Economic Development Committee
TO: HONORABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DATE: may 23, 2024
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: fISCAL YEAR 2024/2025 CITY SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, July 1 – December 31, 2024, Value of $ 143,324; MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MONUMENT SPONSORSHIP OF $25,000 FOR RENOVATIONS; AND BIANNUAL TABLE SPONSORSHIP UPDATE ISSUE:
Receive, review, and/or approval of staff recommendations for the City Sponsorship Program support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $143,324 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations for the six-month period of July 1 – December 31, 2024; approval of $25,000 sponsorship for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument renovation and improvements; and receive and file City Department Table Sponsorship summary for July 1 – December 31, 2023.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Economic Development Committee:
Receive, review, and provide input on staff recommendations for the City Sponsorship Program for the six-month period of July 1 – December 31, 2024; and Recommend that the City Council approve City Sponsorship support in the form of monetary funding and/or in-kind contributions of $143,324 for charitable and community events, which are produced by local non-profit organizations; and Approve a $25,000 sponsorship to the Riverside African American Historical Society, for renovations to the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument and surrounding area.
Receive and file Table Sponsorship report for July 1 – December 31, 2023.
Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to make non-substantive changes to the recommendations.
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 December and January, prior to the January 31, 2024, deadline, and staff led a Sponsorship 101 webinar in December 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 and the application review process begins with the CEDD Arts & Cultural Affairs Division. Staff reviews applications for eligibility, then forwards the requests to the appropriate City Departments and compiles the subsequent recommendations. Typically, following Council Committee approval, a report goes to the full City Council for final approval. Due to the need of 10 organizations that have events/programs that are being held in July, 2024 and the continued renovation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument, this timing necessitated an adjustment to the normal process. The Economic Development Committee meeting was not held in May and thus, this report is being submitted directly to the full City Council, so that funding would not be delayed for these organizations.
Fund availability from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division Budget is as follows:
Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget for City Sponsorship, Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Proposed Cash Sponsorship from Arts & Cultural Affairs Budget for Fall 2024/2025 Proposed Cash Sponsorship from Riverside Public Utilities Budget for Fall 2024/2025 Total Proposed Cash Sponsorship for Spring 2023/2024
$152,082
$72,950
$6,950
$79,900
Civil Rights Walk Monuments
Historically, the City Council has consistently supported and valued the addition of the monuments/statues along Main Street, respected the importance and supported the organizations who have created, fundraised, and maintain the monuments/statues. Examples of such past City support include, on February 22, 2005, the City Council approved an amount, not to exceed $50,000, for the Eliza Tibbetts Statue. On June 14, 2013, the City Council authorized $7,000 and Riverside Public Utilities approved $2,500 to the Riverside Latino Network for the Cesar E. Chavez Monument. This $25,000 sponsorship request for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument renovation is in line with this past practice.
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).
Forty (40) local, non-profit organizations have applied for monetary and/or in-kind sponsorship during the current application process for events to be produced from July 1 – December 31, 2024, and forty (40) organizations are recommended as sponsorship recipients (Attachment 2). A component of the recommendations for sponsorship includes in-kind sponsorship awards from the Fire Department; Police Department; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCSD); and Riverside Public Utilities.
New applicants for this funding cycle are: Central Community Christian Fellowship (Thanksgiving dinner) and SCGA Golf Foundation (golf programming for girls). These groups are known to the community, but these are their first applications to the City Sponsorship program. 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 is about 264,000, representing and serving every age group and a broad cross-section of the City’s people and pets. Included in these projects are: programs promoting social justice; opportunities for youth to create, perform, and become immersed in science and technology; celebrations of holidays, culture, and identity; and a parade honoring our country’s military veterans.
A summary of the recommended sponsorship values for Fall 2024/2025 appears below:
Fall 2024/2025 Recommended Funding
Cash Sponsorships (Arts & Cultural Affairs)
Cash Sponsorships (RPU)
Total Cash Sponsorships
Total Value of In-Kind Sponsorships
Total Value of Sponsorship
FA 2023/2024
$ 72,950
$6,950
$79,900
$63,424
$143,324
All impacted Department Heads concur with this report: Chief, Fire Department (RFD); 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)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument Renovation
The Riverside African American Historical Society is in the final phases of renovation, preservation, and enhancement of the original statue. The enhancements include updated seating, installation of podiums, new landscaping, and updated electrical and wiring. The $25,000 sponsorship to the Riverside African American Historical Society would help to complete the final phase of work to the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument and surrounding area.
Table Sponsorship
Included in this report is the reporting cycle for table sponsorship from July 1 – December 31, 2023 (Attachment 4). One event received total table sponsorship of $500.
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 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 $143,324, with $79,900 in monetary contributions ($72,950 from the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division of the Community & Economic Development Department and $6,950 recommended from Riverside Public Utilities), and in-kind services (including facilities) valued at $63,424. Sufficient funds to cover the monetary contributions are budgeted in the upcoming FY 2024-2026 budget in the General Fund, CEDD - Arts & Cultural Affairs, Sponsorships account number 2850000-450302 and in the Electric Fund, PU-Customer Engagement, Community Support account number 6020000-456022, and account number 7211200-450247 for $25,000 sponsorship of Martin Luther King Jr. Monument renovation. Table Sponsorship expenditures have no fiscal impact in this funding period.
Prepared by: Cynthia Wright, Arts & Cultural Affairs Project Coordinator Approved by: Jennifer A. Lilley, 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 Fall, 2024/2025
Summaries of Applicant Mission Statements
Table Sponsorship, July - December 2023
Presentation for Summary of Funding Recommendations
City Sponsorship Program – Fall 2024-2025 Page 5