TO:City Council
FROM:Community Funding Review Committee
DATE:April 29, 2025
SUBJECT: FY 2025-26 Community Events Grant Recommendations RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve Community Events Grants totaling $89,890.62.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Community Events Grant agreements with grantees.
3. Authorize expenditure in the amount of $89,890.62 in FY 2025-26 from A/C #001-0970-646-5920 (General Fund - Grants and Donations, CF2026) for Community Events Grants.
4. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. The upcoming FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget will include a request for minimal administrative staff costs associated with executing contracts and compliance monitoring, as well as $100,000 for Community Events Grants (CF2026).
BACKGROUND:
The Community Events Grant (CEG) provides financial support for community arts and cultural activities and events that take place within the boundaries of the City, and for school performance groups representing the City at competition events located outside of the city. The program seeks to benefit a wide cross-section of
FY 2025-26 Community Events Grant Recommendations
April 29, 2025
1 2
5 3
the community. The CEG is available to local, non-profit community, and school groups. The upcoming FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget will include a request for $100,000 for CEG with the following proposed allocations:
$90,000: Available through the annual grant funding cycle application process. $10,000: Held in reserve for City Council to approve unanticipated, off-cycle funding requests that may arise throughout the fiscal year.
The CEG provides grantees a maximum grant award of $9,000 and a minimum award of $500. Grants to organizations seeking funds to support team events are limited to a maximum of $100 per individual team member. Grant applications must demonstrate that the requested CEG funds will be matched through other sources.
CEG grant applications for FY 2025-26 were accepted from January 27, 2025, through February 27, 2025. Public outreach for the grant program took place in January and February and included news postings on the City’s website, social media channels, and the January and February issues of the City’s CityScene newsletter. A CEG workshop was held on February 4, 2025, which was recorded and made available for viewing on the City’s website. In addition, emails were sent to previous CEG recipients, and a press release was sent to local media outlets.
Complete program information can be found on the dedicated City Grant Opportunities webpage (www.toaks.gov/grants) on the City website.
A history of the CEG (previously known as the Community Events Endowment Fund and changed by City Council at the September 14, 2021, City Council meeting) awards for the past seven years is attached for reference (Attachment #1). The CEG grant cycle was suspended during FYs 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
There were 22 CEG applications received this year with a total requested amount of $145,228. Staff conducted an initial review to confirm the applications met minimum qualifications. No applications were rejected for non-compliance with program requirements during staff’s initial review.
The City Council-appointed Community Funding Review Committee (CFRC) members separately reviewed each application and scored them based on grant- specific criteria, including the organization’s mission and background, activity or event goals and objectives, and benefit to City residents.
FY 2025-26 Community Events Grant Recommendations
April 29, 2025
1 2
5 3
On March 26, 2025, the CFRC met to discuss the collated scores of the 22 applications. The committee determined one applicant’s funding request needed to be adjusted to adhere to the criteria of no more than $100 per individual for a team.
Allocation Scoring Method
In May 2019, the CFRC approved an allocation method based on collated points scored on the application as shown in the second column of Table 1. Collating the nine CFRC members’ scorecards and using this original allocation method revealed that 11 applicants scored over 85 points and would have been eligible for 100 percent of the funding requested. Seven applicants scored between 70-84 points and would have been eligible for 75 percent of the funding requested. Three applicants scored between 55-69 points and would have been eligible for 50 percent of the funding requested. One applicant scored between 0-54 points and was not recommended for funding. Under the original allocation method, a total funding amount of $119,059 would be needed. With a budget of $90,000, the CFRC would only have been able to recommend funding to fourteen applicants, leaving the remaining seven qualifying applicants without a funding recommendation.
During the March 27, 2025, meeting, the CFRC voted unanimously (8-0 with one member absent) in favor of temporarily amending the allocation methods based on collated points scored so that all 21 eligible applicants would receive a grant funding recommendation. The temporary allocation method is shown in the third column of Table 1.
Table 1
Number of Points Scored
on the Application
Original Allocation
Method (2019)
Temporary Allocation
Method (2025)
85 – 100 points scored 100% of requested amount 85% of requested amount 70 – 84 points scored 75% of requested amount 45% of requested amount 55 – 69 points scored 50% of requested amount 24% of requested amount 54 or below points scored No funding No funding
Collating the CFRC members' scorecards and using the temporary allocation method revealed that 11 applicants were eligible for 85 percent of the funding requested, seven applicants were eligible for 45 percent of the funding requested, three applicants were eligible for 24 percent of the funding requested, and one applicant was not recommended for funding. The total funding recommendation is $89,890.62.
The CFRC unanimously (8-0 with one member absent) recommends awarding grants in the amount of $89,890.62 to 21 programs (Attachment #2).
FY 2025-26 Community Events Grant Recommendations
April 29, 2025
1 2
5 3
Next Steps
Upon approval by City Council and approval of the FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget, CEG grantees will enter into agreements with the City for a one-year period, effective July 1, 2025. The agreement states that staff reserve the right to request reimbursement of all or part of the funds if the funds are not expended for the program as described in the contract. Grantees will receive payment upfront and will be required to submit a final Performance Report that demonstrates how the City funds were used to benefit the community.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goals:
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
G. Continue City's commitment to community and cultural programs and services (such as Performing Arts/Theatres, Libraries, TOTV, Visual Arts,Youth and Senior Programs).
PREPARED BY: Denise Monden, CFRC Chair
Sarah Mailes, Community Services Analyst
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – Community Events Grant Award Seven-Year History Attachment #2 – FY 2025-26 Community Events Grant Award Recommendations
CCS: 481-10\sm\H:\common\community services\city council items\2025 staff reports\04292025 cfrc ceg staff report.docx