Greetings,

In FY 2022, FEMA awarded to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) National Board the $130 million made available under the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-103). The FY 2022 $130 million in annual funding is Phase 40 of the program and not the supplemental humanitarian relief funding.

This notification is to advise that awards are anticipated to be made to qualifying jurisdictions (counties and cities) and State Set-Aside (SSA) Committees across the country and posted on the EFSP website, www.efsp.unitedway.org, not later than Friday, October 21, 2022. Required National Board processes are underway for completion prior to the actual announcement of awards. Once the processes have been completed and National Board staff has finished updating materials to account for any new program policies and procedures, including within the EFSP Responsibilities and Requirements Manual (EFSP Manual), official award announcements will be made to each chair and point of contact for qualifying Local Boards and State Set-Aside Committees.

The National Board understands that agencies require time to thoughtfully identify services and spend funds in their local communities. Consequently, Phases 39, ARPAR, and 40 will run concurrently, and Local Boards will be given the option to extend their jurisdiction’s spending end dates. The spending begin date for all funded jurisdictions will be November 1, 2021, and the last spending end date option that Local Boards may select will be December 31, 2023. The National Board will allow LROs to charge eligible, properly documented expenditures back to the spending begin date (November 1, 2021).

Here is a link to the Phase 40 FY 2022 Preliminary Notification of Funding Awards. A schedule for implementing Phase 40 will be available on the EFSP website under FY2021/ARPAR/2022 Funding for your convenience.

As processes are completed and materials are finalized, the National Board will share updates via the EFSP website. Please continue to check Latest News on the EFSP website homepage for the most recent program information.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a foundational member of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) National Board and would like to share with our family of partner agencies information regarding its COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought grief to every corner of our nation, taking the lives of over 700,000 people. FEMA is committed to reducing the financial burden of these deaths and is providing individuals who incurred COVID-19-related funeral expenses with funding for eligible costs.  Since FEMA began the program, over one billion dollars in assistance has already been distributed.

FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred on or after January 20, 2020. Like other federal assistance, these funds cannot be used in duplication of other programs.  We are seeking your assistance to help get the word out to individuals who may be eligible to apply. Click here on FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance for guidance and eligibility requirements and types of services funded.  Instructions on how to apply for this assistance through FEMA’s dedicated helpline at 1-844-684-6333 can also be found on the website.

Helpline representatives are trained to provide personal application support and answer any questions regarding program eligibility. Since this program is not administered by United Way Worldwide or the EFSP National Board, all questions should be referred to the FEMA Helpline or its website, https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance, for more information. 

We would greatly appreciate your assistance in sharing this program with your community and partner agencies so more people are aware of this financial resource.

Phase 40 (FY 2022) Local Board Plan Availability

The portal for Local Boards to process and submit Board Plans to the National Board is projected to be available on Friday, January 27, 2023.  An email notification will be sent to Local Boards and State Set-Aside (SSA) Committees. For additional information, please sign-in to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) website with your user ID and password. 

This notice is to advise that the National Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) voted to grant additional spending period end dates beyond those offered initially when the Local Board Plans for Phases 39, ARPAR and 40 were made available to Local Boards.  Local Boards will be given the option to extend their jurisdictions’ spending periods to allow more time for Local Recipient Organizations to provide services to individuals and families seeking assistance.  If Local Boards have not submitted their Board Plans for Phases 39, ARPAR and 40, the additional spending period options will be available for selection when the Board Plans are processed for submission to the National Board via the EFSP website.  If Local Boards have submitted their plans, but wish to change their jurisdiction’s spending end date, they may select the Phase End Date Extension Request Form on the EFSP website, which may be found on the EFSP website after logging in with their user ID and password. It is important to note that the spending period selected by the Local Board will apply to each phase in which a jurisdiction is funded and all agencies in the jurisdiction.

The additional spending period end dates are below.

January 31, 2024           February 29, 2024         March 31, 2024

April 30, 2024                May 31, 2024                 June 30, 2024

July 31, 2024                 August 31, 2024             September 30, 2024

October 31, 2024         November 30, 2024       December 31, 2024

An email will be sent to all Local Boards funded in Phases 39, ARPAR and 40 once the database has been updated to reflect the additional spending period options. Please continue to check Latest News on the EFSP website homepage for the most recent program information.

If you have questions regarding this notice, please reach out to EFSP staff via email at efsp@uww.unitedway.org or phone at 703.706.9660.

FISCAL YEAR 2023 HUMANITARIAN SPENDING PERIOD EXTENSION NOTIFICATION

This notification is regarding the Spending Period End Date for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 humanitarian funding awarded to agencies to provide services to individuals and families encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the southern border, including maritime entrances.  The National Board voted on Monday, November 20, 2023 to extend the FY23 Spending Period End Date from December 31, 2023 to April 30, 2024. Agencies with unspent FY23 balances at the end of December 31, 2023 may continue to provide services to migrants with any FY23 funds awarded. Only FY23 funding may be spent during this extended period. Any unspent funds from ARPA-H (FY21) and HR22 (FY22) that were awarded to agencies must be returned to the National Board. Please reference the FY23 Humanitarian Relief Funding Guidance for information about eligible expenses. All eligible expenses must be incurred by April 30, 2024. Any unspent funds at the end of the new spending period date, must be returned to the National Board. Agencies that received FY23 advanced humanitarian funding will now have to submit Final Reports to the National Board by June 15, 2024.

For additional details, please refer to full notification here.