Staff has reviewed community event grant funding applications for 2003 and developed a list of recommendations. Staff is recommending that Council review this report and approve funding levels.

In June 2001, the City Manager submitted, and City Council approved, a recommended annual budget of $25,000 for community event grant support to help build a spirit of community and celebrate our City’s diversity, heritage and uniqueness. A September 25, 2001, Report to Council addressed the consideration of ways to promote non-City sponsored community events. Specifically, Council asked staff to consider how the City could facilitate non-City sponsored community events in Sunnyvale so that a proactive, welcoming process could exist for assisting groups that wished to hold all types of events. In the September 25, 2001, Report to Council, staff outlined how the City could take more proactive steps in promoting community events as opportunities to celebrate the City’s diversity, heritage, and uniqueness. As part of Council’s directive to develop a policy for funding community events, a grant funding application process was developed.

In March 2002, staff presented their recommendations to Council for the first annual grant program. At that time, Council directed staff to approve funding for six organizations (My Art School, Sunnyvale National Little League, Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association, Master Gardeners, Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center, and the Sunnyvale Downtown Association) for a total of $14,960. Council directed that the remaining funding be carried over to the 2003 community events grant budget. Of the organizations that were awarded grants, only the Sunnyvale Downtown Association has submitted an invoice for reimbursement. The Sunnyvale National Little League has submitted receipts for reimbursement, but has yet to respond to requests to submit an invoice as required. Council also directed staff to develop guidelines to be distributed with the grant application to include standards for criteria supporting event budgets, especially including volunteer hours. A worksheet allowing applicants to detail the value of volunteer hours was included in this year’s application. This is the second year of the grant funding process.

EXISTING POLICY

Many policies, goals, and action statements in the sub-elements for Arts, Heritage Preservation, Recreation, Community Design, and Community Participation lend policy support to the City in fostering diversity.

In 1995, the Council specifically added the Community Participation Sub-Element to show the commitment to a "proactive program" for community involvement.

Specifically, the General Plan sub-element contains the following:

7.2E.2 - Encourage celebrations of community and projects which focus on the character, diversity and quality of Sunnyvale.

The Community Participation Sub-element also has a section on "Community Events" which states:

"The City is especially interested in increasing its facilitation role to help community members plan and hold special events which provide vitality and identity to the community. Using this approach, the City can leverage its ability to celebrate Sunnyvale and strengthen the community's role in producing events and activities."

DISCUSSION

Letters were mailed to about 400 community organizations informing them of the funding available to groups for their events. Information about the grant funding application process and deadline was posted on the web and KSUN. Flyers and applications were placed in various high-traffic areas around the City, including the City Hall lobby and the Library. Advertisements were placed in the Sunnyvale Sun newspaper. A press release was also utilized to notify potential applicants of grant funding availability. Reminders were mailed out before the application deadline of December 2, 2002.

As the deadline approached, only a small number of applications had been received, and a decision was made to extend the application deadline to the end of December. An ad was placed in the San Jose Mercury News’ local Guide, and the extended deadline was posted on the Sunnyvale web site and on KSUN. Despite a larger and more aggressive outreach campaign, fewer applications were received in 2003 than in the previous year.

After the grant application deadline, a cross-section of staff from various departments in the City was called together to review the applications and develop recommendations. The grant review team considered the following eligibility requirements to determine funding suitability as well as amount of funding recommended.

• An accurate and complete community event grant funding application was submitted by the deadline.
• Admission to the event is free and open to the public.
• The event is to be held within City limits.
• Grant is being requested by an organization, not an individual.
• Applicant has submitted an event budget, including an estimate of City services required.
• Applicant has identified whether or not the event will be a fundraiser. (The application review team decides on a case-by-case basis whether or not to allow funds to be granted to events that are fundraisers.)
• The sponsoring organization is non-profit or not-for-profit.
• Grant funds are budgeted for event-related expenses only.
• Applicant has identified other co-sponsors of the event. The City must approve all co-sponsors.
• Funds are not being requested for a religious purpose, including for the promotion of any sect, church, creed, or sectarian organization, nor to conduct any religious service or ceremony. Funds can be granted to religious organizations as long as the funds are not used for a religious purpose. This eligibility criterion is an attempt to preserve separation of church and state while still allowing religious organizations to be eligible for grant funds.
• If organization is collaborating with the City in co-sponsoring an event, grant funds are being requested solely to defray expenses incurred by the co-sponsoring organization(s) rather than the City.

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, applications were evaluated for funding based on how completely they met the following criteria.

• The event encourages celebrations of community, which focus on the character, diversity, and quality of Sunnyvale and provide vitality and identity to the community.
• The event is of a citywide nature and demonstrates an ability to draw a minimum of 500 participants.
• The sponsoring organization must demonstrate the ability to produce a well-planned, safe event.
• The sponsoring organization demonstrates strong financial management and effective management controls, including cost-effectiveness.
• The review team will consider the financial and budgetary capabilities of the sponsoring organization, the extent to which City funds will be leveraged with other funding sources, and the need for City funding.

Grant applicants were also informed of the following information:

1. Grants would be awarded for no more than 40 percent of the total event budget, including the value of in-kind/donated services, but excluding the value of volunteer time.
2. Grant funds must be expended within 90 days after the event or within two years after the organization has been notified of the award, whichever comes first.
3. Grant recipients will not receive the grant funding in a lump sum. Rather, grant recipients must invoice the City on an ongoing basis for reimbursement of expenses incurred, up to the grant amount. All original receipts must be submitted with invoices, along with an itemized brief description of each expense.