Takoma Park
Direct Cash Assistance
Program Overview
This opportunity will provide a one-time $1,000 direct cash assistance to households in Takoma Park to assist those negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Households must earn less than $50,000 in annual income to qualify.
Grant Amount: $1,000
NEED SUPPORT?
If you need help with this online application, please email us at takomapark-support@livestories.zendesk.com or call us at (855) 582-FWRD (3973). The hours for the support line are as follows: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Monday-Friday.
General Timeline
Applications will open at 8:00 AM EST on October 25th, 2022, and remain open until October 31st, 2023.
Eligible households will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Eligibility Requirements
The applicant must meet the following requirements:
Household annual income must be less than $50,000.
How to document eligibility
- Proxy letter (Government Assistance Qualification/Benefits Letter): If you qualify and receive government assistance from SNAP, TANF, WIC, SSI/SSDI, you can upload a copy of the benefits letter that shows your current address. If you receive benefits from another program, you will be able to enter that information for review.
- If you do not receive any government assistance, you may provide a lease, utility bill, tax document or photo ID.
- Proxy letter (Government Assistance Qualification/Benefits Letter): If you qualify and receive government assistance from unemployment, SNAP, TANF, WIC, SSI/SSDI, you can upload a copy of the benefits letter and this will automatically be proof of income below $50,000.
- If you do not receive any government assistance, you may provide a tax return from the previous calendar year, a paystub from within the 60 days prior to application submission, or 60 days of bank statements prior to application submission.
Required Documents
Application information to have ready:
2020 or 2021 tax returns showing household income less than $50,000, unemployment, paystubs within 60 days of application, or government assistance qualification letter.
Photo ID, utility bill, postmarked mail. For renters, this could be a lease, utility bill or payroll document, for homeowners proof of ownership must be submitted.
- SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- TANF/TCA – Temporary assistance for Needy Families/Temporary Cash Assistance
- SSI/SSDI – Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance
- Unemployment
- Valid Driver’s License
- Birth Certificate
- State-issued Identification Card
- Student Identification Card
- Military Identification Card
- Passport or Passport Card
You can store documents in your profile so that you can easily find them to include in your applications. These file formats are supported: .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .pdf, .png, .xls, and .xlsx
Frequently Asked Questions
A household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements.
Roommates are considered separate households.
This program is designed to help those with the lowest income and who receive government assistance already. The easiest method of documenting eligibility requirements is to use a proxy letter. A proxy letter is a benefits letter from a government program that states your eligibility and benefits amount. This proxy letter could be for unemployment, TANF, TCA, SSI/SSDI etc. If you qualify for a program that is not on the list, you will be able to submit that for review.
By submitting a government assistance proxy letter, you are also able to use that to show your residency, as the letter should have your address on it. If it does not show your address, you will have to upload a separate document for proof of residency.
To show proof of residency, if you do not have a government assistance proxy letter, you may upload a lease, utility bill, or tax document. You may also upload a copy of your government issued ID that shows your address.
Yes. You will receive an email confirmation from forward-notification@forwardplatform.com once your application is received. Check your spam/junk folder if you do not receive an email shortly after submitting your application.
No. However, if you need to correct an error, please get in touch with forward-support@forwardplatform.com, and our team can work with you to provide additional and correct information to your application.
The FORWARD Technical Support will be provided by phone and/or email to any applicants with questions related to the FORWARD platform. For technical support, call (855) 582-3973 or email forward-support@forwardplatform.com. The hours for the support line are as follows: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Monday-Friday.
The City of Takoma Park has partnered with FORWARD to manage the application process and distribute awards. FORWARD is a Washington state technology company that powers the FORWARD application portal. FORWARD offers application services for programs such as this nationwide.
FORWARD Online Application Tutorials
FORWARD Online Application Tutorials
How to Apply
Takoma Park has partnered with FORWARD to manage the application process and distribute awards.
To access the online application form, you will need to set up an account in FORWARD.
- On the login page, click on the link to “Create individual account“. You will be prompted to register for an account; the prompt will ask for your name and email address.
- Once you have entered your information, FORWARD will send an email to create a secure password.
- After you set your password, login and start the application process. Please check your SPAM/Junk folder if you don’t receive the email.
- We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as browsers.
If your application is successful, you will be notified by email. Your direct assistance card will be sent to you via the method you select.
- Priority will be given to applicants who are able to receive their card via postal mail.
- You will also be able to receive the funds via ACH direct deposit or paper check.
- For a paper check, you will have to provide the address that you would like to receive your paper check. For ACH, you will have to provide a voided check with the account and routing numbers on it.
Please note: Communications about the application and award will come by email from forward-notification@forwardplatform.com. Please make sure to check your spam folders as the award emails will come from FORWARD on behalf of The City of Takoma Park.
FORWARD is administering the Direct Cash Assistance Program on behalf of the City of Takoma Park.
ABOUT FORWARD
FORWARD is the leading Integrated Program Administration solution that incorporates all essential components, people and technology into a single streamlined workflow to effectively, securely, and equitably administer critical resources to help communities thrive.