Loudoun Now for April 27, 2022

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n LOUDOUN

Pg. 6 | n LEESBURG

VOL. 7, NO. 23

Pg. 10 | n EDUCATION

Pg. 12 | n OBITUARIES

Pg. 22 | n PUBLIC NOTICES

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Pg. 28

APRIL 28, 2022

County Nonprofit Grants Highlight Funding Gap BY RENSS GREENE

rgreene@loudounnow.com

been tough with rent. My husband has been our breadwinner, and his check covers our heads and puts food in our stomach, but this job is going to help us a lot. It won’t be an overnight miracle, but it’s

The county government’s annual competitive grants for nonprofits highlighted the ever-present shortfall in support for human services organizations despite recent increases in funding as the community recovers from of the COVID-19 pandemic. County supervisors and staff members worked for years to devise a grants process for nonprofits that took supervisors—and politics—out of the process of evaluating grant applications. Today, Loudoun’s nonprofits submit applications and are awarded funding based on a scoring rubric evaluated by subject matter experts in the county government. There also is a less-intensive application for mini-grants up to $5,000. Organizations must first achieve a minimum score to be eligible for funding, and then are awarded funding based on their ranking among those scores. But in every year of using that model so far, the money has run out before reaching all qualifying nonprofits. That is despite increases in funding to that pool each year.

MULTI-TASKING MOM continues on page 39

FUNDING GAP continues on page 39

Hayley Milon Bour/Loudoun Now

After two years of financial struggles for mother of five Shamika Foster, her new bus driver position is a godsend she said. She’ll be home when her children get out of school, and she’ll be able to bring her two youngest to work with her.

Amid Bus Driver Shortage, Gig Proves a Fit for Multi-Tasking Mom BY HAYLEY MILON BOUR hbour@loudounnow.com

For many parents, the bus driver shortage has been an inconvenience, one expected to grow next year when staggered school bell times will thrust family routines into chaos. For Shamika Foster, a

mother of five, the shortage was something of a godsend. She will take the wheel of a school bus next year, with her two youngest children on board, giving her the flexibility to earn some much-needed income. “Living in Loudoun County, the cost of living here is extremely expensive. It’s

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