December 20, 2022
City Manager's Office
DATE: December 20, 2022
TO: Mayor Butt and Members of the City Council
FROM:
LaShonda White, Interim Director of Community Services
Shane Johnson, Senior Administrative Analyst
Patrick Seals, Senior Management Analyst
Guadalupe Morales, Assistant Administrative Analyst
Subject:
Proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Environmental Community
and Investment Agreement (ECIA) Competitive Grant
Program
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The ECIA provides $80 million in revenue to Richmond over a 10-year period. From this total, $6 million was allocated to fund the competitive grant program to support community programs and non-profits focused on community, youth, and youth sports. An allocation of $325,000 is proposed for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 grant cycle. As in previous grant cycles, additional funding will be allocated to support staff time and a possible capacity-building program for
community-based organizations. (11771018-400201-2A111)
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
December 21, 2021
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City staff members are seeking City Council approval for the proposed guidelines and application for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 Environmental and Community Investment
Agreement (ECIA) Community Grant Program. City staff
currently assigned to administer the FY 2023-24 ECIA
Community Grant Program, are also assigned to support the facilitation of the mandated release and disbursement of the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth (RFCY) Grant
Program. Due to continued limited capacity of assigned City staff, proposed total grant award allocations for FY 2023- 2024 remain modified from the program’s original allocation.
AGENDA
REPORT
December 20, 2022
RECOMMENDED
ACTION:
APPROVE the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Environmental and
Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) competitive grant program annual allocation of $325,000; and AUTHORIZE
the release of the Request for Application and Guidelines – City Manager’s Office (LaShonda White/Shané
Johnson/Patrick Seals 510-620-6512).
DISCUSSION:
The Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) Competitive Grant Program is entering into its eighth funding cycle for Richmond-serving organizations that support community, youth, and youth sports. In previous years, the ECIA has allocated $600,000 annually across four (4) categories, including the Competitive Grant Awards (990N and 990), City Council Approved Awards, and the Community Services Mini- Grant Awards. To date, the ECIA Competitive Grant Program has awarded more than 146 grants totaling more than $3.13 million.
City staff is preparing to simultaneously release the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth (RFCY) Request for Proposal (RFP) and the ECIA Request for Application (RFA).
City staff assigned to support the ECIA Competitive Grant Program are also assigned to administer and manage the RFCY Grant Fund. During Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023, the City Council approved a reduction in the total ECIA grant award amount to accommodate the limited staff capacity available to effectively oversee both ECIA and RFCY grant programs. City staff is requesting the same reduced allocation for the FY 2023-2024 ECIA grant cycle.
Proposed FY 2023-2024 ECIA Grant Application and Guidelines
ECIA grant staff is bringing forth proposed guidelines and applications for the FY 2023- 2024 ECIA Competitive Grant Program (See Attachments 1 and 2 for Categories 1-3, and Attachments 3 and 4 for Category 4). To provide opportunities for organizations with different capacities and different financial needs to have access to grant funds, the $325,000 available for grants is allocated in the method described below (See Table 1):
December 20, 2022
Table 1
Grant Award
Options
Award Decision
Made By
Award Range Standard Award
Amount
Proposed
Award
Amount
1 Competitive Grant
Awards
Gross Receipts
Less than $50,000
City Council
(Recommendations
made by ECIA
Review Panel)
$5,000 -
$50,000
$500,000
$225,000
2 Competitive Grant
Awards
Gross Receipts
More than $50,000
City Council
(Recommendations
made by ECIA
Review Panel)
3 City Council
Approved Awards
City Council
Amounts based
on Council
discretion
$50,000 $50,000
4 Community
Services Mini-Grant
Awards
(separate
application)
Community
Services
Department
Up to $5,000 $50,000 $50,000
TOTAL $600,000 $325,000*
*Final amounts might differ slightly
Categories 1 & 2: Competitive Grant Awards – Total Allocation of $225,000
For categories 1 and 2, organizations will be grouped based on their annual gross receipts (verified using 990s or audited financials). Organizations whose budgets are similarly situated will be reviewed in context with comparable organizations. The major components of the competitive grant program include the following:
Funding Allocations:
o $225,000 is available to award to organizations under categories 1 and 2 o A maximum of $100,000 is available to organizations with annual budgets over $750,000 (per last completed 990s or audited financials)
Eligibility Requirements:
o Per the ECIA, organizations must provide services focused on the community, youth, and/or youth sports to Richmond and North Richmond residents
December 20, 2022
o Organizations must operate as a non-profit entity with 501(c)(3) tax status with current financial statements (i.e., Filed I.R.S. Form 990 or 990-N or current audited financials) Fiscal sponsors may be used. o A minimum of 80 percent (80%) of the organization’s proposed grant-funded program/services must be provided to Richmond residents. Richmond-based organizations will receive extra points through the application review process.
If awarded and ECIA grant, grant funds may only be spent serving Richmond residents.
o Organizations that received an ECIA grant award of more than $10,000 during the FY 2022-2023 grant cycle (current grant cycle) are not eligible to apply during the FY 2023-2024 ECIA grant cycle.
Application Submission Requirements:
o Completed application
o Proof of 501(c)(3) status
o Financial statements
o List of Board of Directors and affiliations
o Signed agreement between the organization and the fiscal sponsor, if applicable
Tentative schedule (subject to change)
TASK DATE
Application Release Date December 27, 2022
FY 2022-2023 ECIA Information Session January 2023
Applications Due (No Exceptions) February 12, 2023, by 11:59 p.m.
Application Review and Scoring March – April 2023
City Council Review and Approval April 2023
Grant Award Notification May 2023
Grant Award Period July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
Category 3: City Council Approved Awards - Total Allocation of $50,000
A total of $50,000 is allocated for Category 3 which allows for the re-evaluation of applications submitted by organizations that applied for the ECIA Grant (through categories 1 and 2), met all submission requirements, were evaluated by the ECIA Grant Review Committee, but were not recommended for funding. It is proposed that the City Council Ad-Hoc Committee will make a recommendation to the full City Council regarding grant awards in May 2023. City staff will then enter into grant agreements with the organizations.
Category 4: Community Services Mini-Grant Award Allocation – Total Allocation of $50,000
A total of $50,000 is allocated for Category 4 - Community Services Department (CSD) Mini-Grant Awards. Grant awards will be up to $5,000, and the number of awards
December 20, 2022
available is determined based on the amount of each award. The Richmond Community Services Department mini-grant program is a component of the ECIA Grant Program.
Richmond-serving organizations that provide services that meet the needs of the community and youth, and that partner with and/or consistently utilize facilities managed by the Community Services Departments can apply for the mini-grant (Attachments 3 and 4). Grant awards are paid on a reimbursement basis and decisions regarding grant award amounts and advances are based on the discretion of the Community Services Department and a review panel.
The tentative schedule associated with the application and administration of the CSD Mini-Grant in the FY 2023-2024 cycle is as follows:
TASK DATE
Application Release January 3, 2023
Application Deadline February 17, 2023
Grant Application Review and Scoring February – March 2023 City Council Review and Approval April – May 2023
Grant Award Notification April – May 2023
Grant Award Period (Start Date is Dependent Upon
Execution of Grant Agreement)
July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024
Upon selection of the grantees, Community Services and each organization will enter an agreement and 100 percent (100%) of funds will be distributed in FY 2023-2024.
Next Steps
City staff is requesting City Council approval of the FY 2023-2024 guidelines and application, allowing staff to make changes, as needed, for clarification purposes.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – FY 2023-2024 Richmond ECIA Community Grant Program Application Attachment 2 – FY 2023-2024 Richmond ECIA Community Grant Program Guidelines Attachment 3 – FY 2023-24 CSD Mini-Grant Application
Attachment 4 – FY 2023-24 CSD Mini-Grant Guidelines