A total of $425,000 was distributed to 258 applicants from a pool of funding the city of Little Rock collected in the aftermath of the March 31 tornado, according to an official at Heart of Arkansas United Way.
The city tapped Heart of Arkansas United Way as a contractor to coordinate the distribution of money from the Little Rock Cares fund to Little Rock residents affected by the destructive EF3 tornado that hit the metro area.
Mollie Palmer, the organization's vice president of communication and engagement, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via email that all grants have been paid. The average award was $1,647.29, she said.
Additionally, 137 applicants received Visa gift cards as part of their award. The total value of the gift cards was $30,000, according to Palmer.
The city reallocated the gift cards to the grant-distribution effort from their original intended use as a vaccine incentive bankrolled by the city's allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The Little Rock Cares funding was limited to Little Rock residents. Applications were due no later than Sept. 15.
"We did receive applications from people affected by the tornado who did not live in Little Rock (North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville), but they were ineligible to receive a grant through this process," Palmer wrote.
Palmer called the process of distributing grants "volunteer driven, with 70 residents of Little Rock participating in reviewing applications and making funding recommendations."
Eleven subcommittees of volunteers each reviewed 22 to 25 applications, she said. The final award amounts were determined by representatives of each committee.
Two Heart of Arkansas United Way board members -- Theresa Beiner, the dean of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's William H. Bowen School of Law, and Cooper Meeks of Transitions Wealth Management -- helped lead the process, Palmer said.
The organization's contract with the city was for $50,000, which was drawn from the city's budget, not the relief funds, Palmer said.
According to a city news release issued on Aug. 1, the Little Rock Cares fund received nearly $600,000 in donations following the disaster.
"The City anticipates about $400,000 from the fund will be distributed through individual grants," the news release said. "The remainder was set aside to support nonprofit and community organizations that provided immediate assistance after the storm."
Aaron Sadler, a spokesperson for Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., on Friday provided the final numbers related to the city's distribution of funding to organizations.
Two entities -- The Van and Samaritan's Purse -- that were originally set to receive funding did not accept it and asked that the money be directed toward the individual grants, Sadler wrote in an email.
The following organizations received funding, according to Sadler: Immanuel Baptist Church ($40,000), United Way of Northwest Arkansas ($25,000), Goodwill ($25,000), Salvation Army ($20,000), Calvary Baptist Church ($20,000) and the Wolfe Street Foundation ($20,000).