Transformative Grants Program

LATEST NEWS:  The City Council is holding a special meeting on August 29th at 4 pm to discuss ARPA programming and the framework, which includes the transformational grants program.  Staff will receive direction during this meeting and will potentially bring a formal item to City Council in September.  Please note that this special meeting will NOT have public comment or a public hearing.  It will serve as an information session.    

The special meeting will take place in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.  The meeting will also be shown live on TV13 or streamed via the City’s website or YouTube channel (https://www.cityofws.org/2682/Video).

Below are links to the Transformative Grant applications that the City received:





The deadline for non-profits to apply for transformative grants has been extended.  The deadline is now 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 2.  Go to the application via Neighborly.  Please note that the application must be completed and submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. For applications to be scored, the application must be fully completed and submitted within the Neighborly system.

The April 19th community engagement slide deck can be found here. 

The application orientation session can be found here on the City's YouTube page. 


The City Council has approved a process for providing grants to non-profit organizations to fund “transformative” programs that address such social and economic needs as poverty alleviation, job training and economic mobility.

Through the transformational grant program, the city of Winston-Salem seeks to move the needle on key components of the city’s strategic plan, which trigger a profound, ripple effect of positive, multidimensional changes. Further, the city seeks to place equity at the forefront of the application, transforming historically significant and deeply disinvested low-income communities.

City Council could allocate up to $10.5 million for transformative grants: Up to $7 million could be earmarked for social assistance programs in such areas as poverty alleviation and economic mobility. The other $3.5 million could be set aside for economic assistance programs in the areas of job training, economic development and small business assistance. Money for the grants would come out of the $51.7 million in federal money the city is receiving through the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund approved by Congress last year. 

Applications will open on Friday, March 25.  Go to the application via Neighborly. Organizations that have not used Neighborly previously will need to create an account by registering.  Once an agency is logged in, select "ARPA" as the application to begin.  The application will remain open through Monday, May 2, 2022.

Applicants must be a non-profit organization with current 501(c)3 tax exempt status as confirmed by the Internal Revenue Service and current active status to conduct business in North Carolina at least one year prior to the date of the request for proposals publication as confirmed by the North Carolina Secretary of State. 

Required documentation for the application include the following:

• Code of Conduct/Conflict of Interest Policy

•  Copy of the agency's latest 990 Form as submitted to the Internal Revenue 

•  Organization By-Laws

•  Articles of Incorporation

•  Organization Policies (including personnel, formal non-discrimination, procurement, accounting, etc.)

•  IRS 501(c)3 Designation Letter

•  Most recent audited financial statements or a third-party review

•  North Carolina Secretary of State - Current Active Status

There is no minimum or maximum amount that an organization can may request.  All applications will be scored under the following criteria: 

• Organizational Capacity and Implementation Plan – 20% 

• Geographic and Demographic Factors – 15% 

• Alignment to Specific Strategic Planning Priorities by Tier – 15% 

• Short-Term and Long-Term Impact on Community Needs – 15% 

• Collaboration and Stakeholder Partnerships – 10% 

• Funding Sustainability – 10% 

• Administration and Reporting – 10% 

• Board Representation Matching Community Demographics – 5% 

Link to the scoring matrix that will be used to evaluate applications

Link to the City's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan 

Link to the application via Neighborly

An application orientation and information session was held on Friday, April 1 to go over the application form, the process by which applications will be scored, and to answer questions.  The session can be found here on the City's YouTube page.  

Proposals will be reviewed and scored in April and May. Depending on how many proposals the city receives, proposals could go to the City Council as early as May.  If you have any questions, please email arpa@cityofws.org.