Delray Beach nonprofits report impact, seek funding as city reviews CRA and grants

City staff scheduled annual presentations from six nonprofit partners Tuesday, and each organization outlined programs, attendance and funding needs as the city transitions grant and CRA funding decisions.

Jeff Forrest, assistant city manager, said the presentations use last year's funding figures and that groups were asked to give a 10‑minute lookback on their services. "We ask them to give you a 10 minute presentation," Forrest said, and staff provided backup information showing the current city support levels for each agency.

Boys & Girls Club: Pablo Tejada, chief impact officer for Palm Beach County Boys and Girls Club, described the Delray site's after‑school and summer programming. Tejada said the organization operates 51 weeks a year in the county and that the Delray site serves "616 kids and young people"; he also referenced a larger county membership number in his remarks. Tejada emphasized family‑support activities, partnerships for food distribution, STEM and behavioral‑support programming that redirects students into enrichment rather than suspension. Executive club director Frankie described expanded STEM, cultural arts and sports programs and said the club runs a monthly food distribution for 400–500 families.

Spady Cultural Heritage Museum: Charlene (Spady) summarized exhibits, commemorative events and outreach. She said the museum hosted about 4,000 guided tours year‑to‑date and highlighted the museum's lecture series, paid and unpaid intern programs and a $155,000 figure referenced in her materials. She asked the city to continue partnership funding in light of cuts in federal and state support.

Achievement Centers for Children and Families: Achievement Centers representatives said the nonprofit has served the Delray community for more than 55 years, operates three campuses, and serves "over 750 children," with "63%" living in Delray. The organization described nearly 2,500 service hours in early childhood education last year, roughly 1,500 out‑of‑school program hours, food programs (more than 165 free meals served last year) and a teen internship program (28 paid internships). The Centers described Hacktivate, a civic‑engagement program in which teens studied the city's comprehensive plan and made recommendations to city officials.

Sandoway Discovery Center: Danica Sanborn said Sandoway welcomed over 17,000 visitors and taught more than 5,308 students through its junior naturalist program; she reported that 3,711 of those students — "over 70%" — came from Title I or underserved schools and that Sandoway provided transportation and free visits for those students. Sandoway also described partnerships with city efforts (beach cleanups, sea turtle work) and said it raised more than $60,000 at an annual fundraiser and completed a porch renovation funded by a matching grant.

Delray Beach Historical Society: Winnie Edwards, executive director, described an expanded archive that now holds roughly 150,000 items, a busy calendar of school and public programs, oral‑history projects and heritage garden work. Edwards said the society interacted with about 10,500 people during the year and reported raising $61,000 at a garden fundraiser. She requested funding at the city's current level: "$100,000 for 2025–2026," she said.

Delray Beach Public Library: Michael Banta, executive director, said the library circulated about 222,198 physical items last year and recorded roughly 193,000 visits; reference desk staff logged about 61,900 assists. The library said it runs more than 2,500 programs with 13,500 total program attendees. Banta asked for a 3.2% budget increase — an additional $55,396 — saying prior increases had brought salaries and staffing to competitive levels and urging that the city maintain the current course. He also told commissioners that "1,786,537 does not include the 443,000 coming over from the CRA," referring to funds being absorbed into city funding this year.

Commissioners thanked presenters, asked clarifying questions about service areas and program metrics, and heard that the presentations were provided for information. No funding votes were taken at the workshop; staff and commissioners signaled these reports will inform upcoming budget discussions as the city finalizes CRA funding transitions, grant applications and CIP trade‑offs.

Public comment: One speaker from Arts Garage delivered a short statement requesting continued access to city‑level funding now being transitioned from CRA dollars and provided the commission with a printed portfolio of the organization's work.