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Committee recommends deeper, larger human-services grants; caps awards at $200,000 and 50% of org budgets
Summary
City committee and United Way recommended 73 programs from 68 agencies for Human Services funding in the 26–27 cycle, prioritizing deeper awards, collaborative proposals and monitoring by United Way; grants were capped at $200,000 and 50% of an organization’s operating budget.
Members of the Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Committee received a presentation on the city’s Human Services funding recommendations during a committee meeting, where officials and the United Way outlined a shift toward larger, deeper grants and stronger monitoring.
“We have set aside 1.5% of the city's budget to do this work,” the committee chair said, describing the statutory set-aside and the city’s human-services priorities. Deanna White, director of the Office of Human Services, said the Human Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) was instructed this cycle “to go deep,” meaning reviewers should consider funding the full amount requested for high-scoring applications rather than partially funding many projects.
The nut graf: HSAC and the United Way recommended funding 73 programs from 68 agencies across three priority categories — comprehensive workforce development; youth gun-violence prevention and reduction; and supporting, securing and stabilizing housing for high-risk populations — using a scoring rubric tied to council priorities and evidence-based outcomes. United Way will administer grants and monitor reporting for the two-year cycle.
Most important details: HSAC recommended that funded programs be capped at $200,000 per award and at 50% of an organization’s operating budget. The committee and United Way said the cap was chosen to allow the fund to “go deep” while preserving the ability to fund multiple high-scoring programs. The presenters said the average award rose roughly 46% from the prior comparable cycle and that the panel prioritized projects demonstrating wraparound services, data-informed design and interorganizational collaboration.
Numbers and process: Officials said the workforce-development category received 57 applications (from 52 organizations); HSAC recommended 22 programs for funding with a total recommended of about $2,498,182. The youth gun-violence category drew 45 program applications (43 organizations); HSAC recommended 26 programs. The housing-stability category had 39 program applications (33 organizations); HSAC recommended 25 programs with a reported total near $2.2 million in that category. Committee members and United Way staff reported a total of 141 applications this cycle and noted that roughly 56% of applicants were new organizations.
On evaluation and oversight, United Way and HSAC described an eligibility screen, rubric-based scoring, conflict-of-interest declarations, bias training for volunteer reviewers and small-group reviews of full proposals. United Way will require midyear reporting and annual reporting, reconcile expenses every six months, and hold convenings and feedback sessions for grantees. “United Way will continue to monitor and manage this process through reporting, and through the end of the second year,” Sue Casey Leininger, director of grantmaking and impact at United Way, said during the presentation.
Committee members asked for follow-up materials, including a figure showing how much additional funding would be required to fully fund all applications in the recommended tiers. Committee discussion clarified that applicants were allowed to propose any dollar amount during the RFP; HSAC later applied the $200,000 cap during final recommendations to preserve funding for other highly recommended proposals. For one category (preventing youth gun violence), staff said they funded down the ranked list until available funds were exhausted, leaving some recommended applicants funded at a reduced percentage of their request.
The meeting concluded with the chair stating the intent to file the item and to finalize the budget in subsequent council budget work, and the item was filed at the end of the session. United Way committed to provide applicants not selected with a FAQ summary of common application weaknesses and to offer one-on-one feedback meetings.
Ending: Committee members praised HSAC volunteers and United Way staff for the time-intensive review work and for process improvements (for example, convenings, “speed networking” events and use of midyear convenings). Officials said the recommended awards and monitoring schedule will be incorporated into the council’s budget deliberations through the final passage later in the process.
