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City retools human-services funding process: new NOFA, stricter orientation, scoring changes and client exit surveys
Summary
City staff proposed and the Human Services Advisory Commission approved changes to the human-services NOFA and evaluation process, aiming for clearer applications, stronger data and more consistent scoring.
Chad Booker, community development supervisor in the City of Scottsdale’s Housing and Community Assistance Office, presented proposed revisions to the human-services funding process and NOFA. Booker said the changes aim to improve applicant preparedness, clarify scoring and give commissioners better data to compare proposals.
Key calendar dates include a late-August NOFA release, application opening Sept. 9, an applicant orientation on Sept. 8 (recorded for agencies that cannot attend) and an Oct. 17 submission deadline. Commissioners will receive proposals in January, send written questions to agencies by Jan. 29, return initial scores by Feb. 19 and hold an informal funding recommendations work session Feb. 26; final recommendations are scheduled for March 12. Booker said informal meetings will let commissioners see each other’s scores and discuss them, followed by a 24-hour window to change scores with a public comment explaining why.
Major application and evaluation changes approved by the commission include: placing the applicant-orientation notice at the top of the NOFA and making attendance mandatory for CDBG proposals; switching the order of application sections so program descriptions appear before funding details; requiring applicants to submit a current IRS Form 990 where relevant; adding a required sample client exit survey to applications and requesting exit surveys during performance reporting; adding a form showing funds awarded and funds expended over the prior three years; and including feedback from center managers about local shortfalls in the proposal packet.
Scoring changes include a new 1–10 scale with written anchors, a predetermined threshold below which proposals will not proceed to recommendations, clearer priority-question wording, staff emphasis on funding-source applicability, and up to five bonus points for collaboration with city staff, human-services centers or other agencies. Booker said collaborative proposals and those that document services for Scottsdale residents will receive attention in scoring; staff scoring will also flag proposals not meeting funding-source criteria so agencies may be invited to move to another source if appropriate.
Commissioners praised the changes, asked clarifying questions about how the center-manager feedback will be used, how the bonus points will be awarded, and whether non-Scottsdale nonprofits can be competitive when serving Scottsdale residents. The commission voted to approve the recommended changes by roll call. Booker said final funding availability amounts for certain sources would be announced when known.
