CHRISTIANSTED — Non-profits in the territory are going to get their money after all.
Without the money, many of the organizations that help the Virgin Islands most needy would be in the red financially.
So Gov. Kenneth Mapp said that he changed his mind and has re-directed the Office of Management & Budget to release funds to local non-profit organizations as authorized by law.
Mapp had come under fire from the Virgin Islands Legislature and non-profits over his no-money stance.
During a Tuesday meeting, Mapp was briefed by OMB Acting Director Julio Rhymer on the list of organizations awaiting funding.
The governor said that he advised Acting Director Rhymer that continuing to release allotments to those non-profit organizations – particularly those that provide social, health and safety services – must be a priority over the next several weeks.
“While we must acknowledge that revenues to the government were far reduced in the immediate aftermath of the storms, funding for those organizations that provide life sustaining services to our community must be addressed,” Mapp said.
The governor directed OMB to work with the Department of Finance to release funds to those entities as soon as is possible. He noted that although the V.I. Hurricane Recovery & Resiliency Task Force through the Community Foundation of the U.S. Virgin Islands, had provided more than $3 million in grants to organizations since the hurricanes, those funds were not intended to replace monies appropriated by the Legislature.
“Supporting the non-profit community and the vital services they provide to our residents remains a top priority of the Mapp-Potter Administration,” Mapp said.
