Federal Covid Relief Funds Enabled Churches and Other Religious Organizations to Pay Employees
Ava Wise was thinking first of others as she considered what would have happened if the federal Paycheck Protection Program had not provided her employer with money to pay her during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. “We may not have been open to serve people,” said Wise, director of Project Hopewell, a nonprofit formed under Hopewell Baptist Church in Birmingham’s Hillman Station Neighborhood. Effects of the COVID-19 relief program hit close to home for Wise and others who benefited from federal relief money that was paid to businesses, state and local governments, and churches and other organizations. Without the payroll assistance, she said, “We can't pay our bills. We can’t buy food. It cuts off our livelihood.” Although it is unusual for churches, synagogues, mosques and groups with religious affiliations to receive taxpayer money, many were awarded federal stimulus funds during the pandemic. While churches may be tax-exempt, their employees pay taxes to city, state and federal governments. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s PPP program was designed to cover the payrolls of recipients. A review by BirminghamWatch of federal records listed about 321 applicants from Jefferson County that identified themselves as religious organizations received loans totaling $39.7 million during a 14-month period under the PPP program. Read more.
