City Council Memorandum
TO
: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CI TY COUNCIL DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2022 FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVEL OPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: FISCAL YEAR 2022/2023 CITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, JANUARY 1 – JUNE 30, 2023, TOTAL SPONSORSHIP OF $144,901
ISSUE:
Review and approve the criteria used by City Departments in evaluat ing City Spons orship applications and approve the staff-r ecommended City Sponsorship Program in the form of monetary
funding and/or in-kind contributions of $147,141 for charitable and community events produced by local non-profit organizations for the six-month period of January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Review and approve the criteria used by City Departments in evaluating City Sponsorship applications;
2. Approve the City Sponsorship Program support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $14
7,141 for charitable and community events produced by local non-profit organizations
for the six-month period of January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023; and
3. 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 to implement the sponsorship funding program.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee (Committee) met on November 17, 2022, with Chair Fierro, Vice Chair Edwards, and Member Hemenway present, to consider
staff recommendations regarding City Sponsorships for events or projects scheduled from January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023. After discussion, the Committee voted unanimous
ly to recommend that the City Council approve the criteria used by City Departments in
evaluating City Sponsorship applications; approve City Sponsorship Program support in the form of monetary fundin
g and/or in-kind contributions of $147,141 for charitable, community events and projects produced by local non-profit organizations; and authorize the City Manager or his designee to ex
ecute any necessary financial or legal docum ents with the approved
REVISED
Date: 12-13-22
Item No.: 24
City Sponsorship Program – Spring 2022/2023 Page 2
organizations, including making minor, non-subs tantive changes necessary to implement the sponsorship funding program.
BACKGROUND:
The City Sponsorship Program (Program) Agreement, Guidelines, and processes are posted on the City’s website and are inclu ded as Attachment 1. The Program provides local non-profit organizations with the opportunity to apply for Cit y Funds and/or in-kind services twice each fiscal year.
As a part of the Program sche dule, the July 31 application poo l deadline includes charitable events, community events and other meetings that would occur from January 1 – June 30 of the annual funding cycle. The January 31 application pool deadline includes charitable events, community events and other meetings that would occur from July 1 – December 31 of the annual funding cycle.
To solicit applications for the Pr ogram, the Arts & Cultural Affa irs team 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 appl ication deadline as a reminder.
Generally, the Mayor and City Council receive these notifications as well, 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
Fiscal Year 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 evaluated by various City Departments that considered each organization’s ability to create or enhance its event s in the spirit of the Seizing Our Destiny initiative, as indicated in the Sponsorship Program Agreement. Other factors include, but are not limited to, projected attendance (virtual or live, as appropriate), event/organization history, event budget and City Sponsorship history.
Thirty-six (36) local, non-prof it organizations applied for monet ary and/or in-kind sponsorship during the current application pool for events to be conducted from January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023. Thirty-five (35) organizati ons are recommended as sponsorsh ip recipients (Attachment 2).
Organizations were evaluated on the guidelines and were also recommended for funding if they met 2025 Strategic Plan Goal 1.1, 1.2, 1.5.4; had element s or focuses of di versity, equity and inclusion; and/or the location of the event (underserved). Most of these projects or events qualify under multiple evaluation criteria. In the table below is the breakdown of applicant organizations, categorized by the predominant reason for t heir inclusion as recommended Sponsorship recipients.
City Sponsorship Program – Spring 2022/2023 Page 3
2025 Strategic Plan
Goal 1.1 & 1.2
2025 Strategic Plan
Goal 1.5.4
Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion
Location
11 7 11 6
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 are included in their budgets. In-kind s ponsorship awards come from other City Departments and include the Fire Department; Libr ary; Police Departmen t; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD); and Riv erside 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 $79,941 $147,141
Program Criteria
In Spring 2022, the Economic Development, Pl acemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee (Committee) requested to review the criteria used by City Department s during the evaluation process. CEDD Staff worked with the participating Departments to formalize the criteria used for the Program.
Based on Committee input, staff will prepare a universal form for the next cycle that includes the following trackable data for future considerations:
1. Projected Attendance
2. Previous Attendance (if applicable)
3. History of Service to Community (Y/N)
4. Connection to the City’s Strategic Plan
5. Eligible Monetary Request (50%, 35%, or 20%, based on previous requests, as outlined in the Sponsorship Guidelines)
6. Projected Cost per Participant
7. Cultural Program (Y/N)
8. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (Ability/Cultur e/Ethnicity/Families/Seniors/Children & Youth)
9. Council Ward
10. Availability of R equested Resource (Y/N)
On March 12, 2019, the City C ouncil approved a policy that autho rizes the City Manager to review and approve department requests for table sponsorships. The policy was implemented City Sponsorship Program – Spring 2022/2023 Page 4
immediately with a process and tra cking. Included in this report is the reporting cycle for table sponsorships from January 1 – J une 30, 2022 (Attachment 3). O ne event received a total of $600.00 in table sponsorships for the reporting cycle.
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 (Goals 1.1 and 1.2):
learning, arts, culture, recreati on, senior programs, and partnership s, 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.
Additionally, the Program supports Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being and Goals
2.3 – 2.5 are addressed through program s 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:
1. Community Trust:
Each round of City Sponsor ship funding is documented fully in the reports that are presented to the Economic Development, Placemaki ng & Marketing/Branding Committee and to the City Council, includi ng 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 pr ocess; each event or project must include significant outreach, with a pr eference for events and projects that are offered at no cost to the participants, and those applican ts that cannot do that must eliminate significant barriers to entry, usually by o ffering 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 withi n 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, pr ovide revenue directly to the City budget; however, sales tax revenue is generated thr ough 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
City Sponsorship Program – Spring 2022/2023 Page 5
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
4. Innovation:
Because the Program operates through two rounds of funding each year, there is broad opportunity for applicants to innovat e 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 dur ation cannot, and that frequency also allows for flexibility in response to emerging needs in the community The Program provides opportunities (prima rily during the Sponsorship 101 Training) for non-profits 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 non-profit organizations in our co mmunity 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 City Sponsorship recommendations represent a total of $147,141, with $67,650 in monetary contributions ($65,150 from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division of the Community & Economic Dev elopment Department and $2,500 from Riv erside Public Utilities), and in-kind services (including fac ilities) valued at $79,941. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in General Fund, CD-Arts & Cultural Affairs, S ponsorships account 2850000-450302 and the Electric Fund, Pub Utility Customer E ngagement, Community Outreach account 6020000-456022.
Prepared by: Chris Christopoulos, Acting Community & Economic Development Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Inte rim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedr a A. Norton, City Attorney Concurs with:
_________________________________
Ronaldo Fierro, Chair
Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee Attachments:
1. Program Agr eement/Guidelines
2. Staff Funding Recommendations for Spring, 2022/2023
3. Table Sponsorship Summary