December 5, 2023
City Manager's Office
DATE: November 28, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager – Community
Services
Patrick Seals, Project Manager
Shane Johnson, Senior Administrative Analyst
Guadalupe Morales, Associate Management Analyst
Nicholas Delgado, Associate Management Analyst
Subject:
Fiscal Year 2023-24 Category 3 ECIA Grant Award
Recommendations ($44,000)
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Environmental Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) provides $80 million in revenue to Richmond over a 10-year period. A total of $6 million was allocated for the ECIA Competitive Grant Program.
For the Fiscal Year 2023-24 grant cycle, $325,000 is
currently allocated for Categories 1 through 4, with
$50,000 allocated for Category 3 City Council-Approved
grant awards (11771018 400201 2A111).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
June 20, 2023
December 20, 2022
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Under the direction of the City Council, City staff
continued to utilize four grant funding categories for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Environmental Community
Investment Agreement (ECIA) grant program to provide
opportunities for a wider breadth of organizations, of
varied capacities, to access grant funds. The City Council appointed an ECIA Grant Review Ad Hoc committee
consisting of Councilmembers Soheila Bana, Melvin
Willis, and Cesar Zepeda, to work with City staff to
AGENDA
REPORT
December 5, 2023
provide a recommendation to City Council on awarding
FY 2023-24 ECIA grant funds through the City Council-
Approved Awards category (Category 3) to non-profit
organizations that applied through the ECIA grant
application process.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a recommendation from the City Council
ECIA Grant Review Ad Hoc Committee to award $44,000
in Fiscal Year 2023-24 Environmental Community
Investment Agreement (ECIA) Grant funds (Category 3 -
City Council-Approved Award) to seven (7) Richmond-
serving non-profit organizations; ADOPT a resolution;
and AUTHORIZE the city manager to negotiate and
execute Grant Service Agreements with approved
grantees – City Manager’s Office (LaShonda White 510-
620-6828/Patrick Seals 510-307-8016).
DISCUSSION:
Background
The City Council has granted approval for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Environmental Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) Grant Program, which encompasses four (4) categories created to facilitate broader access to $325,000 in ECIA grant funds by organizations of diverse capacities. Below is a brief overview of the four categories. A comprehensive explanation of each category is available in the June 20, 2023, City Council staff report (Item X.8.b).
Categories 1 and 2: “Competitive Grant Awards” with a total allocation of $225,000
Category 3: “City Council-Approved Awards” with a total allocation of $50,000 Category 4: “Community Services Mini-Grant Awards” with a total allocation of $50,000 (Grants are available in amounts up to $5,000. Information is available on the Community Services Department webpage at
http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3508/Richmond-CSD-Mini-Grant-Program.)
In the beginning of 2023, City Council appointed ECIA Ad Hoc committee members (Committee) consisting of Councilmembers Soheila Bana, Melvin Willis, and Cesar Zepeda, to work with City staff to provide award recommendations to City Council, to non-profit organizations through the City Council-Approved Awards (Category 3).
City Council Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations
On August 10, 2023, City staff met with the Ad Hoc Committee to deliberate over the selection of eligible organizations for Category 3 funding. The Committee put forth recommendations regarding which organizations should receive funding, subject to City
December 5, 2023
Council's review and approval. The pool of eligible organizations was comprised of 32 entities that submitted completed applications for the ECIA grant but were not awarded funding in Categories 1 and 2 (see Attachment 1). Notably, a total of 42 eligible organizations submitted grant applications for Categories 1 and 2, with ten (10) of them receiving funding during the City Council meeting held on June 20, 2023.
The Committee was provided with access to individual applications for review. In preparation for the meeting, City staff provided the Committee with proposed project summaries that were included as part of each applicant’s original grant application. City staff shared information from each organization’s full application and shared additional information requested by Committee members.
Various factors were considered when making funding recommendations, including:
Annual budget amounts
Previous grant recipients
Number of Richmond residents served
Capacity to address current and pressing needs facing the Richmond community
ECIA Grant Review Committee’s rankings and evaluations
Based on the above considerations and discussion, the Committee made the following recommendations:
FY 2023-24 Category 3 Recommendations – City Council Approved Awards Organization Name Project Titles Requested
Amount
Ad Hoc
Committee
Recommendation
Collaborising Black Homeless Support $ 50,000 $ 10,000
Keyz to the Future Leadership
Development $ 47,350 $ 5,000
Meals on Wheels Keeping Connected $ 9,000 $ 9,000
Oshiana Unique
Thompkins Foundation
R.O.M. Coders and
Gamers $ 30,000 $ 5,000
Richmond Museum of
History and Culture
Experiencing Historic
Richmond $ 36,700 $ 5,000
Richmond
Neighborhood
Housing Services
The Financial
Empowerment Program $ 50,000 $ 5,000
West County Reads
WCR Classroom Library
Project and Book
Distribution for Local
Events
$ 35,535 $ 5,000
TOTAL $ 258,585 $44,000
December 5, 2023
Next Steps
Upon approval of the grant award recommendations by City Council, City staff will enter into grant agreements with grantees, with proposed end dates of June 30, 2024. City staff will manage the contract processes which will include, entering into contracts with grantees, contract administration, serving as a point of contact for all grantees, conducting site visits, and reviewing and approving progress reports and invoices.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – List of organizations that were reviewed and scored by the ECIA Grant Review Committee but not approved for funding
Attachment 2 – Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into Grant Service Agreements with the FY 2023-2024 ECIA Category 3 Grant Awardees