HEERF Funding
What is HEERF Funding? On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Act ("the CARES Act" or "the Act") was signed into law by then Present Trump. The passage of this act provided for the establishment of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which provides funding to institutions "to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted."
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Act ("the CARES Act" or "the Act") was signed into law by then Present Trump. The passage of this act provided for the establishment of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which provides funding to institutions "to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted." Although students cannot apply for assistance directly from the U.S. Department of Education, institutions are charged with the "responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students", as well as the amount. Additionally, HEERF provides institutions critically needed funding to offset the adverse, monetary impact of COVID-19.
Beginning in April of 2020, the Department of Education has issued three tranches of funding know as HEERF I, HEERF II, AND HEERF III. These critical funds have allowed the District to provide direct aid to students, at a time when they most needed it. Additionally, the District has worked deligently to address the institutional needs, receiving input from faculty and staff on how to best mitigate not only the financial impact of COVID-19, but how to best serve students through strategic investments in technology and infrastrure.
Through the issuance of three funding tranches, the District has refined its process of receiving, evaluating, and communicating decisions on funding requests. Specifically, for HEERF III, over 150 requests were received and processed by the Budget Resource Allocation Committee (BRAC). The committee reviewed each request and determined if it met the scope requirements of the HEERF funding. Each request, meeting scope requirements, was then evaulated and ranked for funding. This approach not only allows for the distribution of available funds, but also allows for the funding of ranked projects as funding becomes available.
On November 8, 2021 via Zoom, the Controller presented a review of HEERF funding levels and year to date spending.
Watch the HEERF 11/8/21 recorded presentation
Download the HEERF 11/8/21 Power Point presentation PDF
See below funding decisions, or you may click here to download the HEERF II and III Requests Summary Report.
To better provide the District with easy access to the results of HEERF funding requests, below are links to each funding tranche. In the coming weeks, Fiscal Services will work towards providing updated HEERF spending reports, through links below. This will provide our community an opportuntity to track the progress of spending to better serve our students.
Department of Education: HEERF Funding
Education Stabilization Fund Report: SBCC
HEERF proposals were submitted via campus survey submission were reviewed by the Budget Resource Allocation Committee (BRAC). BRAC will provide HEERF approval emails including the specific activity code for each request.
When can you can spend the money? You will receive an email once proposals are reviewed and approved, it will include the activity code and budget for spending. With approval, you may then complete a Purchasing Requisition Form.
