10 Winston-Salem nonprofits chosen as finalists for COVID relief grants

Several Winston-Salem nonprofits are on track to receive some of the remaining coronavirus relief funds allocated to the city. 

Nearly 90 nonprofits applied for the Transformational Grants program, which is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Five were approved back in October. Last night, the finance committee of the city council chose 10 more for further consideration. 

Separately, the committee also forwarded a proposal to give $600,000 in economic development funding to nonprofits Agile City and the Center for Creative Economy. Mayor Pro Tem D.D. Adams told nonprofit leaders in the audience that their work would be scrutinized. 

“You might want to make sure you doing whatever you said you were going to do in that application. Don't think that maybe staff not auditing you. Don't think some of us, like me, won't show up at your site. And I do know how to audit," said Adams. "We're going to be getting with you on the regular, because we have to ensure the buck stops with us, that our citizens reap the benefits of this money.”

Among transformational grant finalists is Goler Community Development Corporation, the organization recently behind the city’s budget-busting hydroponic greenhouse project, which was championed by Adams. 

Other finalists include Piedmont Environmental Alliance and United Health Centers. 

Final decisions on all the funding requests will be made by the full council on January 3.