To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners’ Office
Prepared By:
prepared
Alex Nelson, Management Analyst I, Commissioners’ Office
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presenter
Presenters: Aid to Agencies Review Team
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Subject:
title
3:00 PM *2023 Aid to Agencies Recommendations
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this study session is to provide funding recommendations for the 2023 Aid to Agencies competitive grant program for approval by the Board of County Commissioners as part of the 2023 budget.
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Background and Discussion: Originally established in 2008, the Board of County Commissioners annually provides funds to nonprofit agencies providing services to Arapahoe County residents through the Aid to Agencies program. The program is funded through the County general fund and intended to augment safety net services by either extending critical County services or filling service gaps.
Historically, nonprofit agencies have submitted grant funding applications, an internal staff team scored them based on Board-approved criteria, and the Board used the staff scores to determine funding allocations. In 2021, the Board approved revisions to the program in response to commissioner feedback that created a safety net program, consisting of organizations that automatically received annual funding subject to reporting requirements, and a competitive grant program to which organizations apply for a portion of the total program funding. For the 2022 and 2023 grant cycles, the total program budget has been $1,679,500, of which $1,150,603 is allocated to the safety net organizations and $527,897 is available for the competitive grant program.
At the June 7, 2022, study session (link attached for reference), the Board approved further competitive program revisions for the 2023 grant cycle, including:
1. Refining the previous four funding categories (homelessness, domestic violence, seniors, and behavioral and mental health) to nine service areas:
a. Transportation
b. Substance abuse
c. Mental/behavioral health
d. Shelter
e. Food assistance
f. Domestic violence support
g. Affordable housing
h. Employment skills/services
i. Case management
2. Simplifying the scoring criteria to four categories with weights to place emphasis on the services provided by each organization:
a. Agency expertise & background (20%)
b. Agency capacity (25%)
c. Scope of services (40%)
d. County investment (15%)
Consistent with these revisions, each application had a total possible score of 100 and had to fulfill at least one of the service areas for consideration. The complete application list is attached for reference.
Safety Net Program
The Aid to Agencies review team, comprised of Community Resources, Human Services, and Commissioners’ Office staff, did not propose any revisions to the safety net organizations and is recommending continued funding at the following levels:
Competitive Grant Program
The Aid to Agencies competitive grant program application opened on June 27, 2022, and closed August 5, 2022. The program received 51 complete applications, totaling approximately $2.7 million in eligible requests. The staff review team scored each application based on the approved criteria and met throughout October to finalize recommendations.
The 2023 grant cycle received 11 more applications than in 2022 (28% increase), and the total funding request amount increased from $1.8 million for 2022 to $2.7 million for 2023. Based on the influx of applications and significant increase in request amount, the staff review team prepared two funding options for Board consideration. They are summarized below, and additional detail is included in the attached documents.
Option 1: Fund the highest scoring applications at the full eligible request amount (10 applications/organizations).
Funding the organizations in option 1 would provide services in the following service areas:
Option 2: Fund the highest scoring applications at 80% of the eligible amount (12 applications/organizations).
Funding the organizations in option 2 would provide services in the following service areas:
Fiscal Impact: The total Aid to Agencies program budget (subject to Board approval in the 2023 budget) is $1,679,500, of which $527,897 is available for the competitive grant program.
Alternatives: The Board could select an alternative funding option, choose not to fund either funding option as presented, or decline to award the grant program.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☐Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: The review team recommends advancing option 2, as it provides funding to the highest scoring applicants but increases the number of funded organizations by two, resulting in more well-rounded service provision when compared to option 1.
Concurrence: Aid to Agencies Review Team (Community Resources Department and Human Services Department)