To apply for CARES Act funding, visit cpn.news/CARES

Phase I

COVID-19 UNEMPLOYMENT INCOME SUPPORT ($1,200)

Program Summary
This relief will be available to Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members who have experienced loss of income or other financial hardship resulting from unemployment, furlough or layoff due to COVID-19. They will be eligible for up to $1,200.
Qualification Requirement
To qualify for the $1,200 benefit, Tribal members will be required to provide proof that they have been furloughed without pay or unemployed and attest that they have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Benefit
Up to $1,200 per eligible Tribal member

COVID-19 BUSINESS INTERRUPTION GRANT FOR TRIBAL OWNED BUSINESSES

Program Summary
This relief will be available to CPN tribal member-owned businesses to assist with the costs of business interruption caused by mandatory closures, limited reopening or decreased customer demand. Businesses will be eligible for up to $5,000. Eligible expenses include rent, mortgage payments, utilities, salaries, retirement plan contributions, group health insurance or costs of debt service that preexisted March 1, 2020.
Qualification Requirement
To qualify for the $5,000 benefit, Tribal members will be required to provide proof that their business has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Benefit
Up to $5,000 per eligible Tribal member-owned business

Phase II

COVID-19 STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Student Assistance Fund will provide eligible CPN tribal member parents with a one-time $300 allowance, per eligible CPN dependent, that may be utilized for school clothes, masks and other necessary school supplies needed to respond to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. To receive this assistance, CPN tribal members will be required to attest that they and their children have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Qualification Requirement
Eligible Age: 5 to 18; must currently be an enrolled, non-post-secondary student to qualify.
Benefit
$300 per eligible tribal member dependent

COVID-19 TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Technology Program is offered to equip all school-aged CPN children with technology tools, such as laptops and internet access, that will better enable distance learning necessitated by COVID-19. Eligible applicants would receive a one-time $400 allowance per eligible CPN dependent. To receive this assistance, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members will be required to attest that their child’s or children’s learning opportunities have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Qualification Requirement
Eligible Age: 5 to 18; must currently be an enrolled, non-post-secondary student to qualify.
Benefit
$400 per eligible Tribal member

COVID-19 ACT/SAT ONLINE WORKSHOP

Program Summary
The COVID-19 ACT/SAT Online Workshop Program will provide eligible CPN tribal members with the opportunity to receive a $40, one-time reimbursement payment for ACT/SAT online prep fees. CPN tribal members will be required to attest that they have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to receive this assistance.
Qualification Requirement
Eligible Age: 14 to 18
Benefit
One-time $40 reimbursement payment for ACT/SAT online prep fees

COVID-19 POST-SECONDARY TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENT SUPPORT PROGRAM

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Post-Secondary Student Support Fund will provide eligible CPN tribal members with a one-time $1,150 support grant that may be utilized for costs related to housing insecurity and overcrowding, online fees, extra travel costs, lost wages, professional consulting, tutoring and technology expenses due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The program is structured to award $400 tied to technology and $750 tied to the remaining hardship categories. CPN tribal members will be required to attest that they have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to receive this assistance.
Qualification Requirement
Citizen Potawatomi Nation students who are enrolled full-time at any accredited college or vocational program for the 2020 summer or fall semester are eligible to apply for this program. Full-time will be considered as 12 or more credits for undergraduate students or nine or more for graduate students; students attending institutions that use other thresholds for full-time status must provide proof from their registrar. High school concurrent, incarcerated, and non-U.S. enrollees are not eligible for this program.
Benefit
$1,150 per eligible Tribal member ($400 technology; $750 student support)

COVID-19 DISABILITY FOOD SECURITY

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Disability Food Security Program will provide eligible CPN tribal members with the opportunity to receive a $200 monthly grocery allowance. Applicants may submit an application in order to receive a $200 monthly grocery allowance for the month in which they apply and for every subsequent month thereafter for which they will require food assistance through December 2020.
Qualification Requirement
Applicants will be required to provide proof of enrollment in the Social Security Disability Insurance Program and attest that they have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to receive this assistance.
Eligible Age: 18 to 64
Benefit
$200 per eligible Tribal member per month through December 2020

COVID-19 ELDER FOOD SECURITY

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Elder Food Security Program will provide eligible Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members with the opportunity to receive a $200 monthly grocery allowance. Applicants may submit an application in order to receive a $200 monthly grocery allowance for the month in which they apply and for every subsequent month thereafter for which they will require food assistance through December 2020. Applicants will be required to attest that they have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to receive this assistance.
Qualification Requirement
Eligible Age: 65+
Benefit
$200 per eligible Tribal member per month through December 2020

COVID-19 ELDER HOUSING ASSISTANCE RELIEF PROGRAM

Program Summary
The COVID-19 Elder Housing Relief Program will provide eligible CPN tribal members, not living in CPN Tribal Housing, with monthly housing assistance payments of $500 for three months.
All applicants must document a loss of income due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, unaddressed by other forms of assistance. For elders seeking rental assistance, applicants must provide documentation of their existing lease and contact information for their landlord. For elders seeking mortgage assistance, applicants must provide documentation of their mortgage, proof that they are presently behind, and contact information for their mortgage lender.
Allowances will be issued for the month following the application plus two additional months. For example, an application filed in September would result in assistance payments for October, November and December. This program is limited to one elder payment per household, per month in which one or more Tribal members eligible for this assistance reside. Payments will be made directly to the landlord or mortgage lender.
Qualification Requirement
To receive this assistance, Tribal members must document a loss of income due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, proof of a valid lease/outstanding mortgage, contact information for landlord/lender, and for those seeking mortgage assistance, proof that the applicant is presently behind in payments
Eligible Age: 65+
Benefit
$500 per eligible Tribal member household per month for three months

A note on CARES Act allocations:

By John “Rocky” Barrett, CPN Tribal Chairman

In Phase II of the Tribe’s program, we can now show that 65 percent of the money CPN received from Treasury will go directly to Citizen Potawatomi member support programs.

65 percent.

Eligible Tribal members can request money for expenses such as rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, car payments and insurance premiums. Elementary through higher education students can get clothes, masks, school supplies and technology assistance that will help with distance learning and internet connectivity. Elders will get assistance with food security and housing support costs.

In addition, we have received further clarification from the federal government in recent days about our Phase I individual financial support program. This clarification, combined with advice from legal counsel, confirms that we do not need to count the earlier national $1,200 stimulus payments against any amount we distributed as individual assistance support. Therefore, our staff will reexamine all past applications that had this provision applied. Those found to have qualified under our most recent guidance will receive more money.

We will keep responding to the needs of our Tribe for as long as we are able – until we run out of this money.

Job protection, technology, prevention, infrastructure and supplies will account for the remaining funds. This includes investment in medical and personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting supplies and health care expenses associated with COVID-19. These funds will also cover the costs associated with reopening and stabilizing our enterprises. This includes paying for COVID-19 communications and training, protective physical barriers, information technology systems, infrastructure and equipment that includes remote work capabilities. We have seen revenues decrease more than $20 million this year due to COVID-19, and this amount cannot be made up for legally by using CARES Act funds (according to the legislation passed by Congress in March).