 Matching Grant
Program Goal
The goal of the Matching Grant program is to help refugees, certain Amerasians, Cuban and Haitian entrants, asylees, and certified victims of human trafficking attain economic self-sufficiency within four to six months from date of arrival into the United States.
General Background/ Program Description
The Voluntary Agency Matching Grant (MG) Program is part of the Division of Community Resettlement and is an alternative program to public assistance designed to enable refugees to become self-sufficient within 4 to 6 months from date of arrival into the U.S. Eligible grantees are Voluntary Agencies able to coordinate comprehensive multilingual, multicultural services for refugees at local sites – these same agencies are under Cooperative Agreements with the Department of State/Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).
The Matching Grant Program requires a match from private funds or donated goods and services to partner with monies provided by ORR. For Calendar Year 2007, the program achieved 80% self sufficiency for the 28,137 participants. In CY 2008, ORR funded $60 million to the Match Grant Program With a per capita of $2,200; the MG program will serve 27,272 clients through 230 local affiliates of the Voluntary Agencies.
Eligible Applicants
Competition is limited. Only agencies that have on-going relationships with refugees that have been established as a result of providing reception and placement services under the terms of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of State (DOS) or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are eligible to apply.
Target Population
Clients eligible to be served under this program are refugees, certain Amerasians, Cuban and Haitian entrants, asylees, and victims of a severe form of trafficking. Enrollment must be completed within 31 days of eligibility for the program.
Geographic Areas
MG is provided through nine Volags through a network of approximately 230 offices in 43 states
Current Grantees and Partnering Organizations
- National Voluntary Agency Directory
- ORR Project Officers for the Matching Grant Programs
- 2009 Matching Grant Local Program Sites by State
- Matching Grant Program Sites by Voluntary Agency (Volag)
CWS . ECDC . EMM . HIAS . IRC . USCRI . LIRS . USCCB . WR
Forms
- Appendix 2 (pdf 23KB)
- Appendix 3 (xls 25KB)
- MG Program Progress Report Form (xls 65KB)
- GPRA (xls 19KB)
Resources
- PY09 MG Guidelines (pdf and doc 200KB)
Matching Grant Annual Reports
Funding Opportunities (Program Announcement)
- PY09 Program Announcement (pdf 1.9MB)
Contact Information (Project Officer)
Laura Garcia
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Administration for Children and Families
901 D Street, SW
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: 202.401.5129
lgarcia@acf.hhs.gov