City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 28, 2022
FROM: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLACEMAKING WARDS: ALL & BRANDING/MARKETING COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: FISCAL YEAR 2022/2023 CITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, JULY 1, 2022 – DECEMBER 31, 2022, VALUE OF $139,396
ISSUE:
Approve Fiscal Year 2022/2023 City Sponsorship Program support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $139,396 for charitable and community events and projects, which are produced by local non-profit organizations during the first sponsorship funding cycle of Fiscal Year 2022/2023, for the six-month period of from July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Approve City Sponsorship support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $139,396 for charitable and community events and projects, which are produced by local non-profit organizations;
2. Approve edited verbiage in the City Sponsorship Program Agreement; and
3. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute any necessary financial or legal documents with the approved organizations, including making minor and non-substantive changes necessary to implement the sponsorship funding program.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee met on May 19, 2022, with Chair Fierro, Vice-Chair Hemenway, and Member Edwards present, to consider staff recommendations regarding City Sponsorships for events or projects scheduled from July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. After discussion, the Committee voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve City Sponsorship support in the form of monetary funding and/or in- kind contributions of $139,396 for charitable, community events and projects, which non-profits produce; approve edited verbiage in the City Sponsorship Program Agreement; and authorize the City Manager or his designee to execute any necessary financial or legal documents with the approved organizations, including making minor, non-substantive changes necessary in order to implement the sponsorship funding program.
City Sponsorship Program – Fall 2022/2023 Page 2
BACKGROUND:
The City Sponsorship Program (Program) provides local non-profit organizations with the opportunity to apply for City Funds and/or in-kind services twice each fiscal year. The July 31 deadline covers applications for charitable and community events and meetings for the following January 1 – June 30 funding cycle. The January 31 deadline covers applications for charitable and community events and meetings for July 1 – December 31.
Individual organizations were notified of the process via e-mail notifications in fall and early winter in preparation for the January 31, 2022, deadline, and staff led a Sponsorship 101 webinar in December 2021. The City Sponsorship Program Agreement, Guidelines, and processes are posted on the City’s website and included as Attachment 1. The Sponsorship Program Agreement was recently submitted to the City Attorney’s Office for review of language related to religious organizations’ sponsorship requests and the Legal staff suggested minor revisions (Attachment 1).
There are process/policy changes in several City departments that will have an impact on some of the recommended projects in this round of funding and/or future funding, resulting in increased need for in-kind support or monetary support.
The Program is administered by the Community & Economic Development Department; fund availability from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division Budget is as follows:
Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget for City
Sponsorships, Fiscal Year 2022/2023
Proposed Cash Sponsorships from Arts &
Cultural Affairs Budget for Fall 2022/2023
$135,545 $67,200
DISCUSSION:
The sponsorship applications were evaluated by various City departments based on each organization’s ability to create or enhance its events in the spirit of Seizing Our Destiny, as indicated in the Sponsorship Program Agreement. Other factors that were considered include projected attendance (virtual or live, as appropriate), event/project/organization history, event/project budget, and City Sponsorship history.
Forty-one local, non-profit organizations have applied for monetary and/or in-kind sponsorship during the current application process for events/projects to be produced from July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022, and thirty-nine organizations are recommended as sponsorship recipients (Attachment 3). Two organizations were not recommended for sponsorship, because: 1) An event was scheduled in the wrong funding period; and 2) A project did not include significant outreach. A component of the recommendations for sponsorship includes funding from Riverside Public Utilities (RPU), which is included in its budget, as well as in-kind sponsorship awards from the Fire Department; Library; Police Department; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD); and Riverside Public Utilities.
The Sponsorship Program Agreement was recently submitted to the City Attorney’s Office for review of the language related to religious organizations’ sponsorship requests, staff suggested a minor change to the language, which is reflected in item number 9 on page 2 (Attachment 1).
City Sponsorship Program – Fall 2022/2023 Page 3
A summary of the recommended sponsorship values for Fall 2022/2023 appears below:
Fall, 2022/2023 Recommended Funding
Cash
Sponsorships
(Arts & Cultural
Affairs)
Cash
Sponsorships
(RPU)
Total Cash
Sponsorships
Total Value of
In-Kind
Sponsorships
Total Value of
Sponsorship
FA 2022/2023
$67,200
$6,950
$74,150
$65,246
$139,396
All impacted Department Heads concur with this report: Chief, Fire Department (RFD); Director, Library; Chief, Police Department (RPD); Director, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD); and General Manager, Riverside Public Utilities (RPU).
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
The City Sponsorship Program supports Strategic Priority 1 – Arts, Culture, and Recreation by assisting with events and projects that cover all elements of Goals 1.1 and 1.2: learning, arts, culture, recreation, senior programs, and partnerships, as well as facilitation of requests for in-kind sponsorship related to various City amenities. Because of the diversity of requests, the Program also addresses Goal 1.5: programs and services related to literacy, health, and education for all ages. It also supports Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being (Goals
2.3 – 2.5) and are addressed through programs related to development of a sense of community, community engagement, neighborhoods, and partnerships.
This item aligns with each of the Cross-cutting Threads as follows:
1. Community Trust:
Each round of City Sponsorship funding is documented fully in the reports that are presented to the Economic Development, Placemaking & Marketing/Branding Committee and to the City Council, including each request item and each staff recommendation item
Sponsorship 101 workshops are offered to prospective applicants every six months to ensure that they are informed of the processes and requirements
2. Equity:
As staff members evaluate applications, they give particular attention to organizations that seek to serve populations representing the diversity of Riverside Access is a key factor in the evaluation process; each event or project must include significant outreach, with a preference for events and projects that are offered at no cost to the participants, and those applicants that cannot do that must eliminate significant barriers to entry, usually by offering free or reduced admission prices for specific populations (children, students, veterans, and seniors)
3. Fiscal Responsibility:
The City Sponsorship program is included in the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division operating budget, placing it directly within the sphere of accountability that City Sponsorship Program – Fall 2022/2023 Page 4
encompasses each staff member’s work, through the supervision of City Management, to the City Council
The events and projects do not, generally, provide revenue directly to the City budget; however, sales tax revenue is generated through budget expenditures related to the production of each event or project and through the commerce generated by an event or project participants
Additionally, these Sponsorship dollars are leveraged through the funded projects to provide community-enhancing activities throughout the calendar year, which multiply the value and impact of those dollars
On average, the non-profit organizations that spend the City’s Sponsorship dollars utilize about one City dollar per each person who receives services, based on the estimated number of individuals served through these Sponsorship-funded programs and across a broad spectrum of causes
4. Innovation:
Because the Program operates through two rounds of funding each year, there is broad opportunity for applicants to innovate in response to community needs, new trends, and fresh inspiration
The frequency of the application process encourages innovation, because it mitigates risk in a way that a project of longer duration cannot, and that frequency also allows for flexibility in response to emerging needs in the community The Program provides opportunities (primarily during the Sponsorship 101 Training) for nonprofits to interact, opening doors to innovation through collaborations and partnerships
5. Sustainability & Resiliency:
Funded projects promote the health of our nonprofit community, which makes this an investment in the capacity of the nonprofit community, as well as an investment in each life served by that community
The nonprofit organizations in our community represent such broad and diverse areas of interest that they serve as a barometer of need in the community
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action is $139,396, with $74,150 in monetary contributions ($67,200 from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division of the Community & Economic Development Department and $6,950 from Riverside Public Utilities), and in-kind services (including facilities) valued at $65,246. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in the Fiscal Year 2022/2023 General Fund, Community & Economic Development Department, Arts & Cultural Affairs Sponsorship account no. 2850000-450302 and Electric Fund, Community Support Outreach Special Programs account no. 6020000-456022.
Prepared by: Chris Christopoulos, Acting Community & Economic Development Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
City Sponsorship Program – Fall 2022/2023 Page 5
Concurs with:
___________________________
Ronaldo Fierro, Chair
Economic Development, Placemaking, Branding/Marketing Committee Attachments:
1. Program Agreement/Guidelines
2. Staff Funding Recommendations for Fall, 2022/2023