JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local summer school program that helps fill the gap in education for many children says it’s still waiting on funds from the city of Jacksonville that it was promised. But the city said that’s not the case.
Greg Rogers of Skylyfe Incorporated and Shawn Abrams Jr. of Limitless Wolf Co. are on a mission to help children learn more about entrepreneurship and technology. They saw the city was offering grant money and said they applied quickly.
Rogers said they’ve helped hundreds of children.
This spring, the city of Jacksonville offered mini grants through the city’s Safety and Crime Reduction Committee, and 35 groups were approved.
Rogers, a military veteran, said he followed the city’s instructions to apply by April 23 and was told that they were getting grant money for their summer program.
The group was supposed to get money at the end of May, but that didn’t happen.
Another nonprofit, Waterfront Outreach, told News4JAX it had also not received funds, despite being told it had been approved.
Abrams and Rodgers said on Monday they were notified they would get the grant, but it could take another month. By then, students will be back in school from summer break.
“I was confused because the timetable that they originally gave us wasn’t lining up with what was actually happening,” Abrams said. “We turned everything in on time.”
Phil Perry, Chief Communications Officer for the city, issued a statement that reads:
“A handful of Safety and Crime Reduction Commission grant recipients did not register properly in the city’s procurement system. We have been in touch with these entities to ensure they complete their registration so that the payment process can proceed. There was never a set date promised for payments to be sent, and these grants were intended to supplement the existing work of non-profits rather than fund entire new efforts.”
Rogers and Abrams believe they followed the instructions correctly but say they are grateful for whatever funds they get to keep helping the community.