Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee TO: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DATE: November 17, 2022
PLACEMAKING AND BRANDING/MARKETING
COMMITTEE MEMBERS WARDS: ALL
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2022/2023 CITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, January 1 – June 30, 2023 - Value of $144,901 ISSUE:
Receive, review and provide input on the criteria used by City Departments to evaluate City Sponsorship applications; receive, review, provide input on and recommend City Council approval of staff recommendations for the City Sponsorship Program support, in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $144,901 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations for the six-month period of January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee:
Receive, review and provide input on the criteria used by City Departments in evaluating City Sponsorship applications; Receive, review and provide input on staff recommendations for the City Sponsorship Program for the six-month period of January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023; and Recommend that City Council approve City Sponsorship support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $144,901 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations.
BACKGROUND:
The City Sponsorship Program (Program) agreement, guidelines, and processes are posted on the City’s website and included as Attachment 1. The 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 application deadline encompasses charitable and community events and meetings that would occur from January 1 – June 30. The January 31 application deadline encompasses charitable and community events and meetings that would occur from July 1 – December 31.
To solicit applications for the Program, the Arts & Cultural Affairs staff sends invitations to a comprehensive list of non-profit organizations for a Sponsorship 101 Webinar in June of each year. Email notifications are also sent prior to the July 31 application deadline as a reminder. Generally, the Mayor and City Council receive these notifications, in the event they wish to recruit applicants from their wards and constituencies.
The Program is administered by the Community & Economic Development Department (CEDD). Funds are included in the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division budget for the Program, as follows:
Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget
City Sponsorships
FY 2022/2023
Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget
Proposed Cash Sponsorships
Spring 2022/2023
$135,545
$65,150
DISCUSSION:
Sponsorship Applications – July 2022
The sponsorship applications were reviewed by various City Departments that evaluated 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 considered include, but are not limited to, projected attendance (virtual or live, as appropriate), event/organization history, event budget, and City Sponsorship history.
Thirty-six local, non-profit organizations applied for monetary and/or in-kind sponsorship during the current application process for events to be produced from January 1 – June 30, 2023. Thirty-five organizations are recommended as sponsorship recipients (Attachment 2).
The Program funding consists of both cash and in-kind sponsorships. Cash sponsorships come directly from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division of CEDD and Riverside Public Utilities (RPU), which is included in its budget. In-kind sponsorship awards come from other City Departments and include the Fire Department, Library, Police Department,; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD), and Riverside Public Utilities. A summary of the recommended sponsorship values for Spring 2022/2023 includes:
Spring, 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
SP 2022/2023
$65,150
$2,500
$67,650
$77,251
$144,901
Program Criteria
In Spring 2022, the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee (Committee) requested to review the criteria used by City Departments during the evaluation process. CEDD Staff worked with the participating Departments on developing the criteria.
Based on Committee input, staff will prepare a universal form for the next cycle that includes the following:
Projected Attendance
Previous Attendance (if applicable)
History of Service to Community (Y/N)
Connection to the City’s Strategic Plan
Eligible Monetary Request (50%, 35%, or 20%, based on previous requests, as outlined in the Sponsorship Guidelines) Projected Cost per Participant
Cultural Program (Y/N)
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (Ability/Culture/Ethnicity/Families/Seniors/Children & Youth) Council Ward
Availability of Requested Resource (Y/N)
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 promotes Strategic Priority 1 – Arts, Culture and Recreation, and 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.
The Program also supports Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being (Goals 2.3 – 2.5) are addressed through programs related to development of a sense of community, community engagement, neighborhoods, and partnerships.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-cutting Threads as follows:
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 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) 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 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 nonprofit 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 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 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 $144,901 for FY 2022/23. Monetary contributions total $67,650 and in-kind contributions total $77,251. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in the General Fund, Community Development, Arts & Cultural Affairs City Sponsorship account 2850000-450302 ($65,150) and in the Electric Fund, Public Utilities Customer Engagement, Community Outreach expenditure account 6020000-456022 ($2,500).
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
Attachments:
Program Agreement/Guidelines
Staff Funding Recommendations for Spring 2022/2023
Presentation for Summary of Funding Recommendations
City Sponsorship Program – SPRING, 2022/2023 Page 3