January 6, 2026
Library and Community Services
DATE: January 6, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Patrick Seals, Administrative Chief
Jora Atienza Washington, Senior Management Analyst
Nicholas Delgado, Associate Management Analyst
Subject:
Environmental & Community Investment Agreement
(ECIA) Grant Category 3 Grant Awards Fiscal Year 2025-
2026
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Grant award allocations are included within the approved Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. The value of these
awards totals $50,000 (Account String: 11771018 –
4000217 – 2A111).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
December 17, 2024
July 1, 2025
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
On July 29, 2014, the City and Chevron Products Company entered into the initial Chevron Modernization Project
Environmental and Community Investment Agreement
(ECIA). Under the ECIA, a competitive grant program was established to fund community programs focused on
community, youth, and youth sports. City staff is bringing forth a subsequent funding recommendation from the
ECIA Grant Ad Hoc Committee for the Fiscal Year 2025-
2026 Category 3 approval by the City Council.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution approving the recommendations
from the Environmental & Community Investment
Agreement (ECIA) Ad Hoc Committee to award Fiscal
Year 2025–2026 Category 3 grants to five (5)
organizations in a total amount not to exceed $50,000;
and AUTHORIZE the City Manager or their designee to
negotiate and execute Grant Service Agreements – City
Manager’s Office (Patrick Seals/Jora Atienza
Washington/Nicholas Delgado 510-620-6512).
AGENDA
REPORT
January 6, 2026
DISCUSSION:
Background
The Environmental Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) provides approximately $90 million in revenue to the City of Richmond over a 10-year period, of which $6 million is allocated to support a competitive grant program. Beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016–17, grant funding is made available annually over the 10-year term to support programs serving the community, youth, and youth sports, with individual awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations that provide services to Richmond residents and hold 501(c)(3) tax- exempt status or utilize a qualified fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status.
The FY 2025-2026 grant cycle is allocated in the following ways:
Grant Award
Options
Eligibility Award Decision
Made By
Award Range Total Award
Amount
1 Competitive
Grant Awards
Non-profit organizations
reporting gross receipts
of equal to or less than
$50,000 annually (990N)
City Council
(Recommendations
made by ECIA
Review Committee)
$5,000 - $50,000
$500,000
2 Competitive
Grant Awards
Non-profit organizations
reporting gross receipts
of more than $50,000
annually (990/Audited
Financials)
City Council
(Recommendations
made by ECIA
Review Committee)
3 City Council
Approved
Awards
Organizations that
applied for the ECIA
Grant (categories 1 and
2) but where not
recommended for funding
City Council
Amounts based
on Council
discretion
$ 50,000
4 Community
Services Mini-
Grant Awards
Non-profit organizations
with 501(c)(3) tax status
with programming
connected to the
Community Services
Department
Community
Services
Department Up to $5,000 $ 150,000
TOTAL $700,000
On December 17, 2024, the City Council approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-2026 Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) competitive grant program annual allocation of $700,000 and authorized the release of the Request for Application and Guidelines (Attachments 1 and 2).
January 6, 2026
Outreach and Technical Support
Information about the FY 2025-2026 ECIA grant cycle was posted to the City’s website, presented in the City Manager’s Weekly Report, and emailed through various listservs to inform as many organizations as possible of the ECIA grant.
Also, City staff members hosted two (2) workshops that focused on completing the ECIA grant application. All grant-related materials and video-recorded training sessions were posted on the City’s ECIA grant webpage.
Evaluation Process
The ECIA grant application (Category 1 and 2) for Fiscal Year 2025-26 was released on January 2, 2025, and applications were due on February 9, 2025. A total of 75 grant applications were received of which 73 eligible applications were submitted to the ECIA Grant Review Committee (Committee) for evaluation and scoring in April 2025.
Total Points Available: 110 Points
o Program/Project Description and Concept (Total 40 points) o Impact and Goals (Total 40 points)
o Financial Viability (Total 20 points)
o Richmond-based (10 extra points)
Committee members submitted their scores and evaluations to City staff members in May 2025. City staff members totaled and averaged the scores for each application and generated rankings (a ranking of 1 denoting the highest average score overall, a ranking of 2 denoting the second highest average score overall, etc.).
On July 1, 2025, City Council approved 28 grant awards for Categories 1, 2, and 4.
Organizations that submitted eligible applications but were not funded under Categories 1 or 2, were deemed eligible for consideration under ECIA Category 3 (Council-Approved). Based on these eligibility criteria, City staff prepared and provided the ECIA Ad Hoc Committee with a list of qualifying organizations for review. The ECIA Ad Hoc Committee, which included Vice-mayor Zepeda and Councilmember Bana, met with City staff on November 24, 2025, and is recommending that five (5) organizations each receive a $10,000 grant, for a total allocation of $50,000.
FY 2025-2026 ECIA Grant Award Recommendations
The Ad Hoc Committee is recommending that the following five (5) organizations receive a total of $50,000 in funding for the FY 2025-2026 grant cycle for Category 3
January 6, 2026
Category 3 – Council Selections
Organization
Recommended
Award Amount
Greater Richmond Interfaith Program $10,000
Richmond Community Tennis Association $10,000
Fierce Advocates $10,000
House of Loving Hands $10,000
Inspiring Communities $10,000
TOTAL $50,000
Next Steps
After approval of the grant award recommendations by City Council, City staff members will enter into grant agreements with awardees. City staff members will manage the contract processes which include, but are not limited to, entering into contracts with grantees, contract administration, serving as a point of contact for all grantees, conducting site visits, reviewing progress reports, and reviewing and approving invoices.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – FY 2025-2026 ECIA Grant Application
Attachment 2 – FY 2025-2026 ECIA Grant Guidelines
Attachment 3 – Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to enter into Grant Service Agreements with the FY 2025-2026 ECIA Grant Awardees