The Jacksonville City Council approved spending $16.54 million to help 72 nonprofit and for-profit businesses suffering revenue losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council voted unanimously June 23 to approve Ordinance 2020-0328 as an emergency, according to WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record. It allocates the aid from a $20 million pool set aside from the money the city received from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The list of organizations receiving money include churches, nonprofit social services, media organizations, gyms and arts groups.
Editorial Disclosure: WJCT is one of the CARES Act recipients.
The bill shows the city received aid requests totaling $18,592,153.
The three largest awards, proposed by Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration, were $4.21 million for the Jacksonville Zoo; $2.18 million for First Coast YMCA; and $1.07 million for the Jacksonville Icemen professional hockey team.
Other organizations receiving money include the Jacksonville Symphony: $347,400; Clara White Mission: $597,261; Jacksonville University: $585,065; Museum of Science and History of Jacksonville: $244,560; WJCT: $155,916; and the Cummer Museum: $117,000.
An expanded version of this story that includes the full list of recipients along with the amount requested and approved is at JaxDailyRecord.com.