Neighborhood Organization Grant Program
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• City has a long history of supporting neighborhood organizations, which is currently being coordinated through our Neighborhood Organization Grant Program • Groups that apply for and qualify are recognized as an official City Neighborhood Organization
• Groups are provided with funding on an annual basis to promote civic engagement, community building, and communication
• Neighborhood Organizations also help to organize forums for resident dialogue related to a variety of civic issues
2 Background
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• Qualifying groups are allocated up to
$7,000 / year in grant funds • Funding can be used for a variety of civic activities • However, funds cannot be used directly for political activity • To qualify, a Neighborhood
Organization must: • Represent a commonly recognized
neighborhood within Santa Monica • Possess tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization • Have public bylaws and open meetings • Hold at least one general membership meeting annually • Meet membership thresholds (50 active members or 10% percent of eligible
households) 3
Current Program Details
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• On July 8, staff was directed to review the City’s existing Neighborhood Organization Grants Program
• Concerns were raised about political endorsements made by at least two neighborhood organizations during recent elections
• While political endorsements are permissible activities for some nonprofit entities, policy questions were raised regarding the properness of directly allocating City resources to groups engaged in explicit political activity
• During the past few months, staff has engaged an assessment of the current Neighborhood Organization Grant Program for possible modifications, focused on achieving the following objectives
• Ensure residents have equitable access to information • Provide fair and transparent use of taxpayer funds
• Support inclusive community engagement efforts while complying with legal standards • Clarify the boundaries between civic participation and political activity 4 Program Assessment Conducted
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• Based on the analysis engaged by staff, we have identified a series of options that can be considered to address the issues raised
• Option 1 – Provide Participating Groups w/ Enhanced Communications Support • Option 2 – Modernize Neighborhood Organization Program • Option 3 – Consider In-Kind Support & Civic Engagement Enhancements 5 Options Identified
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• One grant program modification that has been identified involves the provision of enhanced communications support, which could include: • The reinstatement of Seascape magazine as a City-managed publication, with dedicated space for Neighborhood Organization content • This is estimated to cost ~$200,000 / year • Alternatively, or in combination, consider providing each recognized Neighborhood Organization with one annual City-funded postcard mailer • This is estimated to cost ~$50,000 / year • For those Neighborhood Organization who operate in compliance with grant program terms, include those entities as City-recognized groups that are included on relevant City outreach / communication platforms
6 Option 1: Enhanced Comms Support
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• Several measures to modernize the Neighborhood Organization Grant Program have been identified, including: • Maintain modest grant funding for each recognized group, but consider whether to distribute that funding equitably scaled by households, or as a standardized flat amount per entity • Require formal participation agreements with all official Neighborhood Organizations • Continue to limit grant fund uses to neutral civic activities (e.g., mailings, clean-up events, community activities) • Through the participation agreements, consider establishing clear civic engagement guardrails for any group that chooses to apply to become a formal City-recognized Neighborhood Organization • Consider explicit prohibitions on political endorsements and / or political activity • For any group that engages in prohibited activity, enforce a five-year ineligibility period that would prohibit the group from participating in the Neighborhood Organization Grant Program 7 Option 2: Institute Program Modernizations
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
8 Exhibit – Grant Funding Formula Options
$1.00 /
Household
$.75 /
Household
$.50 /
Household
Flat Grant
(Amount TBD)
# of
Households Neighborhood Org.
Friends of Sunset Park 7,193 $5,000 $3,597 $5,395 $7,193 North of Montana Assn 5,084 $5,000 $2.542 $3,813 $5,084 Ocean Park Assn 8,033 $5,000 $4,017 $6,025 $8,033
Pico Neighborhood Assn 7,476 $5,000 $3,738 $5,607 $7,476 Mid-City Neighbors 7,972 $5,000 $3,986 $5,979 $7,972
Northeast Neighbors 1,622 $5,000 $811 $1,217 $1,622
Wilshire Montana 12,560 $5,000 $6,280 $9,420 $12,560
Total 49,940 $35,000 $24,971 $31,431 $49,940
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• Additional grant program adjustments considered relate to the following in-kind support and civic engagement enhancement options: • Replace and / or supplement direct funding with in-kind support, including fee waivers for community events
• As part of this option, consider having the City serve as a co-sponsor of certain eligible neighborhood events • To address local political engagement considerations, City-hosted election forums could be reinstated • This option would serve to create a neutral access platform for the community to meet candidates in an effort to establish a more inclusive voter engagement process
9 Option 3: In-Kind & Civic Engagement Support
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
• Staff recommends that the City Council review and comment on the identified Neighborhood Organization Grant Program adjustment options • The identified options can be considered individually or in combination as the City Council considers adjustments to our Neighborhood Organization Grant Program • Pending City Council direction, staff will work to develop implementation plans tailored to the selected option(s)
10 Next Steps
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025
Item 11-B
September 30, 2025