ARP & CARES Act Funding

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law—a $1.9 trillion package aimed at addressing the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. ARPA allocated significant funding nationwide for public health, economic recovery, education, housing stabilization, and direct assistance to individuals and families. Of the $362 billion in fiscal recovery aid for state and local governments, $65.1 billion was designated for direct aid to counties. Dallas County received $511 million dollars to stabilize and rebuild a strong and healthy community. The ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) support state, local, and Tribal governments in responding to the pandemic’s effects and efforts to mitigate spread. Building on the foundation laid by the CARES Act, these funds offer extended support for ongoing recovery efforts.

The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, authorized the use of relief funds in four key areas:

• Revenue Replacement: To offset lost public sector revenue and maintain government services impacted by the pandemic.
• Public Health and Economic Response: To address the wide-ranging health and economic effects of COVID-19 by supporting communities, households, small businesses, nonprofits, impacted industries, and public sector recovery.
• Premium Pay for Essential Workers: To provide additional compensation to frontline workers who faced elevated health risks in critical sectors.
• Infrastructure Investments: To fund improvements in water, sewer, broadband, infrastructure, ensuring access to clean water and affordable, and reliable internet.
• Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds | U.S. Department of the Treasury

As an ARPA SLFRF recipient, Dallas County may use federal aid to support COVID-19 response efforts, stabilize communities impacted by the pandemic, and maintain essential public services affected by the public health emergency.

Dallas County has implemented a range of projects addressing public health, economic impacts, and public sector capacity through interdepartmental collaboration and partnerships with external stakeholders. These efforts aimed to respond to the immediate effects of COVID-19 while promoting long-term equity and resilience through strategic and innovative initiatives.

Dallas County established guiding principles to inform its use of ARPA funds:

• Data-Driven: Establish evidence and evaluation-based projects/programs that contain the necessary data to demonstrate how they will address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic or assist in recovery.
• Equitable Outcomes: Establish projects/programs with goals to increase equity and resilience for disadvantaged and unincorporated communities.
• Avoiding Duplication: Ensure established projects/programs do not duplicate services already provided by the state or federal government, including municipal coordination to avoid duplication of efforts of cities within Dallas County.
• Health and Safety Focused: Implement countywide initiatives that strengthen public health and safety in response to the pandemic.

Through the implementation of programs and projects, Dallas County promoted a strong and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency and its resulting economic crisis. ARPA-funded assistance programs that have provided direct assistance to community members included:

• Dallas County Emergency Business Assistance Program (EBAP II)
• The Emergency Microbusiness Assistance Program
• Emergency Nonprofit Assistance Program (ENAP)
• Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP)

Dallas County’s Health & Human Services Division utilized funding to serve the vital health and well-being of residents in need. Efforts included vaccination outreach, weatherization and energy assistance, and additional services for vulnerable populations.

To find out more about how Dallas County is implementing American Rescue Plan funds, please see our latest SLFRF Performance Report under the American Rescue Plan Program Evaluation and Annual Recovery Report tab below.

All States and territories, and metropolitan cities and counties with a population that exceeds 250,000 residents that are recipients of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds awards are required to produce a Recovery Plan to the U.S. Department of Treasury. The Recovery Plan provides information on Dallas County’s projects and plan to ensure program outcomes are achieved in an effective and equitable manner. Each annual Recovery Plan is posted below.

2025 ARPA Recovery Plan Report
2024 ARPA Recovery Plan Report
2023 ARPA Recovery Plan Report
2022 ARPA Recovery Plan Report
2021 ARPA Recovery Plan Report

Dallas County displays its ongoing and closed projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act on the interactive dashboard below. View project funding amounts, Department of Treasury expenditure categories, related court orders, and brief descriptions for the relevant projects. Detailed descriptions may be found on related briefings and court orders on the Dallas County CivicWeb Portal.

* Individual projects may be clicked and highlighted on select visualization of choice.

To view a larger version of the dashboard, click the furthest icon on the right of the lower right-hand corner.

Biosafety Lab 3

September 2025, field report per contractors of Dallas County Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, intended to facilitate in high demand epidemiological services for the region.

 

 

 

 

AgriLife Urban Farm Expo

May 2025, ARP team taken photography, capturing AgriLife Urban Farming expo providing access to fresh produce and nutritional education in low-resource neighborhoods.

 

 

 

 

Broadband

June 2024, Exhibit A per contract, Map of the Dark Fiber IRU portion of the Zayo system, issued for illustrative purposes in projecting the expanded fiber network for future internet expansion.

 

 

Emergency Mobile Command Center

July 2025, photography received by Chief of Emergency Services, capturing the Emergency Mobile Command Center, used to provide critical and timely support in the events of natural or man-made emergencies.

 

 

Open Space Preserve Program

July 2025, photography provided by Open Space Administrator, capturing volunteers use of tools and equipment purchased with ARP funds, with the programs tackling issues such as trash cleanup, trail maintenance, habitat management and general preserve maintence.

 

 

The following programs concluded by December 31, 2024. These programs had previously accepted applications or proposals for direct payments and/or partnerships with the county. This page offers an archived snapshot of the programs’ pages prior to recent website revisions.

Emergency Business Assistance Program (EBAP)

Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Dallas County small businesses faced a significant financial crisis. It was estimated that only about one-half of America’s small businesses were able to apply for federal assistance before that first round of funding was committed, and that 80% of them still do not know if their application was approved. With 53% of the nation’s jobs coming from businesses with less than 100 employees and with many of these jobs being disproportionately held by low/moderate income people with already limited resources, much of the local economy was at great risk due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The program was designed to rapidly provide financial assistance to “traditional” small businesses that were adversely affected by the pandemic. 

Additionally, it helped re-start small businesses that have closed during the pandemic and support those who have experienced economic downfall during the pandemic.

EMPHASIS/TARGET POPULATION: 

Small businesses with no more than 100 employees, including small businesses that have closed due to covid financial burden & minority owned businesses.

Eligibility  Criteria:

• Be officially registered with the State, physically located, and operating within Dallas County (excluding the City of Dallas);
• Been in existence March 1, 2020;
• Be current in the payment of all Dallas County and local taxes;
• Have had no more than 100 employees as of March 1, 2020;
• Have annual gross income of less than $1 million; and
• Have experienced a loss of at least 25% in income since March 1, 2020 because of the pandemic.
• Have closed during the pandemic due to Covid-19 and income related loss.
• Tax-exempt businesses and age-restricted businesses are not eligible under this program.

Maximum grant amount: $15,000

This program concluded and will not accept or review any applications.

Emergency Microbusiness Assistance Program

Background: 

Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Dallas County small businesses faced a significant financial crisis. It was estimated that only about one-half of America’s small businesses were able to apply for federal assistance before that first round of funding was committed, and that 80% of them still do not know if their application was approved. With 53% of the nation’s jobs coming from businesses with less than 100 employees and with many of these jobs being disproportionately held by low/moderate income people with already limited resources, much of the local economy was at great risk due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The program was designed to rapidly provide financial assistance to microbusinesses that were adversely affected by the pandemic. 

Help re-start microbusinesses that have closed during the pandemic and support those who have experienced economic downfall during the pandemic.

Assistance was provided with the expectation that the business remained in operation and/or help re-start a business that has been closed due to the pandemic.

EMPHASIS/TARGET POPULATION: 

Microbusinesses with no more than 5 employees, including small businesses that have closed due to covid financial burden & minority owned businesses.

Eligibility:

• Be officially registered with the State, physically located, and operating within Dallas County (excluding the City of Dallas);
• Be current in the payment of all Dallas County and local taxes
• Gross Annual Revenue under the median Dallas County household income of $61,870 (as reported for 2019 or 2020)
• Have not received prior Dallas County EBAP assistance
• Have been in existence for 60 days before application
• Have had no more than 5 employees.
• Have experienced a loss of at least 10% because of the pandemic. (or can show covid related expenditures for business start or continued operation.
• Have closed during the pandemic due to Covid-19 and income related loss.
• Tax-exempt businesses and age-restricted businesses are not eligible under this program.

Maximum Grant Amount:  $5,000.00

This program concluded and will not accept or review any applications.

Emergency Nonprofit Assistance Program

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides state and local governments fiscal recovery funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in recovery efforts. Dallas County received an allocation from this fund from the Department of the Treasury and intended to use the aid to support the county's response to the public health emergency and address the negative public health and economic effects resulting from the ongoing pandemic. The aims of the SLFRF Program include helping communities fight the pandemic and supporting families struggling with its impacts, and to build resilient and equitable long-term recovery. U.S. Treasury Guidance allows for recipients to provide loans and grants to 501( c)3 organizations that experienced negative economic impacts. The 2022 Nonprofit Assistance Program was partially modeled after the successful 2020 Food Pantry Assistance Program and Emergency Business Assistance Programs funded through the CARES and ARP Acts and served local nonprofit organizations that were on the frontlines of the pandemic's economic fallout.

Objective:

Funded through the American Rescue Plan Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the Nonprofit Assistance Program (NPAP) provided one-time grants to eligible Dallas County area 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19} entities that experienced increased service demand or financial insecurity during the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of these entities faced new challenges and unprecedented demand during the past two and a half years; they are valuable members of Dallas County, continuing to address food and housing insecurities, education and employment obstacles, public health threats in neighborhoods, and other community challenges and provide for struggling families. This program aligned with Dallas County's strategy to utilize a portion of the recovery funds to address COVID-19's economic harms to households and small businesses and nonprofits, contributing to the Dallas community's robust response efforts and attempts to reach households most harmed by the crisis.

Program Administration:

The Dallas County ARP Team previously accepted applications online and provided application support when needed by phone and email. The team reviewed the applications for meeting eligibility requirements and determined amounts awarded based on demonstrated financial impacts. The team managed the allocation of funds and worked with Grants Audit on documentation and requirements while providing program oversight.

Qualifications & Eligibility:

The program was designed to provide financial assistance to organizations that demonstrated a public health and/or economic impact to their nonprofit and its vital community services. This included impacts to critical programs that serve vulnerable individuals and families and those that were disproportionately affected by the public health emergency. Specifically, the grant program provided funding to charitable organizations that experienced any or all of the following challenges:

• Decreased Revenue (ex: From Donations & Fees)
• Increased Costs (ex: Uncompensated Increases in Service Needs)
• Challenges Covering Payroll, Rent/Mortgage, or Essential Operating Costs
• Decreased Capacity to Weather Financial Hardship and/or New Expenses Necessary to Mitigate Financial Hardship such as Technical Assistance & Business Planning

(Specific examples of eligible items included unexpected Personal Protective Equipment & cleaning/disinfecting costs, necessary expenses to increase capacity such as renting or installing new equipment, and revenue shortfalls exhibited through previous and current budget and financial document comparisons.)

Eligible organizations included community organizations that are registered 501( c) ( 3) or 501( c) ( 19) entities and provide individual, house hold, or other support to Dallas County residents during the pandemic timeframe, including but not limited to:

• Food Banks and Food Pantries
• Organizations Providing Rent, Utility, or other Household Aid
• Employment, Housing, and Public Health Charitable Nonprofits
• Those Providing Community Behavioral Health, Mental Health, and Social/Emotional/ Academic Programs and Services

Other eligibility requirements included:

• Be current in the payment of all Dallas County and local taxes (if applicable)
• Be registered as a tax-exempt charitable nonprofit (Registered with the Internal Revenue Service & File a Form 990 with the IRS Annually)
  • Please note the following U.S. Treasury Fiscal Recovery Funding requirement for a recipient providing assistance to nonprofits: Nonprofits eligible for assistance are those that experienced negative economic impacts or disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and meet the definition of "nonprofit"-specifically those that are 501{c)(3) or 501{c}(19} tax-exempt organizations.
• Been in existence before or as of March 3, 2021
• Have Annual Reported Revenue-Contributions &Grants and Program Service Revenue (per 2021 IRS Form 990) equal to or less than $2,000,000
• Must be physically located in Dallas County
• Demonstrate, through completed application & supporting documentation, COVI D-19 impacts on the organization, including unexpected costs incurred, declines in funding sources, and/or increased demands from client population from March 2020 until July 2022

*Submission of an application did not guarantee funding

Award:

The 2022 Nonprofit Assistance Program maximum award amount was $49,000. Actual awards amounts to nonprofit service providers varied depending on demonstrated COVID-19 impact as shown through application responses and supporting documentation. Dallas County must be able to clearly identify how the nonprofit applicant was impacted by the pandemic. Requested documentation included organization & program budget, financial reports to demonstrate decreased revenue following the onset of the pandemic, receipts, and spreadsheets or other reports displaying increased aid distribution amounts or significant operational changes due to the public health emergency. Awards were provided on a reimbursement basis, assisting nonprofits with previously incurred expenses and/or proven revenue decreases. Final grant recipients provided a completed W-9, a UEI Number through SAM.gov Registration, and a signed Certification Page.

Final grants awarded under this program may not be utilized to provide reimbursement to donors or be applied to general marketing and fundraising expenses. The grant should not be utilized for duplication of benefits; fund uses already covered by other COVID-19 related federal, state, or local funding opportunities were ineligible.

This program concluded and will not accept or review any applications.

Emergency Housing Assistance Program

The Emergency Housing Assistance Program - 2021 (EHAP - 2021) provided: Short-term rental, mortgage, and utility assistance to low income Dallas County residents living outside of the City of Dallas economically affected (loss/reduction of income) by the spread of COVID-19.

1. Applications were processed through a lottery system
2. The pre-screening application form was available in English and Spanish
3. Length of assistance did not exceed six (6) months - including number of months assisted in CY2020
4. Housing assistance up to $1,500/month
5. Assistance subject to funding availability.

This program concluded and will not accept or review any applications.

Dallas County Nonprofit Partnership Program

The following projects were part of Dallas County’s American Rescue Plan Nonprofit Partnership Program, supported by a $48,819,577 budget. In line with Dallas County’s commitment to proportional and resilient recovery, this initiative directed Fiscal Recovery Funds to nonprofits providing essential services to communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a competitive RFP process, eligible nonprofits submitted proposals to support vulnerable individuals and families. Thirty-three organizations (34 projects) were chosen based on experience, project focus, organizational resources, cost/timeframe, outcomes, and expected impact. These initiatives aimed to promote a stronger, more inclusive recovery across Dallas County.