In a memorandum delivered to City Council on Monday, Richmond’s Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II provided a performance update to City Council on the RVA Pay Gap grant program . The program, which provides income-based housing grants to qualifying Richmonders, was paused in January to give staff additional time to process program applications and to reevaluate the program’s administration with an eye towards efficiency and the timely delivery of financial assistance.

“Director Shelton and our Finance team has been working in overdrive these past two months to clear the backlog in Gap Grant applications,” said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Tanikia Jackson “Doing so gives us the space and time to now focus on more permanent solutions to improved program delivery and to focus on delivering core services.”

“Between January and March 2026,” the memo reads, “staff have processed 1,802 backlog applications resulting in an average of 29 daily or 100 to 145 applications per week for approximately twelve (12) weeks.”

Of the 3,931 applications received since the program's inception, the memo details:

• 53% were received without the required documentation
• 32% were denied because:
  • The applicants were non-residents;
  • They were already receiving public assistance;
  • They did not meet the low-income threshold;
  • Their housing cost was equal to or greater than 30% of household income

In that same January to March time frame, the City distributed an additional $388,800 to residents in need, bringing the total program distribution to $732,000 across more than 600 applicants.

“We are committed to delivering dependable services to Richmonders. Hitting our internal goal to clear this Gap Grant backlog is a key step in reaching that standard” said CAO Donald . “We remain laser focused on best-in-class service delivery for all   programming, and we’re seeing step-by-step improvement in Finance: highlighted by progress on the Gap Grant, to our recent unmodified audit opinion with the ACFR, and the historic resolution of audit recommendations in coordination with the City Auditor.”

As a next step, CAO Donald is recommending that the City reappropriate the Gap Grant program’s unobligated funds to a third-party, non-profit vendor which can oversee the administration of the program and further allow Finance staff to focus on the delivery of core services.

The reallocation of $3,168,000.00 in unobligated funds to a nonprofit organization is just one of several next steps proposed in the memo. The others include: a repeal and replacement of existing legislation to improve program design and implementation, community outreach planning, and the consolidation and documentation of lessons learned so that they may be incorporated into program delivery.

“Clearing the backlog, as committed, is step one,” the memo says. “Next, aligning the resources that have been allocated to the appropriate service delivery is poised to support Richmonders in need, as originally intended by the enabling legislation.”

About the RVA Stay Gap Grant Program

Introduced at the end of 2024 for a 2025 rollout, the RVA Stay Gap Grant Program is a first-come, first-serve housing relief program that offers a one-time payment of $1200 for rental or mortgage payment assistance to qualifying applicants. This program is jointly operated by the Department of Finance and the Department of Social Services to provide financial assistance that helps fill the gap for low-income households in the City of Richmond.