Program Description

  Community Grants

This NDA targets needs not directly addressed by other departmental efforts, provides a space for innovative and experimental programs, addresses critical gaps in specific communities or sectors, and provides resources to support non-profit partners that cut across County government. Community needs do not always fit neatly into a single department's mission, often have complex multifaceted root causes, and require innovative and flexible solutions. Non-profit community organizations are critical to an effective network of services and are often able to provide these services in a more cost-effective, culturally appropriate, and flexible way than County government. Community partners are also able to leverage community resources that may be unavailable to the County government.

Prior to FY21, County Executive and County Council community grants were listed in separate NDAs. During the pandemic, the County froze community grants funding as a way to provide continuity of funding to community grants recipients. During FY24, the Office of Grants Management facilitated a re-competition of all funding remaining within the Community Grants NDA with winners receiving multi-year awards. These reforms are the culmination of years of engagement between the non-profit community and County government. Re-competing programs within the Community Grants budget was an important step in reforming our grants process to be fairer, more equitable, and to address new and evolving community needs.

The continuing social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, emergence of new non-profits providing new kinds of services or targeting new County communities, national trends in the non-profit sector that negatively impact County non-profits, and unprecedented direct non-profit funding opportunities from the Federal government require a significant investment in the County's most critical partners. To meet these challenges and opportunities, the Community Grants NDA, more than doubles the amount of previously approved funding to support the institutional capabilities of the County's non-profit partners ($3.2 million).

Funding of $400,000 for Place-Based Management Grants using the Main Streets USA model has been shifted into the Community Engagement Cluster base-budget.

The $10,920,201 within the Community Grants NDA will support:

• Continuing funding for Multi-Year Community Grants Awards: $6,508,128 will maintain second-year funding commitments for multi-year Community Grants awarded in FY24.
  
• Non-profit Technical Assistance and Management Support Grants: $2 million will be available to strengthen County non-profit organizations with a prioritization of organizations based in underserved communities.
• Non-profit Incubators: $1 million will be available to pilot sustained, innovative, accessible, and community-based developmental and shared services support for emerging non-profit organizations with the potential to serve the County's most hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
• Community Projects Fund Grants: $1.2 million in one-time funding will be available for small, emerging, and volunteer led organizations to implement small, community focused projects, initiatives, and events with a quarterly application cycle. The budget recommends a $200,000 increase over FY24 to mentor, train, and coach small and emerging organizations as they implement these starter grants and projects.
• Three Percent Inflationary Increase for Non-Profit Partners: The budget includes a three percent increase to all continuing grants to non-profit partners funded through the Community Grants NDA.
• The Capital Budget Cost Sharing: MCG Project (CIP#720601) also includes $2,500,000 for Arts Facility Capital Grants and Cost Sharing Community Capital Grants. These funds will be prioritized to match State Bond Bills with the remaining funds awarded through a competitive process.