.

This is a huge opportunity to demonstrate the power of nonprofits working together. The deadline is NEXT WEEK, so they need your help now.

How you Can Help

If you are serving TANF eligible clients (defined below), with private grants and dollars (cash and in-kind, but non-federal expenditures), the State may be able to leverage your private dollars to ensure the State maximizes the amount of TANF money received via its annual block grant allotment! This means more funding for the collective clients served.

Under federal law, states must demonstrate annually a minimum level of non-federal, TANF-related expenditures in order to receive their full allotment of TANF federal funds. Arizona, because of declining state revenue and the associated budget reductions, is in jeopardy of not meeting its expenditure requirements (also known as “maintenance of effort”) and is at risk of losing a portion of its federal funding allotment of TANF funds.

All you need to do is provide the following:

1. Name of your organization.
2. Description of the program you believe is TANF eligible.
3. Type of funding to support the program. Include all donations, in-kind, etc. so that the amount of non-federal money that can be counted as match is identified. Include your federal sources as well, just so the total funding is identified.
4. TANF Purpose you believe fits. (#1 or #2 below)
5. Total Program expenditures for FFY 2010.
6. Total # of families serviced under the program.

The State will also need a signed partnership agreement. (Note: the Agreement makes reference to emergency funding under the Stimulus Act, which some agencies may be able to demonstrate, but under very complex situations and reporting requirements. Please disregard the emergency funding for purposes of this post.)

The deadline for reporting expenditures made during Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2010 (Oct. 1, 2009 – Sept. 30, 2010) is October 31, 2010. Thus, your information is needed ASAP, and no later than August 31, 2010!

For purposes of the maintenance of effort requirement, TANF eligible clients are defined as having a child in the home and meeting an income eligibility requirement, as well as at least one of the two general TANF purposes below:

# 1. Assisting needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes;

# 2. Reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage.

After reviewing the additional information and guidelines provided with this email, if you have any questions or would like assistance on taking the next step to assist DES, please contact Blaine Stevens in the DES Financial Services Administration at bstevens2@azdes.gov. Or, you may contact Lisa Glow at the Alliance at lisa.glow@cox.net.

Thank You for your help in helping maximize the TANF dollars coming to Arizona. It is critically important!