Collier County recognized by treasury for helping families in need

Collier County was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for best practices in helping revitalize the economy and ensuring COVID-19 relief funds reach the most historically underserved communities in the county.

Before federal funds were received, Collier County’s Department of Community and Human Services contracted with technology innovator Coastal Cloud and federal policy and grants experts OVID Solutions to develop a unique plan that provided assistance for individuals, families and businesses across the county.

“Collier County wanted to bring the best of the best to the table to help serve our citizens,” said Kristi Sonntag, director of the Department of Community and Human Services. “Coastal Cloud’s grant management solution on Salesforce has accelerated how quickly we can provide funding and helps us monitor every dollar to ensure it is being spent fairly and accurately.”

In a recent Treasury report, “Equity and Outcomes Resource Guide: How governments are incorporating equity, community engagement, evidence, and performance management into their use of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds,” Collier County was the only Florida government entity specifically highlighted for ensuring funds would go toward improving the public health and economic circumstances of socially vulnerable families.

“Collier County remains committed to an equitable, data-driven distribution of funding to serve our families, businesses and community organizations hardest hit by the pandemic,” Sonntag said. “These programs — mortgage and rent assistance, food assistance, help for our local library system, literacy and youth programs and many others — will continue to assist our community as we recover.”

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds disbursed historic levels of funding to communities across the nation to assist with recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Collier County — with assistance from technology firm Coastal Cloud and federal policy experts at OVID Solutions — conducted research and analysis to determine what impacted residents, businesses and communities could best benefit from this funding.

“We are proud to be part of the team that has helped Collier County get funding quickly to the families in need across the county,” said Sara Hale, managing partner and co-founder of Coastal Cloud. “We have worked with many states and local governments to provide a robust grant management solution that efficiently and effectively distributes and monitors federal and state funds.”

“We appreciate the well-deserved recognition Collier County has received from the federal government on distributing these funds to vulnerable citizens,” said Julie Dennis, CEO of OVID Solutions. “We know how important it is to make every dollar count.”

More information about specific projects can be found in the Collier County Recovery Plan.