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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFunding Criteria for NonProfit Agencies and school orgs rev 010617 Guidelines for Non-Profit Agencies, PTO groups and school organizations 1. The agency or group (“Applicant”) requesting funds must be in existence for a minimum of five (5) years in order to be considered for funding by the Outside Agency Funding Committee. 2. The Agency must also 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 or its sphere of influence (the “City”). 3. 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. 4. The Applicant should submit to the City an application setting forth in detail its request for funding, including a statement of purpose detailing specifically the services it intends to provide for the City, how and where the contribution from the City will be allocated, and the quantity and quality of such proposed service. 5. The funds contributed to the Applicant will be donated 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 projects, and cannot be used for salaries. 6. The Applicant agrees to use the funds granted by the City to provide only the services represented in its application for funding. Additionally, the Applicant will explain how the services will benefit the City’s residents. 7. 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. 8. The City will review the Applicant’s application and tax exemption certification and, upon review and discussion, will determine if the expenditure of funds for these services is in the public’s interest. 9. Where the Applicant is an audited entity, the Applicant’s independent auditor will need to make a footnote in the financial statements confirming the use of the City’s contribution in the manner set forth above, as well as the executed agreement. 10. 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. CITY OF PALM DESERT OUTSIDE AGENCIES/CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION FUNDING REQUESTS Outside Agencies/Charitable Contributions Funding Request Guidelines Page 2 of 3 11. Application and all supporting documents are to be submitted by the designated deadline to be considered for funding. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. 12. The Agreement is for the period of July 1 through June 30 of the following year. Services must be provided and funds must be disbursed during this time period. No payment will be made for services rendered after June 30 of the designated year. 13. 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 available funds remaining in the Outside Agency budget following disbursement to organizations compliant with the Committee’s annual deadlines. 14. Golf events and luncheon/dinner sponsorships do not qualify for Outside Agency funding. Special events are managed by the Special Programs department. Emergency contributions for situations such as wildfire relief assistance and farm workers’ aid and other emergency situations should be funded from a source other than Outside Agency funds, and should be reviewed by Council on a case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate source of funding. 15. All paperwork must be submitted by June 30 in order to receive reimbursement. No reimbursement will be processed unless all required documents are received and the agreement is complete. Reimbursement requests must be reviewed and signed by the principal prior to submittal to the City of Palm Desert. Failure to meet the terms of the agreement and submit required completed paperwork by the deadline will result in forfeiture of all funds. 16. For school organizations and clubs, instead of a grant, a 50% matching funds reimbursement is awarded, wherein once the organization has spent the required funds, they should submit the appropriate receipts for reimbursement by the City at a rate of 50% of the total receipts up to the amount awarded. Additional Guidelines for School Organizations The City of Palm Desert may elect to award funding to a Parent Teacher Organization, Parent Club, School 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 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 chosen focused its interest in providing a charitable contribution to specific areas the City regards as beneficial to a majority of students. Outside Agencies/Charitable Contributions Funding Request Guidelines Page 3 of 3 The following list has been compiled to assist when considering a request for award of funds. 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 acceptable 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 Unacceptable field trips: Disneyland, SeaWorld, Knott’s Soak City, 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. No adjustments will be made once the agreement is finalized. Unacceptable Expenditures • Awards assemblies, individual reward-based programs, (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 • Magazine or book subscriptions and supplies • 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) The above guidelines are incorporated and made a part of any funding application or approved agreement to provide service using Outside Agency funds.