The city Public Service Grant Council is poised for comprehensive changes before the next round of applications from nonprofits are submitted.
The grant council each year identifies the community’s needs and the needs of “priority populations,” groups of people with common challenges that may be addressed by social service providers.
Over the past few years, priority for grants has been given to organizations serving homeless people, people with low incomes and elderly people who are homebound.
Last year, $2 million in grants were awarded to 25 nonprofits. The same amount will again be disbursed in the 2016 cycle.
The City Council Special Committee on Public Service Grants met for the second time Wednesday to discuss elements of the program that should be improved and how to implement changes before the grants are awarded next year.
One of the issues to be addressed is appointing the number of volunteer grant council members stipulated in the ordinance.
The grant council should comprise 13 voting members appointed by the mayor and City Council president, plus a council member assigned as liaison.
The city website shows there are eight voting members on the grant council and council member Anna Lopez Brosche, who serves as liaison and chairs the special committee.
Grant council Chair Roshanda Jackson said the group is in transition, with some members having resigned and others having reached their term limits.
A 13-member grant council is needed, Brosche said, in order to “bring diverse community perspective” to the process.
All the seats aren’t filled, all the members don’t attend the meetings and “we need to find more dedicated volunteers,” said committee member Lori Boyer.
Another issue is training for grant council members and for applicants. There is no training protocol for members who are charged with evaluating nonprofits and the services provided.
Committee member John Crescimbeni supports requiring grant council members to participate in annual training sessions.
If a member declines training, they should be prohibited from evaluating and scoring grant applications.
Applicants’ relative scores determine the percentage of the available Public Service Grant Fund they will receive, he said.
John Snyder, human services planner in the Office of Grants and Contract Compliance, said training related to how to properly submit a grant application is made available once a year, but it’s not required.
Only about half the applicants, usually those who are applying for the first time, take the training. Also recommended was an appeals process for applicants who are denied grants. No such process is in place.
Crescimbeni suggested a group independent of the grant council might be best for hearing appeals.
“They need to be removed from the (appeal) process,” he said. “When you appeal in court, you don’t appeal to the same judge.”
The special committee is charged with presenting recommendations and proposed ordinance amendments to council by Dec. 31 to have changes to the process implemented before the next grant application deadline.
The committee will next convene at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the council chamber at City Hall.
(904) 356-2466