Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee TO: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DATE: November 2, 2023
PLACEMAKING AND BRANDING/MARKETING
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: fISCAL YEAR 2023/2024 CITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, January 1 – JUNE 30, 2024, Value of $199,616, AND BIANNUAL TABLE SPONSORSHIP UPDATE ISSUE:
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 $199,616 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations for the six-month period of January 1 – June 30, 2024, and receive and file City Department Table Sponsorship summary for January 1 – June 30, 2023.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee:
Receive, review, and provide input on staff recommendations for the City Sponsorship Program for the six-month period of January 1 – June 30, 2024; and Recommend that City Council approve City Sponsorship support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $199,616 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations; and Receive and file Table Sponsorship report for January 1 – June 30, 2023.
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 – December.
Individual organizations were notified of the process via e-mail notifications in June and July, prior to the July 31, 2023, deadline, and staff led a Sponsorship 101 webinar in June 2023. The City Sponsorship Program Agreement, Guidelines, and processes are posted on the City’s website and included as Attachment 1.
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 Sponsorship, Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Proposed Cash Sponsorship from Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget for Spring 2023/2024 Proposed Cash Sponsorship from Mid-Year Budget Cycle Adjustments Fall 2023 Total Proposed Cash Sponsorship for Spring 2023/2024
$135,545
$63,150
$30,400
$93,550
DISCUSSION:
City Sponsorship
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 the City of Riverside Strategic Plan, as outlined below. Other factors that were considered include projected attendance, event/organization history, event budget, City Sponsorship history, and location of project in an underrepresented ward (see rubric on page 3).
Thirty-nine (39) local, non-profit organizations have applied for monetary and/or in-kind sponsorship during the current application process for events to be produced from January 1 – June 30, 2024, and thirty-eight (38) organizations are recommended as sponsorship recipients (Attachment 2); one application was declined because it was outside the appropriate project period. A component of the recommendations for sponsorship includes in-kind sponsorship awards from the Fire Department; Library; Police Department; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD); and Riverside Public Utilities. This round of funding also includes additional funding recommended during the mid-year budget cycle review, as noted in the table above.
New applicants for this funding cycle are: Black Voice Foundation (Blackfest) and Riverside Unified School District Foundation (Showcase). These groups are known to the community, but these are their first applications to the City Sponsorship program. In response to the Committee’s request during the last round of City Sponsorship review, brief summaries of all applicants’ mission statements are included with this report (Attachment 3).
The events and projects recommended for funding play an integral role in the quality of life of our City. Total projected attendance for these efforts exceeds 500,000, representing and serving every age group and a broad cross-section of the City’s people (and even their pets). Included in these projects are: an opportunity for youth to share a meal and play basketball with Riverside Police Department officers; a celebration of Riverside’s citrus legacy; multiple festivals that overflow the parks with art, sound, and diversity; parades honoring history and civil rights; and a motorcycle ride for the National Cemetery that traverses Riverside’s neighborhoods in a deafening roar as thousands of residents and visitors line the streets, to cheer and honor service members.
A summary of the recommended sponsorship values for Spring 2023/2024 appears below:
Spring 2023/2024 Recommended Funding
Cash Sponsorships (Arts & Cultural Affairs)
Cash Sponsorships (Mid-year Budget Cycle Adjustments)
Total Cash Sponsorships
Total Value of In-Kind Sponsorships
Total Value of Sponsorship
FA 2023/2024
$63,150
$30,400
$93,550
$106,066
$199,616
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).
All participating Departments use the following rubric during the review of eligible applications: Projected Attendance Previous Attendance (if applicable)
History of Service to Community (Y/N)
Connection to Specific Sections of the Strategic Plan
Eligible Monetary Request (50%, 35%, or 20%, based on 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)
Table Sponsorship
Included in this report is the reporting cycle for table sponsorship from January 1 – June 30, 2023 (Attachment 4). Five events received total table sponsorship of $4,950.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
The City Sponsorship Program supports the Arts, Culture, and Recreation goals of Envision Riverside 2025 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. 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 the following Cross-cutting Threads:
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 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 the City Sponsorship recommendations represents a total investment of $199,616. This includes $93,550 in monetary contributions and in-kind services (including facilities) valued at $106,066. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in the General Fund, CD-Arts & Cultural Affairs, City Sponsorship account number 2850000-450302 in the amount of $63,150; and General Fund, Arts & Cultural Affairs, Citywide Events account number 2850000-450109 in the amount of $30,400. Table Sponsorship expenditures of $4,950 have no fiscal impact in this funding period.
Prepared by: Jennifer A. Lilley, AICP, Community & Economic Development Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer 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, 2023/2024
Summaries of Applicant Mission Statements
Table Sponsorship, January – June 2023
Presentation for Summary of Funding Recommendations
City Sponsorship Program – SPRING 2023/2024 Page 5