POLICY #28
TITLE: COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM POLICY AND PROCEDURES
POLICY:
1. Mission Statement
The purpose of the City’s Grant Program is to strengthen our sense of community by enhancing Economic Development, Social Services, Arts, and Community Pride/Sense of Place through partnerships with local nonprofits to administer events, services, activities, and purchases more efficiently and economically than otherwise possible through the municipal corporation.
2. Goals and Objectives
1. Use taxpayer funds in the most efficient manner to accomplish the program’s mission of strengthening Coronado’s sense of community.
2. Define how the level of grant funding will be determined during the annual City budgeting process.
3. Establish eligibility requirement for receiving grant funding and for how the funds are utilized.
4. Develop a process that provides for effective management of and accountability for grant funds.
5. Set fair and straightforward procedures for grant applications and consideration.
3. Funding Formula
Coronado community grant funds are to be utilized for the public purpose and the overall good of the community. The annual funding level for community grants will be included in the City budget for the upcoming fiscal year during the normal budget preparation process. The fiscal year for the City of Coronado runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
The long-term goal is for community grant funding to be 1% of the total General Fund (GF) revenue for any given year. Nearer term goals are to have grant funding levels at 1.5% of the GF within 5 years and 1.25% of the GF within 10 years.
The FY 18/19 community grant funding budget will be set at $1M, which is the general level of funding for previous years. Starting in FY 19/20, the target for grant funding will be:
• FY 19/20 1.75% of budgeted General Fund revenues
• FY 20/21 1.65%
• FY 21/22 1.60%
• FY 22/23 1.55%
• FY 23/24 1.50%
• FY 24/25 1.45%
• FY 25/26 1.40%
• FY 26/27 1.35%
• FY 27/28 1.30%
• FY 28/29 1.25%
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• FY 29/30 1.20%
• FY 30/31 1.15%
• FY 31/32 1.10%
• FY 32/33 1.05%
• FY 33/34 1.00%
• FY 34/35 1.00%
The community grant budget, beginning in FY 19-20, will be $1M or the percentage of GF noted above, whichever is less.
The community grant budget, beginning in FY 23-24, will be set at the percentage of GF revenues noted above.
4. Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the City of Coronado Community Grant Program, each organization must:
1. Align services, programs, or projects with the mission of one of the following element areas: arts and culture, community pride and sense of place, economic development, or social services.
2. Be a legal, tax-exempt/not for profit organization (501(c)3 or 501(c)6) as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.
3. Be located or functioning within the City of Coronado and provide services that benefit the Coronado community.
4. Acknowledge that all documents related to the grant process including the application, supporting documentation, grant agreement, and grant expenditure documentation are a matter of public record and as such may be provided to the public upon request.
Ineligible organizations include:
1. Fraternal, political, or religious organizations.
a. Religious organizations may qualify if they have established a separate 501(c)3 organization to operate the funded program, the program is offered to the general population regardless of religious affiliation and does not require religious affiliation or participation in religious activities.
5. Community Grant Elements
The City Council recognizes four different community grant elements listed below:
Arts and Culture
Arts and Culture Grants provide funding to local nonprofit organizations to foster the development of sustainable, fiscally and artistically strong arts and cultural organizations, programming, and services for the benefit of the community of Coronado.
To be eligible for grant funding, proposed grant activities must achieve one or more of the following goals:
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1) Strengthen and/or diversify the arts in Coronado, encouraging excellence and providing more diverse opportunities for residential arts participation. 2) Build capacity of arts and cultural organizations.
3) Supports arts-specific festivals, celebrations, and special events. 4) Stimulate the creative economy.
Community Pride/Sense of Place
Community Pride and Sense of Place Grants provide funding to local nonprofit organizations to inspire community pride, celebrate Coronado’s unique history and enhance the quality of life of residents.
To be eligible for grant funding, proposed grant activities must achieve one or more of the following goals:
1) Celebrate the unique patriotism, history and traditions of Coronado. 2) Improve the “home-town” feeling and pride of Coronado by promoting a sense of place and community.
3) Enhance the quality of life of residents by decreasing isolation through relationship building and the fostering of friendships.
Economic Development
Economic Development Grants provide funding for specific and discrete programs that promote the economic development of the broader community.
To be eligible for grant funding, proposed grant activities must achieve one or more of the following goals:
1) Promote the City of Coronado as a destination for local dining, shopping, and attractions. 2) Contribute to a vibrant local business environment by stimulating Coronado-based commerce through the awareness and patronage of Coronado businesses. 3) Promote the growth and sustainability of new and existing local, small businesses by enhancing the business district through infrastructure, landscape, façade, or signage improvements.
Social Services
Social Services Grants provide funding for local nonprofit organizations in support of Coronado youth, families, seniors, military veterans, and/or disabled residents.
To be eligible for grant funding, proposed grant activities must achieve one or more of the following goals:
1) Promote human or social services to youth, minority groups, families, seniors, veterans, and/or disabled residents.
2) Promote leadership and engagement in the community through mentoring and social development.
3) Encourage friendship, equality, acceptance, compassion and empowerment throughout the community.
4) Support recreation and empowerment activities to people of all abilities. 29c
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6. Community Grant Types
The City Council recognizes five different community grant types listed below:
1. One-Time Purchases
a. Purpose – To support the cost of a capital good.
b. Restriction – Organizations may not apply for one-time purchase grants for the same item for consecutive years. Applications for phases of the same project are not eligible.
2. Seed Money
a. Purpose – To support the cost of starting a new event, program, or service that intends to exist for multiple years.
b. Restrictions – Funding is limited to no more than three consecutive years and must include reductions in City funding each year.
3. Special Events
a. Purpose – To support the cost of producing a one-time event. b. Restrictions – Funding is limited to a percentage of the total event cost.
4. Recurring Event/Activity
a. Purpose – To fund support the cost of a recurring event. b. Restriction – The event must be free, or of nominal cost, to attendees and serve the broader community.
5. Services
a. Purpose – To fund the execution of specific, non-profit services. b. Restrictions – Applications requesting funding over multiple years through a single grant cycle will not be accepted. Applications can be submitted for the same programs on a yearly basis.
7. Grant Evaluation Criteria
All nonprofits that meet the eligibility requirements stated in Section 4 are eligible to apply for a community grant. Upon Council establishment of grant evaluation criteria, staff will issue program documents, and establish key dates and requirements. The Council may amend the evaluation criteria at any time.
8. Grant Evaluation and Recommendations
All compliant grant applications will be evaluated by anonymous, unaffiliated field readers and scored using the Council-adopted criteria. Field readers will be selected based on their expertise in grant review, knowledge of grant subject matter and be unaffiliated with the applicants. Applications, including program summary and accompanying narratives, will be reviewed by the independent field readers, and scored on the Council-approved 100-point rubric. Applications that receive less than a 75/100 will not be recommended to Council for funding.
Reader scores for the Arts and Culture grant element will be provided to the Cultural Arts Commission. The Cultural Arts Commission will make funding recommendations for the City Council.
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Along with the independent review by field readers, staff will review each grant application to ensure the grant request aligns with the community element, grant type, and program budget.
Field reader scores and staff analysis will be compiled to prepare grant recommendations for the City Council.
Funding awards shall be made annually at a Council meeting following the adoption of the budget.
The Council may, at its discretion, budget specific amounts within the grant line item for specific community elements or other council priorities, during the budget process. The Council will consider the scores and adopt final funding allocations for each application and all grant categories at a meeting following the Budget Adoption Council meeting in June. Any funds remaining after Council consideration will be available for discretionary allocation among the categories and applicants.
9. Application Submission
The application process for requesting community grant funds includes the submittal of:
1. Grant Application
2. Budget Proposal
3. IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification)
4. IRS/Nonprofit Determination Letter
5. Pages 1-8 of the most recently submitted IRS Form 990 or pages 1-3 of IRS form 990EZ or organizations with gross receipts of $50,000 or less may submit the IRS 990N epostcard
6. Three years of financial statements (Form 990’s, independent bookkeeping, or audits will be accepted)
7. Screenshot from the California Attorney General Registry Verification Search showing “Current” or “Exempt” status
8. Screenshot from the California Secretary of State Business Search showing “Active” status
Organizations may apply for up to $125,000 in funding. The City Council maintains discretionary privilege and may award any organization an amount greater than the cap during the grant allocation process, as long as the total allocations remain at or below the approved funding level. Each organization may submit up to 3 applications. City staff will treat each grant element as independent and equal during the allocation process, with the understanding that the grant elements may have an uneven number of submitted applications or requests. During the allocation process, the City Council maintains discretion to allocate grants as they see fit.
Applications for multi-year agreements will not be accepted, however applicants can apply each year to receive new funding for programs awarded through past cycles.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Key dates for the Community Grant Program will be issued with the annual program documents and made available on the City’s website by the end of February.
Grant agreements, regardless of value, will be disbursed in July once grants are allocated. 28e
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10. Grant Reporting Requirements
Once a grant is awarded, a Grant Report must be submitted for the period of July 1 to June 30 by the end of the fiscal year (July 15). Grant reports must be received by the City prior to the release of future funds. If an organization receives multiple grants, they may submit one grant report, but they must provide a narrative and financial analysis for each grant received. The goal of the grant report is to show the City Council, City staff, and the public how the awarded grant funds were used.
Grant reports may be submitted in any style or format, but the following information must be included:
1. Cover letter addressed to the City Council summarizing how the grant funds were spent (one cover letter per organization)
2. A narrative on how grant funds were spent for the specific project or program
3. A narrative on specific metrics the organization is using to measure performance and impact of the funded program, project, event, or service
4. A financial analysis that shows and describes the items that were bought with the grant funds
5. 1-5 photos of the program, project, event, or service that the grant funds supported Unlike a typical annual report that comprehensively details an organization’s performance in the preceding year, the purpose of the grant report is to focus on the program, project, special event, service, or purchase that was made with grant funds and the impact the grant funding had on the organization.
Organizations who are unable to utilize grant funds awarded may in writing to the City Manager make a request to repurpose the funds in a “like” manner during the award year, rollover the funds for use in next grant cycle, or return the funds. The City Manager will review each request and decide on a case-by-case basis.
The City, at its discretion, may review grant expenditures including, but not limited to, an Agreed Upon Procedures review conducted by the City’s auditor.
If an organization receives more than $100,000 in City of Coronado community grant funding across all activities in a fiscal year, an independent audit of the organization’s finances will be required to be submitted to the City within six months from close of the organization’s fiscal year in which the grant funds were utilized.
Approved by: City Council Minute Order
May 7, 2019
Revised and Approved by: City Council Minute Order
December 17, 2019
Revised and Approved by: City Council Minute Order
February 15, 2022
Revised and Approved by: City Council Minute Order
February 7, 2023
Revised and Approved by: City Council Minute Order
February 6, 2024
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