Agenda Item Wording:
title
Youth Non-Profit Grant Awards - Review and Approval of the Citizens Advisory Committee’s recommendations for the 2024 Youth Non-Profit Grant Awards.
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Deadline for Action: 12/18/2023
Submitting Department: Finance and Technology Services
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Alana Johnson, CAC Non-Profit Grant Subcommittee Chair
Ruth Pena, Financial Analyst, 559-713-4327, ruth.pena@visalia.city <mailto:ruth.pena@visalia.city>
Department Recommendation:
It is recommended that the City Council review and approve the Citizen Advisory Committee’s (CAC) recommendation to award a distribution of $65,000 among 11 non-profit organizations for the 2024 calendar year.
Background Discussion:
On June 20, 2022, the City Council authorized the allocation of $65,000 in non-profit grants from the fiscal year 2023-24 budget. The process for award of these funds is administered by the CAC, which brings recommendations to Council annually for approval. The CAC received 26 applications from non-profit organizations for grant amounts ranging from $2,500 to $6,500 for a total of $151,150. The CAC recommends awarding 11 grants ranging from $2,500 to $6,500 for a total of $65,000.
No significant changes were made to this year’s application process and format. The deadline for proposals to be submitted via email or in person was November 15, 2023. The grant period begins January 1, 2024. The grant announcement was posted on the city’s Facebook page and advertised via the City’s website and newsletter.
The CAC established a Non-Profit Grant Subcommittee of three regular CAC committee members to review and recommend grant awards. The Subcommittee conducted two workshops on October 10 and 11, 2023, to explain the application process to interested applicants. The CAC received 26 grant applications and reviewed 22. The 4 applications that were not reviewed were either incomplete or received after the deadline. The total amount of grant funds requested was $151,1500. Of the 26 applications submitted, 11 are recommended for funding.
The CAC Subcommittee reviewed the applications and came to a consensus recommendation to award 11 grants between $2,500 and $6,500 for a total of $65,000. One of the grants is recommended to be funded less than their requested amount, so as not to exceed the total $65,000 total allocation. The recommendation was presented to and reviewed by the full CAC committee at its December 4, 2023, meeting. At that time, the CAC unanimously adopted the subcommittee’s recommendation.
Table 1 compares grant application statistics from the last two cycles with the current cycle:
As shown in Table 1 above, the number of applications received increased significantly this year, along with the total amount of funds requested. The CAC Youth Grants subcommittee discussed goals for the grant money. All of the grant applications had worthy ambitions that would benefit the youth of Visalia, but the budget is limited. This meant that a portion of the grant applications received could not be funded, even though they would have directly benefited the youth of Visalia.
During discussions, the CAC subcommittee prioritized programs that would do the most good. In some cases, this meant choosing programs that affected higher numbers of youth. In other cases, it was based on the potential to significantly impact the lives of a smaller group of youth. Some of the programs even have the potential to improve the lives of youth as well as their families.
An additional consideration was trying to reach a variety of different youth in Visalia by choosing programs that would target youth from different backgrounds and different places of need as well as groups with various interests.
Table 2 lists the Non-Profit funding recommendations and program descriptions.
Fiscal Impact:
The 2023-24 General Fund appropriation of $65,000 is already in the budget, and no additional funding is requested.
Prior Council Action: Adoption of FY 2023-24 Budget - June 20, 2022.
Other: Committee/Commission Review and Action - CAC Review and Adoption of Subcommittee Recommendations - December 4, 2023.
Alternatives: Redirect awards within the $65,000 amount allocated by the City Council.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to award the non-profit grants as recommended by the Citizens Advisory Committee as shown in Table 2.
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
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