City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY
CP 049 Page 1 of 4 Adopted May 24, 2022
Resolution No. 18-8605
PURPOSE
POLICY
To establish a standardized process to award grants to qualifying non - profit community organizations, youth athletic groups or organizations, educational groups or organizations, or individuals, for events, activities, and competitions that provide a public benefit for the City of Santa Clara and its residents.
Annually, and subject to availability of funds, the City Council shall establish grant appropriation(s) as part of the approval of the budget .
Community grants, subject to availabi lity of funds, shall not exceed $10,000 per applicant, per fiscal year. To receive grant funds, g rant applications must be submitted at least ninety (90) days and no more than six (6) months before the planned event/activity being funded , regardless of the form of the grant. 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 set forth below, an d subject to funding availability as app roved by the Ci ty Council through the adoption of the annual budget. Additionally, if the event or activity being reque sted for funding has been previously supported by the City, the City Manager’s Office may evaluat e the event or activity’s past success, measured by the applicant’s ability to meet attendance and/or fundraising projections and the individual/organization’s ability to satisfy the requirements of this policy when consid ering approval or denial of a requ est. Grants for community events 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.
Allowable expenses shall be defined as: City permits, Fees and Services, Venue, Food and Bevera ge, Trash/Recycling, and Stage/Tent Rentals. Grant funds requested for Food and Beverage do not exceed 15% of the total grant amount or $1,500 .Grantees shall be requ ired to return any unspent grant funds to the City within 3 days after completion of the audit.
Grants for attendance at youth state, national, or international competitions or performances shall be limited to costs associated with registration, hotel, tr ansportation an d food for partici pants and coaches/chaperones only. Due to short notice of advancement to state, national, or international competitions, applicants shall submit an COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
application within one week of advancing to such competitions.
Submission of an applica tion in no way ob ligates 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, w ithout penalty. In all cases, the City reserves the right to reject any and all applications in the event the City Manager’s Office identifies a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA
In addition to a timely and complete appli cation, t he applicant must demonstrate that the event or ac tivity being funded (other than competition funding, described below) by the City’s grant will sa tisfy all of the following criteria:
a) Provides a benefit to Santa Clara residents
b) Contributes positively to the recognition and image of the City of Santa Clara
c) If the grant is for an event, then the event will 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 established Council goals
e) Grant funds will not be used for political or religious purposes 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
If the grant is for an event or activity, then the applicant must demonstrate that the event or activity being funded by the City’s grant will be held within the City of Santa Clara.
If 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 established Council goals
COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
d) Grant funds will not be used for political or religious purposes e) The grant funds requested will only be used for a specific state, national, or international title or performance
f) The grant funds requested do not exceed 20% of the allowable expenses (registration, hotel, transportation, and food) 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 six students to one coach/chaperone
PROCEDURE 1. City Council approves an a nnual budget item for City grants , to be administered by the City Manager’s Office
2. Applicants submit timely and complete grant applications to the City Manager’s Office for review
3. City Manager’s Office review s application for compliance with eligibility cr iteria and availability of funds . City Manager may seek additional information from applicant as necessary.
4. If an application is approved by the City Manager’s Office, then the approved application marked acc ordingly shall be transmitted to th e applicant with additional instructions, if any.
5. If an application is not approved by the C ity Manager’s Of fice, the City Manager shall notify the applicant in writing.
6. If the applicant has received a grant for an even t/activity other than performance or competition attendance, then applicant shall submit proof that the grant funds have been sp ent in the manner and for the purposes stated on the applica tion within thirty (30) days after the event/activity.
7. If the applic ant has received a grant for performance or competition attendance, then proof of all allowable expenses actually incurred, as well as allocatio n of grant funds, shall be submitted to the City Manager’s Office by the applicant within thirty (30) days after the competition.
8. Applicants that have received a grant, regardless of type of activity, shall maintain sufficient books and rec ords in accordan ce with generally accepted accounting principles. The City shall have the COMMUNITY GRANT POLICY (cont.)
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Resolution No. 18-8605
right to audit the books and records o f 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.
9. If an applicant makes a grant request directly to a member of the City Council, wh ether individually or as a group, the Council s hall refer the applicant to the City Manager’s Office fo r application and review in accordance with this policy.
10. Staff shall report any distributions in accordance with applicable tax law.
Attachment: City of Santa Clara Community Grant Application