City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 20, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: KATE GARVEY, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND
HUMAN SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of the Alexandria Fund for Human Services FY 2024 to FY 2026 Grant Award Recommendations.
BODY
_________________________________________________________________
ISSUE: Alexandria Fund for Human Services (AFHS) grant award recommendations for
FY 2024 to FY 2026.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Receive the grant award recommendations for the AFHS FY 2024 to FY 2026 grant cycle (Attachment); and
(2) Acknowledge the work of the AFHS grant proposal Review Committee, particularly for their leadership in the review and allocation process.
BACKGROUND: For the past fifteen years, the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) has coordinated and managed AFHS competitive grants process and provided oversight for grants awarded to non-profit and community agencies. The City Council's recently adopted FY 2024 budget includes $1,996,430 to fund the AFHS grant awards. Programs supported by AFHS funding address the health and human service needs of the City's young children, youth, families, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, immigrants, older adults, person with disabilities and individuals with low incomes.
In the fall of 2022, DCHS staff convened a Reform Committee comprised of members from human service-related boards and commissions and other community stakeholders to:
1. Review funding areas and priorities to determine if the AFHS competitive process is the appropriate vehicle for funding these areas and the related fiscal impact.
2. Review relevant data to determine critical outcomes/impact areas and structure for future grant cycles.
3. Explore mechanisms that will allow collaboration among and between community-based organizations that provide services to City residents.
4. Develop a better understanding of racial and ethnic communities most impacted using prior AFHS data.
5. Seek to explore ways to encourage innovation and racial equity focus.
City Council approved the Reform Committee's recommendations at its January 24, 2023, Legislative Meeting. The reform recommendations introduced a Vision, Mission, and Values Statement for AFHS, revised the funding priorities and focus populations, confirmed the commitment to racial and social equity, restructured the Request for Grant Proposal and the evaluation and scoring criteria. As directed by the City Manager, staff subsequently implemented the reform recommendations with the launch of the FY 2024 to FY 2026 grant making process.
DISCUSSION: The AFHS FY 2024 to FY 2026 Request for Grant Proposals was released on March 17, 2023. A pre-proposal conference was hosted on March 27, 2023. Interested organizations had until 5:00 p.m. April17, 2023, to prepare and submit their grant proposals through a new web-based grant making tool also utilized by the City's Arts Grants Program. Using a dedicated email address and a section on DCHS webpage, staff also responded to grant proposal questions and provided clarifications throughout the preparation process. A total of 65 applications were deemed eligible for review, evaluation, and funding consideration. The
FY 2024 to FY 2026 funding requests totaled more than $5.3 million. The amounts requested during the last two grant-making processes totaled $3.5 million and $4.5 million respectively.
A Review Committee representing a cross-section of DCHS related Boards and Commissions read and evaluated each of the grant proposals. The Review Committee met twice to reach scoring consensus and to move forward grant proposals for funding consideration. To respond to the differential between the total amount of funding requested, and the appropriated $1,996,430, the Review Committee with staff input developed a set of funding considerations to ensure that an adequate number of proposals across the grant priorities received funding, and programs and services could be effectively delivered.
To reach funding recommendation consensus, the following considerations were applied:
* Grant proposals scoring under 70 points were not recommended for funding.
* Current AFHS grantees would receive 70% of their FY 2023 grant amount (not the FY 2024 requested amount)
* New requests under $100K receive 60% of the requested amount.
* New requests over $100K receive 50% of the requested amount.
* New requests over $200K receive 25% of the requested amount.
* Current AFHS grantees and new requests falling between $10K to $15K would receive no reduction.
Additional funding considerations included duplication of services, budgets focused on infrastructure vs. direct services, multiple applications from a single entity, and unsatisfactory performance as current AFHS grantee or recipient of other City funding. As a result, 53 grant proposals are being recommended for funding, with an award total of $1,996,430.
Organizations accepting the recommended award amount for FY 2024 to 2026 funding will have the opportunity to revise their program descriptions, objectives, and budgets to reflect the grant award. Staff will convene a post award meeting shortly after all grant agreements are executed to review the terms and conditions of the FY 2024 to FY 2026 AFHS grant agreement, and the related monitoring and reporting processes. Staff will also survey the Review Committee and participating organizations to obtain feedback regarding the grant-making process and possible enhancement recommendations for future processes.
FISCAL IMPACT: The recommended AFHS grant awards totaling $1,996,430. will be funded through the appropriation included the City's FY 2024 adopted budget. Grant funding is intended to support programs for a period of three years; however, grant recipients will be advised that funding for the subsequent two years is contingent upon their satisfactory program performance and the appropriation of funding for the AFHS by City Council in FY 2025 and FY 2026.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Alexandria Fund for Human Services Recommended Grant Awards for FY 2024 to FY 2026
2. Presentation
STAFF:
Kendel Taylor, Interim Deputy City Manager
Federico Gutierrez, Deputy Director, DCHS
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