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CJPA designated as lead agency for ARPA funding for non-profits

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reporterss@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Criminal Justice Planning Agency (CJPA) has been designated as the ASG agency for “Assistance for Non-Profit Organizations” category funded through the territory’s share from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Act of 2021.

ASG’s Oversight Office for ARPA announced the designation of CJPA in a public statement last month, saying that CJPA is required to submit proposals for the intended use of ARPA funds in compliance with established guidelines.

The Oversight Office also released documents for requirements for the program, which is allocated $5 million to provide aid to Non-Profit Organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The documents explained that non-profit organizations in American Samoa play a major role in providing goods and services for the island community.

And these organizations encountered significant challenges because of the negative impacts of COVID-19. Investing in non-profits is a reasonable response to the pandemic because they make sacrifices with limited resources to address local needs and assist low-income communities, the documents note.

“This aid will help address public health disparities and provide across island improvements to public health and economic outcomes,” according to the documents. “They have lost revenue from a decrease in private donations.”

According to the oversight office, “many have also experienced increased costs because of the high demand in [their] services,” while others “have encountered financial insecurity and issues with stabilizing their operations due to the lack of financial assistance and support for operation costs.”

Some have also dealt with losing volunteer staff and paid employees because of COVID-19. “This makes it a priority for the territory to provide assistance to these entities who serves a noble mission of serving everyone includes those in the low-income level,” the Oversight Office explained.

“This program will provide non-profits the assistance they need to continue operations and services benefiting the people of American Samoa,” it says.

Documents on this program and requirements are on the Oversight Office webpage — www.americansamoa.gov/arpa .