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Council weighs restoring Community Building Fund to $100,000 after strong demand for grants
Summary
The Community Building Fund, created after the diversity council sunset, awarded small grants rapidly in 2025; staff asked the council whether to restore funding to $100,000 (it currently shows a $50,000 baseline in the proposed budget). Council members generally favored increasing funds and discussed cap sizes for large grants.
City staff and the Community Building Fund review team told the council Sept. 8 that the fund — created after the city dissolved a prior diversity council — quickly distributed grants in 2025 and was exhausted in several months. The baseline budget recommendation for 2026 is $50,000, but council members discussed restoring the program to a $100,000 total allocation for 2026 by adding $50,000 to the recommended budget.
Director Mortelo (presenting the fund overview) said the fund disbursed both small grants (up to $5,000) and a one‑time pilot for larger grants (up to $20,000 in 2025). Council members suggested reducing the large‑grant cap to $10,000 to award more groups and extended multiple proposals on how to allocate additional funding.
Council members proposed several options: council member Keane proposed increasing the fund 50% to $75,000; council member Miller and council member Palmer supported returning to a $100,000 total — either split evenly $50/$50 or a 60/40 split favoring small grants. Directors said the city dispersed about $150,000 in 2025 because an onetime $50,000 contingency allocation had been added to the base $50,000 budget; the 2026 recommended budget returns to the $50,000 baseline.
Staff said the grant review panel includes city teammates and that recipients must submit post‑project feedback; the fund awards projects that range from food access and murals to festivals and smaller community activations. Council members requested staff return with options for a tiered approach and clear rubric, and noted the park board’s community engagement resources and the city’s Community Building Fund might coordinate for scholarships and park activation efforts.
Council members broadly supported adding funding to the fund for 2026 and asked staff to return with a recommended approach (caps, tiering and oversight) before final budget adoption.
