April 2021
COVID-19 Updates
As of Monday, April 5, PA had administered over 5.6 million vaccines, with nearly 2.5 million Pennsylvanians fully vaccinated, about 19% of our population. By the end of April, all Pennsylvanians will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The phases will be rolled out in stages throughout the month, as follows:
  • April 5: Phase 1b – those who work in education, the postal service, manufacturing, grocery/agriculture, public transit, first responders, and those receiving home and community based services
  • April 12: Phase 1c – those who work in transportation, food service, construction, IT, energy, legal services, government workers, public safety, and public health
  • April 19: Phase 2 – all individuals 16 and older

Cases in Pennsylvania are currently on the rise, with about 2,000 more new cases per day than this time last month. Please remember to continue good hand hygiene, masking, and social distancing.
County Grant Programs
Lehigh and Northampton counties are both accepting applications for various grants from nonprofit organizations. Please note that for Lehigh County, the Community Development Block Grant closes on April 15, while Northampton County’s Community Development Block Grant application opened on April 1.
Federal Housing Assistance Programs
The Emergency Rental Assistance Programs (EARP) from the federal government are providing rent and utility relief to those struggling to pay their bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to 12 months of assistance is available, and there is no cap on the amount of assistance one household can receive. Please share these resources out with your communities:
Community Conversations
Join us for virtual conversations for the Greater Lehigh Valley nonprofit community to share ideas and resources and coordinate efforts to best serve our residents. These conversations are hosted by the Strategic Response Team, a collaborative group of stakeholders including nonprofit workers, funders, health networks, local governments, and school districts. The April 12th community conversation will focus on updates on the COVID vaccine and housing assistance.
Mask Up Lehigh Valley
The second phase of #MaskUPLV videos have been released! Please help get the word out about the importance of continuing to wear masks, even as more vaccines are rolled out!
Upcoming Virtual Trainings
Strategic Response Team
Technical Assistance Working Group

The Strategic Response Team (SRT) launched in the wake of COVID19 to provide a rapid, informed, and coordinated approach to assessing community need and quickly allocating dollars to the areas of greatest need. Soon afterwards, the SRT spun out a Technical Assistance Working Group to ensure area non-profit organizations have the specialized resources, information, and support they need to continue operations and respond to rapidly changing community needs. The TA Working Group is a community collaboration consisting of representatives from funding organizations, local government, grassroots community organizations, health networks, community health and non-profit organizations who bring their varied perspectives to the table to create the most effective impact.