City staff detailed the administration plan for a $25,000 Community-Based Events Innovation Fund on Sept. 23, saying the pilot is intended to seed new and underserved public events in Redmond and to gather data for future budget decisions.

Lindsay Tussing, marketing and events supervisor, said Council adjusted eligibility after June feedback: the fund will accept active nonprofits or fiscally sponsored groups with annual budgets of less than $500,000 (raised from $250,000), and organizations must have been operational since Jan. 1, 2025. Events must be on city property and either require a special-event permit or expect 100 or more attendees in city rental spaces; events must be free and open to the public and serve missions such as community building, arts access, wellness or cultural heritage.

Tussing described award mechanics: individual grants will range from $250 to $5,000 per organization per year; awards may fund stand-alone events, series or specific event elements; awards will be paid directly to organizations (not reimbursements); and the program limits one grant per organization per year. The program administrator will screen applications for eligibility and an interdepartmental staff team will score qualifying applications using four equally weighted criteria: innovation, community impact, accessibility and financial need.

Tussing said the fund is deliberately inclusive: "All qualifying applicants will receive some level of funding," she told the committee; the scoring determines award amounts rather than a pass/fail selection. The application window was scheduled to open in the coming weeks for 2026 events, with winter scoring and award notifications.

Administrative requirements include posting funded events on experienceredmond.com and submitting a post-event report within 30 days (attendance data, budgets, lessons learned); noncompliance could affect future eligibility. Staff said funds may be used to cover permit or rental fees if the organization chooses.

Council members asked implementation questions, including whether multiple nonprofits collaborating on an event could both receive funds (staff: yes, if each submits a qualifying application), whether awards might cover rental fees (staff: yes), and how to credit the city (staff: practice is to require acknowledgement and staff offered to provide a logo and phrasing for "funded in part by the City of Redmond"). Council members also suggested listing partner options on the website for groups that do not meet eligibility thresholds.

No formal council action was taken; staff expects to open applications soon and to assess the pilot before recommending continuation in future biennia.