Lake County accepted American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)  program and service requests from nonprofit and not-for profit organizations, and local units of government other than municipalities to aid in the response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from Sept. 30 - Oct. 31, 2022. 

For projects selected, funding will be provided to approved programs and services on a reimbursement basis unless a case is established for upfront funds. 

Program and service requests will be evaluated based on a number of criteria. After the requests have been evaluated, a prioritized list, based on this review, will be presented at a Lake County F&A Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery meeting for consideration and possible funding. The date of this meeting will be announced after all the requests have been evaluated.

ARPA Project Request Informational Webinar

Lake County held an informational webinar on October 12. The webinar reviewed the request guidelines and application process, and answered questions from participants.

Watch in English
Watch in Spanish

View the Presentation Slides (English & Spanish)

Who is Eligible?

To qualify, organizations must:

  • Be a nonprofit or not-for profit organization, or a local unit of government other than a municipality
  • Request a program or service that would only be offered or provided within the geographical boundaries of Lake County, Illinois
  • Submit a program or service that is eligible for funding under a specific direct ARPA eligibility category. See Appendix A of the application for a list of eligible expenditure categories (English) (Spanish) for the complete breakdown. Requests that will require revenue replacement dollars will not be scored or considered.
  • Submit a program or service that is valued at a minimum of $50,000


What is a program or service that is eligible for funding under a specific direct ARPA eligibility category?

The US Treasury issued compliance and reporting guidance of the types of programs and services that are eligible for ARPA funds. This includes programs to mitigate and prevent COVID-19, assistance to households, small businesses and not-for-profit/non-profits, services to provide clean drinking water, and more. See Appendix A of the application for a list of eligible expenditure categories (English) (Spanish) for the complete breakdown.

*Requests that will require revenue replacement dollars will not be scored or considered.


How will requests be evaluated?

Requests will be scored based on several established criteria and a list provided to Lake County’s Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery and Investment for review and consideration. This includes:

  • Alignment with County’s Public Engagement Input
  • Budget Detail
  • County-wide Impact
  • Equity Components
  • Evidence Basis for Methodology
  • Fiscal Sustainability
  • Impact of Project vs. Effort Involved
  • Leveraged Funds
  • Performance Tracking
  • Readiness of Applicant
  • Risk


Who can I contact with questions?

If you have questions, email us at [email protected].


If my program or service is approved, how will I receive funding?

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis unless a case is established for upfront funds.


How much does my program or service need to cost to be eligible for funding?

The minimum request value for this program is $50,000. No maximum request is established however the soft program maximum allocation is currently $10 million.


Frequently Asked Questions

View these frequently asked questions for more information about submitting an ARPA request.