November 22, 2022
City Council
DATE: November 22, 2022
TO: Mayor Butt and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez and Councilmember
Demnlus Johnson III
Subject:
Impact of Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F) in the
Community and Update on Guaranteed Income and
Strategic Planning Process
FINANCIAL IMPACT: On February 15, 2022, City Council approved a contract with Ed Fund West (fiscal sponsor for R3F) to manage
the disbursement of $600,000 of American Rescue Plan
Act (ARPA) funds to support Richmond residents
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through the
Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F). In addition, on
August 1, 2022, the City Council approved a contract with Dalberg to support a strategic planning effort for R3F in the amount of $125,000 of which R3F would contribute
$25,000 towards.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
February 15, 2022 and August 1, 2022
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Councilmembers Claudia Jimenez and Demnlus Johnson
III requested an update on the Richmond Rapid
Response Fund Program (R3F) including the number of
residents assisted and funds disbursed through the
program. R3F staff will also provide an update on the
status of the strategic planning process and research on developing a pilot Guaranteed Income Program.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECEIVE a report from the Richmond Rapid Response
Fund Program (R3F) including updates on funds
disbursed, residents served, and current and future
programming – Councilmembers Demnlus Johnson III
and Claudia Jimenez (510-620-6861).
AGENDA
REPORT
November 22, 2022
DISCUSSION:
The Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F) is a wraparound initiative that was developed to meet the immediate and ongoing needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond (www.richmondresponsefund.org). R3F’s goal is to focus on key priority areas including food and essential supplies, economic recovery and security, housing and homelessness, health and healing, and education and learning. This report and the presentation will provide an update on R3F’s success in assisting Richmond residents negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and status of R3F’s current and future work.
Impact of Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F)
Soon after March 2020, R3F was created to support Richmond residents experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This work was primarily done by providing one-time $500 direct disbursements and rent relief to residents, and connecting residents to resources through R3F’s network of community-based organizations via the West Contra Costa Cares Coalition (Cares Coalition). To-date, over 1,037 families have been served with direct cash grants totaling over $518,000 and 77 families were assisted with rent assistance totaling $385,000.
Through data provided by direct recipient reports and partner financial data collection, R3F observed that residents overwhelmingly spent funds on food, utilities, rent, transportation, and school and household supplies. R3F found that investments went most often into two of the lowest income zip codes in Richmond (94801 and 94804).
City of Richmond ARPA Allocation
In 2021, R3F received $150,000 in CARES Act funds from the City of Richmond and were successful in quickly disbursing funds to support 74 residents with direct disbursements and 18 households via rental assistance. Based on this success and partnership, on February 15, 2022, the Richmond City Council approved a contract for EdFund West to manage the distribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support Richmond residents impacted by COVID-19 through the Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F), in an amount not to exceed $600,000. The contract anticipated the following expenditures:
Program Name Budget
1 Fiscal Sponsorship/Oversight fees 70,000
2 Financial disbursements to residents 230,000
3 Rental/mortgage assistance 300,000
4 Target Income Program If established funding would come from either financial disbursements or
rental/mortgage assistance programs
TOTAL $600,000
November 22, 2022
To-date, R3F has not expended any ARPA funds for financial disbursements but has allocated $200,000 in funding to support rental assistance. If rental assistance stays limited to the $5,000 level, at least 40 households will be able to be assisted with these funds.
As for financial disbursements to Richmond Residents, R3F has not yet utilized ARPA funds for this program as there are remaining funds from other sources dedicated to this program. When R3F depletes the funds already in its coffers, ARPA funds will be utilized for the Target Income Program as noted in the budget above.
In June 2022, R3F granted the Richmond Community Foundation $200,000 to coordinate the distribution of ARPA funds for the rent relief component via its various partners including the Richmond Housing Division, Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, Community Housing Development Corporation, Richmond Rent Board, and SparkPoint. The application for rent relief is currently open and seven (7) applications are currently in the queue for review.
There have been some challenges in dispersing the recent round of ARPA funds dedicated to rent relief given competing priorities for partner agencies, ensuring compliance with ARPA regulations, and the rent relief amount limit of $5,000 set by the group to try to support a greater number of Richmond residents. Rent assistance was limited to $5,000 during the initial round; however, requests are coming in for greater amounts. The average request was $8,647.74. R3F and its partners are currently evaluating program parameters to determine if adjustments should be made to meet the changing needs of Richmond residents, while also trying to support as many residents as possible.
Strategic Planning Process
The City of Richmond partnered with R3F staff to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a consultant to support the R3F in strategic planning, future program development (primarily focused on a guaranteed income pilot program), and a governance structure. After a competitive bidding process, the City Council approved a $125,000 contract with Dalberg and Empathy in Action on August 1, 2022. The strategic planning effort is funded jointly by the City ($100,000) and R3F ($25,000). Dalberg has expertise in cross sector collaboration locally, nationally and internationally, and Empathy In Action is a Richmond-based non-profit that collaborates with other Richmond-based organizations and is providing support on outreach and engagement.
The work on the strategic plan began in September 2022.
As part of this effort, the consultants have conducted over 20 interviews with key stakeholders to inform the 3–5-year strategic plan. They have also facilitated research on proposed governance and sustainability models, yielding preliminary discussion and draft strategies on a governance structure. Currently, the consultants are presenting preliminary findings to the R3F core team and the West Contra Costa Cares Coalition, and will provide updates to City staff and City Council in early 2023.
November 22, 2022
Targeted/Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
As part of the City-provided ARPA funds, R3F is evaluating the creation of a pilot guaranteed income (GI) program (also referred to as a target income program). R3F’s desire to implement a GI program was informed by a community assessment process focused on economic recovery and security. Per the City’s contract, if established, funding for a GI program would come from unexpended funds from the financial disbursements or rental/mortgage assistance programs.
R3F worked with graduate students from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and School of Public Heath to administer a feasibility study regarding the populations in Richmond who will receive the greatest impact from a GI program. R3F connected with regional and statewide communities of practices and interviewed key leaders who have implemented GI pilot programs and other direct cash policies. R3F also evaluated data collected from direct cash services and the feasibility study. R3F is working on creating an initial design for a GI program and will begin fundraising for its implementation.
More than 100 GI demonstrations are currently active across the country, many of which are utilizing ARPA funds for their pilots. Interest in GI has sparked the development of a Contra Costa Working Group, funded by Y&H Soda Foundation, that is dedicated to curating a blueprint for GI in the county. Local jurisdictions like the County of Santa Clara and the City of Stockton implemented pilot GI programs in their communities. Currently, several Cares Coalition partners, who have worked with R3F, are offering support to the Budget Justice Coalition’s County budget proposal, and specifically, the adoption of a Guaranteed Income (GI) fund of $3 million for Contra Costa County. R3F will continue to research GI programs to determine the feasibility of developing and implementing a GI program in Richmond. If determined feasible, R3F will present information to City staff and City Council regarding program design and funding needs.
Next Steps
R3F is building on existing initiatives in Richmond, learning from other communities, and introducing new approaches to accelerate change, transform systems and build stable, healthy communities. In the last year, R3F focused on capacity building, research and development, and continuing to support new iterations of direct disbursements and rent relief that best meet the needs of the community. R3F is bringing on a fellow to further support and continue its work to support Richmond residents negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and achieving an equitable recovery. R3F will continue to provide regular updates to City staff and City Council on the use and impact of ARPA funds on the Richmond community.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – PowerPoint