TO:City Council
FROM:Community Funding Review Committee
DATE:February 10, 2026
SUBJECT: FY 2025-26 Community Environmental Enhancement Grant Recommendations
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve Community Environmental Enhancement Grants totaling $44,973.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Community Environmental Enhancement Grant agreements with Grantees.
3. Authorize expenditure in the amount of $44,973 from A/C #632-8420-682-5920 (NC0105, Community Enhancement Fund/Grants) for Community Environmental Enhancement 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. Minimal administrative staff costs associated with executing contracts and compliance monitoring are included in the Adopted FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget. $45,000 for grant funding is included in the Adopted FY 2025-26 Solid Waste Fund Budget.
BACKGROUND:
The Community Environmental Enhancement Grant (CEEG) provides financial support for community beautification and environmental projects. During the City’s budget process, City Council renewed its support to the program by appropriating $45,000 in the Adopted FY 2025-26 Solid Waste Fund Budget to be used for CEEG. The CEEG provides grantees a maximum grant award of $4,500 and a minimum grant award of $2,000.
FY 2025-26 CEEG Recommendations
February 10, 2026
Since 1998, the City has funded projects such as tree planting, litter collection, recycling projects, composting, waste reduction, water/energy conservation, food diversion (composting, donation, or recovery), and public outreach and education.
CEEG applications for FY 2025-26 were accepted from November 3, 2025, through December 3, 2025. Public outreach for the grant program took place in November and December and included news postings on the City’s website, social media channels, the November and December issues of the CityScene, as well as the Sustainability Blog. A FY 2025-26 Community Grant Program workshop held on February 4, 2025, was recorded and made available for viewing on the City website. In addition, emails were sent to previous environmental enhancement grant recipients, the Conejo Valley Unified School District, and a press release was sent to local media outlets. Complete program information can be found on the dedicated Grant Opportunities webpage ( www.toaks.gov/grants) on the City website.
A history of the CEEG (previously called the Community Enhancement Grant and changed by City Council at the September 14, 2021, City Council meeting) awards for the past five years is attached for City Council reference (Attachment #1).
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
The City received 14 complete applications for the FY 2025-26 CEEG program, requesting a combined total of $61,656. Staff verified that all applications met the program's minimum eligibility requirements.
The City Council-appointed Community Funding Review Committee (CFRC) members independently reviewed and scored each application based on grant- specific criteria, including the organization's mission and background, program goals and objectives, and the anticipated benefit to City residents.
On January 14, 2026, the CFRC convened to discuss the collated scores of the applications. One member recused themselves from scoring and discussion of a single application due to a conflict of interest; the score was de-identified and reviewed by the remaining members to ensure impartiality.
Allocation Scoring Method
To guide funding discussions, applications were initially ranked by score, with a preliminary allocation framework based on scoring ranges. Because total requests exceeded the available $45,000 budget, the CFRC discussed and finalized an equitable allocation. Under the FY 2025-26 CEEG Allocation Method outlined in Table 1, six applicants scoring above 85 points are recommended to receive 90 percent of their requested funding, four applicants scoring between 75 and 84 FY 2025-26 CEEG Recommendations
February 10, 2026
points are recommended to receive 70 percent of their requested funding, and four applicants scoring between 70 and 74 points are recommended to receive 50 percent of their requested funding.
Table 1
85 – 100 points scored on application 90% of requested amount 75 – 84 points scored on application 70% of requested amount 70 – 74 points scored on application 50% of requested amount The CFRC unanimously recommends (8-0, with 1 member absent) awarding a total of $44,973 to 14 applicants (Attachment #2).
Next Steps
Upon City Council approval, CEEG grantees will enter into standard one-year community grant agreements with the City, effective March 1, 2026. The agreements stipulate that staff may request reimbursement of all or part of the grant funds if they are not used for the program as described in the contract.
Grantees will receive funding upfront and will be required to submit a Final Performance Report demonstrating how the City's funds were expended 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: Kyle Rohrbach, CFRC Chair
Sarah Mailes, Community Services Analyst
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – CEEG Award Five-Year History
Attachment #2 – FY 2025-26 CEEG Recommendations
CCS: 482-10/sm/z:\common\community services\city council items\2026 staff reports\ 2026 02 10 FY 2025-26 Community Environmental Enhancement Grant Recommnedations.docx