City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY
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Resolution No. 18-8605
PURPOSE
POLICY
To establish a standardized process to award grants to:
• Qualifying 501(c)(3) non-profit community organizations; • Youth athletic groups or organizations;
• Educational groups or organizations; and
• Individuals,
that have financial need for the use of supporting high impact events, activities, programs, community projects (collectively referred to in the Policy as Community Events/Activities), and youth competitions and performances in which the main purpose is to directly benefit the City of Santa Clara and its residents, students, and schools.
Annually, and subject to availability of funds, the City Council shall establish grant appropriation(s) as part of the budget approval process.
Community grants, subject to availability of funds, shall not exceed $10,000 per applicant, per fiscal year. All grant requests, including those made directly to a member of the City Council, shall be referred to the City Manager’s Office for review. Applications will be evaluated by the City Manager’s Office on a case- by-case and “first come-first served” basis, throughout the fiscal year.
The City Manager’s Office shall approve or deny an applicant’s request based upon the eligibility criteria, adherence to procedures set forth below, and subject to funding availability as approved by the City Council through the adoption of the annual budget.
Additionally, if the event or activity
being requested for funding has been previously supported by the City, the City Manager’s Office may evaluate the event or activity’s past success, measured by the applicant’s ability to meet attendance and/or grant goals, fundraising projections and the applicant’s ability to satisfy the requirements of this policy , when considering approval or denial of a request.
An applicant that receives grant funds may be required to return awarded grant funds, in part or in full, and considered ineligible to submit a new grant request after the conclusion of their event/activity/competition should any of the following occur:
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
• Misuse of grant funds;
• Failure to provide documentation demonstrat ing that grant funds were spent in the manner that they were approved by the City; • Failure to follow the terms outlined under this Policy and in the approved grant application; and
• Major changes to the event, activity, or competition without prior City approval.
Submission of an application in no way obligates the City to award a grant and the City reserves the right to reject any or all applications, wholly or in part, at any time, without penalty. In all cases, the City reserves the right to reject any and all a pplications in the event the City Manager’s Office identifies a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Staff shall report any distributions in accordance with applicable tax law.
Applicants that have received a grant, r egardless of type of activity, shall maintain sufficient books and records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The City shall have the right to audit the books and records of the applicant for up to four (4) years from the date of disbursement of grant funds for the purpose of verifying any and all reimbursement requests made by the applicant.
ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA FOR
COMMUNITY
EVENT/ACTIVITY
In addition to a timely and complete application, t he applicant must demonstrate that the Community E vent/Activity being funded by the City’s grant will satisfy all of the following criteria:
a) Must be held within the City of Santa Clara
b) Provides a community benefit to the residents of Santa Clara c) Must be open to the general public, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic under state or federal law d) Aligns with the following grant focus areas:
• Santa Clara Identity/Culture/Representation/Equity
• Santa Clara Youth
• Community Service
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
e) Consistent w ith a pplicable f ederal an d state laws r egarding limitation on use of public funds. Public funds shall not be used for the following:
• Religious P urposes. Grant funds s hall not be used to conduct religious services or ceremonies. A grantee shall not spend any portion of the grant to inhibit or promote religion, nor t o convey a r eligious
message.
• Political P urposes. G rant funds shall not be used for political purposes, s uch as political advocacy
efforts whether for or against a political
candidate, ballot measure, or bill.
f) If the event or activity is a fundraising event, that the proceeds from the fundraising activity will support programs, services or events for residents of the City of Santa Clara
Gr
ant funds may only be used for the following eligible expenses for the Community Event/Activity:
• City permits, fees and services
• Venue rental fees and related insurance
• Food and non-alcoholic beverage (Food and beverage costs should not exceed 15% of the total grant request amount) • Trash and recycling
• Stage, tent, and equipment rentals
• Marketing, promotion, and advertising (excluding consultant services and marketing materials production)
• Incidental, one-time related expenses specifically for the Community Event/Activity
Grant funds shall not be used for costs related to the following:
• Gifts and giveaway items (e.g., gift cards, raffle baskets, and prizes)
• Programmatic expenses such as applicant’s staff time, overhead costs, consultant services, and payment of hired staff COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
Additionally, grants for Community Events/Activities shall not be provided for waiver of or reimbursement for already discounted permit fees nor shall they be provided to organizations that receive separate annual funding from the City.
PROCEDURE
FOR
COMMUNITY
EVENT/ACTIVITY
1. Applicant submits timely and complete grant application to the City Manager’s Office for review at least ninety (90) days and no more than six (6) months before the planned Community E vent/Activity.
The application must include an itemized budget of eligible expenses that detail how the requested grant funds will be spent, if awarded.
2. City Manager’s Office review s application for compliance with eligibility criteria and availability of funds . City Manager ’s Office may seek additional information from the applicant as necessary.
3. If an application is approved, the approved application , marked accordingly, shall be transmitted to th e applicant with additional instructions, if any.
4. If an application is not approved by the City Manager’s Office, the applicant will be notified in writing.
5. If the applicant received grant funding, the applicant shall submit within in 30 days after the Community Event/Activity documentation of:
• Proof of all allowable expenses incurred (e.g., receipts and invoices) and demonstrate that the grant funds have been spent in the manner and for the purposes stated on the approved application
• Attendance numbers
• Community impact
• Fundraising actuals, if applicable
6. The a pplicant is responsible for identifying and returning any unspent grant funds to the City within two (2) weeks after the Community Event/Activity. It is the responsibility of the applicant to return any unspent grant funds within the requi red time frame . A grant recipient may be deemed ineligible to apply for future grant opportunities through the Community Grant Program for late return or failure to return the unspent grant funds.
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
7. City Manager’s Office will review the submitted documentation outlined above for compliance and notify the applicant to confirm if any funds must be returned to the City. It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit the required documentation within the required timeframe. A grant recipient may be deemed ineligible to apply for future grant opportunities through the Community Grant Program for late submission of documentation, incomplete/insufficient documentation, or failure to submit documentation.
EL
IGIBILITY
CRITERIA FOR
YOUTH
COMPETITIONS/
PERFORMANCES
I
f the activity being funded is individual or group attendance at a youth competition or performance, then the applicant must demonstrate that the activity being funded by the City’s grant will satisfy all of the following criteria:
a) Funding the activity provides a benefit to Santa Clara residents, students or schools
b) Contributes positively to the recognition and image of the City of Santa Clara
c) Aligns with the following grant focus areas:
• Santa Clara Identity/Culture/Representation/Equity
• Santa Clara Youth
• Community Service
d) Consistent with applicable federal and state laws regarding limitation on use of public funds. Public funds shall not be used for the following:
• Religious Purposes. Grant funds shall not be us ed to conduct religious services or ceremonies. A grantee shall not spend any portion of the gr ant to inhibit or prom ote religion, nor to convey a religious
message.
• Political Purposes. Grant funds shall not be used for political purposes, such as political advocacy
efforts whether for or against a political
candidate, ballot measure, or bill.
e) Grant funds requested will only be used for specific state, national, or international titles, competitions, or performances COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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f) Grant funds requested do not exceed 20% of the allowable expenses (registration, hotel, transportation, and food for participants and coaches/chaperones only) and comport with the other requirements stated in the application
g) Individuals, teams, or groups should either be from Santa Clara schools or have at least 50% of the students from the teams or groups be residents in the City of Santa Clara
h) The student -to-coach/chaperone ratio is at minimum six students to one coach/chaperone
PROCEDURE
FOR YOUTH
COMPETITIONS/
PERFORMANCES
1. Applicant submits timely and complete grant application to the City Manager’s Office for review. Due to short notice of advancement to state, national, or international competitions/performances, applicant shall submit an application within one week of advancement.
2. City Manager’s Office reviews application for compliance with eligibility criteria and availability of funds. City Manager’s Office may seek additional information from the applicant as necessary.
3. If an application is approved, the approved application marked accordingly shall be transmitted to th e applicant with additional instructions, if any.
4. If an application is not approved, the applicant will be notified in writing.
8. If the applicant has received a grant for championship competition/performance attendance,
the applicant shall submit
documentation within in 30 days after the competition/performance documentation of all allowable expenses incurred (e.g., receipts and invoices) and demonstrate that the grant funds have been spent in the manner and for the purposes stated on the approved application.
9. The applicant is responsible for identifying and returning any unspent grant funds to the City within two (2) weeks after the Community Event/Activity. It is the responsibility of the applicant to return any unspent grant funds within the required time frame. A grant recipient may be deemed ineligible to apply for future grant opportunities through the Community Grant Program for late return or failure to return the unspent grant funds.
10. City Manager’s Office will review the submitted documentation outlined above for compliance and notify the applicant to confirm if any funds must be returned to the City. It is the responsibility of the COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
applicant to submit the required documentation within the required timeframe. A grant recipient may be deemed ineligible to apply for future grant opportunities through the Community Grant Program for late submission of documentation, incomplete/insufficient documentation, or failure to submit documentation.
Attachment: City of Santa Clara Community Grant Application