ITHACA, N.Y. — The Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA) on Nov. 11 awarded grant funding to four child-care organizations to assist their operations during the ongoing pandemic.
TCIDA recently approved an emergency grant program for use in upgrading child-care facilities to allow for “safer operation” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Child-care providers may also use the grant funds to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE), per a news release from Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED), which administers TCIDA.
TCIDA on Nov. 11 awarded four grants, totaling more than $33,000. The grants were awarded to child-care providers that include Ithaca Community Childcare Center, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Coddington Road Community Center, and Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center, IAED said.
Organizations with a similar mission can still apply for that funding.
“The TCIDA established the COVID-19 emergency grant program and allocated $100,000 specifically to help day care centers, group family day care, family day care, and school age child care programs that are vital to the community and desperately need this type of equipment in order to operate safely,” Heather McDaniel, administrative director of TCIDA, said.
Prospective applicants must be located in Tompkins County, currently operating or plan to open within 90 days after purchases are made, and must have been “financially viable” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAED said.
Applicants can pursue a minimum of $2,000 and a maximum of $10,000. TCIDA will give priority to applications for construction and renovation that would promote social distancing, including outdoor classrooms, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) modifications, or other improvements related to indoor-air quality.
For more information on how to apply, contact Chuck Schwerin at Ithaca Area Economic Development: chucks@IthacaAreaED.org.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June signed a law that allows New York State IDAs to offer grants up to $10,000 to small businesses and nonprofit entities with no more than 50 employees. Recipients can use those funding awards “expressly for the purchase of personal protective equipment and installing fixtures necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Applications will be considered “as long as this new capacity for IDAs to award such grants remains in effect, or until the fund is exhausted,” the IAED said.