City may approve $6M in community grants
For the first time in more than a decade, Santa Monica may not increase the amount of funding it provides to local non-profits.
Every three years the city increases the amount of money it provides to local organizations and charities that provide essential social services.
But this year the city had to cut $23.5 million from its books to balance this year’s proposed budget. Though more than $20 million of those cuts came from delaying capital improvement projects, each department in the city had to cut at least 2.5 percent of their costs.
The Community and Cultural Resources Department which administers the city’s Community Development Program, provides money to community service non-profit organizations.
The department was able to meet its required budget cuts in part by freezing the grants to last year’s amounts.
“We try to give a cost of living increase to keep (grantees) ahead of the game in terms of inflation,” said Barbara Stinchfield, director of the city’s community and cultural resources department. “We attempted to do that this year, but when we were asked to cut our budgets we were only able to hold them constant.”
The city council is expected to enact next year’s budget at its Tuesday, June 18 meeting at City Hall. The council may make changes to what City Manager Susan McCarthy has proposed.
“Without a government commitment a lot of these non-profits could not do what they do,” said Mayor Mike Feinstein. “This is an example where there is almost a seamless transition between formal government and associated community non-profits.”
“Without a government commitment a lot of these non-profits could not do what they do.” — — MIKE FEINSTEIN Santa Monica Mayor
Feinstein has asked McCarthy look into possible ways to increase the grant money. He feels if the services are not made available then social ills will go untreated and cost government much more in the long run.
“This idea of using grant money to cover budget deficits is a penny-wise pound foolish approach,” he said.
In Santa Monica there has been a long tradition of giving well beyond what the federal government offers cities by appropriating money from its taxpayer-supported general fund.
The city is proposing to award more than $6 million in “operating grants,” which are given to charities and non-profits to help them do everything from pay their employees’ salaries to buy paper clips.
The Ocean Park Community Center, a social service provider for low-income and homeless people, would receive $733,025. Connections for Children, which provides daycare for low-income families, may receive $765,802, while the Salvation Army is slated to receive $585,029.
Also, the city plans to give $320,000 in grants to help local artists and performers.
The Santa Monica Museum of Art is slated to receive $63,200, while Santa Monica Symphony may receive $29,200. The money also is used for community events, such as the Santa Monica Festival, the Fourth of July celebration, and Fourth of July Fireworks at Santa Monica College.
Donations are down to many local charities, food banks and non-profit organizations due to the severity of the current recession and because many donors gave to Sept. 11-related causes.
“They’re all finding that their tenuous funding sources are being reduced, and that fundraising in general is much more difficult,” said Stinchfield. “We know that any reduction in funding impacts smaller agencies and departments more than larger ones.”
“That’s why the city manager’s office was very sensitive to cutting any funding,” she said.
Many cities across the country are awarded federal grants from the Housing and Urban Development agency called Community Development Block Grants. The money is often used to support local causes and charities.
HUD awarded the city $3,064,042 — of which $2,214,042 is slated go toward capital improvement projects like the Virginia Avenue Park Improvement plan, renovation of the Santa Monica Shelter and improved playgrounds for children in the city’s Head Start program.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 15, 2002. Read the original PDF.