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Sonoma County’s Resilience Fund Aims to Combat COVID Inequalities

Idea Category: COVID

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will allocate $39.2 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan toward the county’s Community Resilience Fund. NewDEALer Sonoma County Board Chair James Gore is a proponent of the effort and has outlined steps to ensure the funds will assist those who felt the greatest economic and health disparities during the pandemic. Projects range from training childcare workers to the Small Business Equity & Recovery program, which is targeted at minority-owned businesses. Project proposals must address one of ten identified priority areas, including educational disparities, food assistance, and mental health. The county is encouraging proposals from businesses or nonprofits to promote collaboration, and prioritizing projects that seek to address gaps in education, health, and wealth across racial, ethnic, gender, or geographic lines. A current project making use of the funds is expanding rural broadband to address the disparity in access felt by low-income students. Click here to learn more about how Sonoma County is using federal funding to address existing inequities.