Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOutside Agency Funding Guidelines1 DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT, PENDING APPROVAL 1.25.24 CITY OF PALM DESERT OUTSIDE AGENCY PROGRAM Outside Agency Program Guidelines (Revised January 25, 2024) FOCUS The Outside Agency Funding Program was designed to support organizations that further Palm Desert programs and services and assist residents in need of support. • Primary consideration is given to recognized nonprofit organizations that directly benefit Palm Desert residents. • Secondary consideration is given to recognized nonprofit organizations that indirectly affect the quality of life for the residents of Palm Desert. • Preference is given to those applicants meeting the health and human service needs of underserved populations. OBJECTIVES • Protection and improvement of the living environment for the residents of Palm Desert. • Assistance to low and moderate-income households and special population groups such as the elderly in meeting basic needs. • Enabling residents to increase or improve his/her capacity to successfully handle issues over the long-term without continuing public assistance. PRIORITIES Priority is given in the following order to programs, projects or services that: 1. Address basic living conditions of the residents of Palm Desert, which include food and shelter. 2. Improve an individual’s or household’s health, basic living conditions and capacity to be self- sufficient, which include health care and related transportation, seniors, children, and youth services. 3. Improve the livability of the community. While these requests may provide programs or services that are not of necessity, they do offer exposure to arts and culture, advocacy, historic places or events, animals, educational programs, or services related to employment or job training, and other programs or services deemed necessary to support community groups and organizations. Funding for certain events or activities that do not fall under the Special Programs umbrella may be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be open to the public (e.g. public park, inclusive event.) APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR RECOGNIZED NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 1. Failure to comply with these Guidelines, including misuse of funds, may result in the termination of funding and disqualification from future grant cycles. Guidelines for Application Review and Consideration Revised: January 25, 2024 2 2. This is a competitive grant process; all applications will be evaluated based on the merit of the program or project. Applications must be complete in order to be accepted. Applications must: A. Describe the organization’s purpose, years of operation, and leadership team; B. Include the estimated number of people that will be impacted by the use of the grant funds; C. Explain how the proposed use of grant funds aligns with community needs and the community benefit that will be achieved by the use of the grant funds; D. Describe project feasibility and the organization’s financial stability; E. Indicate whether the Applicant has received any other sources of funding for the proposed project. 3. The Applicant will agree to submit program outcomes and financial reports to the City regarding use of the funds upon request. 4. Requests for funds that will be re-granted by the organization in any way will not be considered. 5. Due to the competitive nature of the grant process, receiving time at the Finance Department will be the governing time for acceptance of applications. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to see that any material sent through the mail, in person, or by any other delivery method, will have sufficient time to be received by this specified date and time. Postmarks will not be accepted in lieu of actual delivery. 6. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they apply for and receive funding from other sources, governmental or otherwise, and are not relying solely on City support. If the service offered is unique to Palm Desert, special consideration may be provided. 7. Funding requests are for the period of July 1 through June 30 of the program year. The activity or service for which funds are requested must occur in this timeframe. No award will be considered for any part of the program or service that falls outside of these dates, unless otherwise authorized by the City Manager as provided below. 8. The Applicant requesting funds must be in existence for a minimum of five (5) years prior to the application deadline in order to be considered for funding by the Outside Agency Funding Committee. 9. The Applicant must be of verifiable non-profit status and presently providing charitable, public benefit, public welfare or educational services to persons residing in the City of Palm Desert (the “City”). 10. Organizations shall agree not to use grant funds for political lobbying or discriminatory activities. The funds must be used for activities which are open to the general public and not restricted based on a person’s race, religion, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, sexual orientation, or economic status. 11. Funds must be used towards the activity described in the application. The grant funds cannot be directly provided to specific individuals, nor may the grant funds be constructively provided to specific individuals (e.g. Using grant funds to pay for certain individuals to go to an event is not permitted. By contrast, using grant funds to reduce the overall costs of an event is permitted.). Guidelines for Application Review and Consideration Revised: January 25, 2024 3 12. Religious organizations are eligible to apply for grant funds, but the use of the grant funds cannot be devoted to a religious purpose. Instead, the grant funds must be used toward a secular purpose (e.g. cultural heritage; promote community knowledge and understanding). 13. The Applicant must have an existing program in place and a staff that is ready and willing to provide services to the City for the benefit of its residents. Funds will not be contributed to any agency or group for “startup” costs. 14. The City must have the desire to have the services as detailed in the Applicant’s application performed for the City and its residents by the agency or group. Priority is given to agencies providing a direct benefit to Palm Desert residents. 15. Organizations receiving a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) or other City funding in the same period are typically not considered for Outside Agency funding. 16. Funds awarded to successful Applicants are for the purposes of providing a program or service to the City of Palm Desert, or its sphere of influence, to the extent possible. Said funds are not designated for capital purchases, equipment, or insurances of any kind, and cannot be used for salaries of employees on the payroll of the Applicant without prior approval of the City Council. 17. The Applicant agrees to use the funds granted by the City to provide only the services represented in its application for funding and listed on the Agreement between the Applicant and the City. 18. An Applicant is ineligible to receive funding for events or programs which it does not conduct itself or conduct in collaboration with another organization. 19. Where the Applicant received funding for the current fiscal year, all documents must be submitted and agreement terms complete prior to funding disbursement for the following fiscal year. 20. Organizations requesting funding after the deadline for the annual review has passed may submit an application to the City Manager for special consideration. Award of funds in this circumstance is rare, and is contingent upon (1) available funds remaining in the Outside Agency 21. Budget following disbursement to organizations compliant with the Committee’s annual deadlines, (2) a finding made by the City Manager that special circumstances prevented the Applicant from applying for grant funds by the required deadline and the event could not occur the following year. 22. Recreational fundraising events (i.e. golf tournaments, luncheon/dinner sponsorships and tickets, gala attendance and support) do not qualify for Outside Agency funding. 23. Emergency requests for contributions should be reviewed by the City Manager on a case- by- case basis to determine funding availability. 24. The City Manager may, after a request from an approved Outside Agency, consider a reallocation of the approved contribution provided such reallocation is consistent with the guidelines and the previously approved use. Guidelines for Application Review and Consideration Revised: January 25, 2024 4 ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS (PTOs) The City of Palm Desert may elect to award funding to a Parent Teacher Organization, Association, Parent Club, Foundation or other formal group (“PTO”) of a Palm Desert public school in an effort to enhance educational programs and improve the scholastic abilities of the student body as a whole, and to support the various booster clubs at the school. The City aims to support efforts furthering student accomplishments in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as well as college preparation programs, and requires that the PTO be in good standing with the City relative to any and all previous grant applications and agreements. The City does not award funding for instruction, tuition or supervision of routine educational activities as these costs are not the responsibility of a municipality. Additionally, the City will direct any individual requests received from school clubs (boosters, dance, cheer, robotics, etc.) during the funded year back to the PTO for their consideration and recommend they submit a request to their PTO for inclusion in the upcoming application year. The City encourages the PTO to fundraise and support specialty programs for overall student enhancement as they see fit. The City has focused its interest in providing a charitable contribution to specific areas the City regards as beneficial to a majority of students. Examples of Acceptable Expenditures • Math and science-oriented computer software programs (e.g. TurnItIn, StateStandards) • Odyssey of the Mind, SAT preparation and AP testing fee reimbursement • Tutoring and scholastic reading programs and materials (does not include tutor compensation) • Bully-, drug-, and gang-prevention programs and assemblies • Curriculum-based assemblies (authors, demonstrations) • Educational, curriculum-based field trip admission and transportation for students only o Examples of educational field trips: Living Desert, Riley’s Farm, Museum of Tolerance, Coachella Valley Water District. Show how the trip relates to the curriculum and follow up with student reports on what was learned. o Examples of non-educational field trips: Disneyland, SeaWorld, Knott’s Berry Farm o Transportation costs for approved travel should be reasonable such as school bus or coach. Limousines or other modes of transportation not regularly provided for school use are not reimbursable. Any other expenditure requests not specifically listed must be submitted and discussed during the application process to determine if they would qualify for reimbursement. Any adjustments are at the discretion of the City Manager. Examples of Discouraged Expenditures • Awards assemblies and supplies (i.e. student of the month and improvement awards) • Tuition, salary, or supervision expenses • Supplemental classroom materials or library supplies • Capital equipment or hardware such as computers, laptops, televisions or projector screens • Culinary, photography, or other specialty programs • Reward or social parties (i.e. pizza party, ice-cream social) • Food, drinks, snacks of any kind for any meetings or activities • School dance, promotion, graduation expenses • Hotel accommodations for any activities or events • Fundraising, alumni or celebratory activities (bounce house rentals, carnival booths, festival events.