The Montgomery County Council, in approving a $5.8 billion operating budget last week, allocated $14.5 million for 335 individual grants to community nonprofits.
The largest share of funding will go toward immigration assistance programs.
The Latino immigrant advocacy organization CASA de Maryland received $673,830, which will be used for eight separate grants for programs such as legal assistance for immigrants, vocational training and capital improvements to the Rockville Welcome Center, which is one of three job training sites the organization runs in Montgomery County.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Greater Washington received $652,196 from the council, some of which will go toward pro-bono legal assistance for immigrants that have survived domestic violence as well as education programs for low-income immigrants. Other grants for the organization will go toward its Community Companions program, which provides child care to children with disabilities.
Hispanics and Latinos made up nearly 20% of the county’s population in 2018, according to the Census Bureau.
Other organizations awarded grants:
– College Tracks, a college readiness program for county high school students, $325,000.
– EveryMind, a Rockville-based mental health awareness organization, $305,000
– Impact Silver Spring, a coalition of networks aimed at bridging the class, race and socioeconomic divide, $340,140.
– The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington received $320,000, mainly for youth programs as well as seniors and the disabled.
The budget takes effect July 1, the beginning of fiscal 2020.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
