Council updates Sofia Travis grant procedures, approves My Sister’s Closet application amendment

Monroe County Council on Tuesday approved language to standardize how the Sofia Travis community‑service grant program solicits, interviews and awards grant funds, and unanimously approved a separate resolution allowing a single applicant to substitute a collaborative partner in a previously filed 2024 application.

The ordinance (first reading) consolidates prior resolutions into a single, updated procedure and clarifies committee membership, selection and application requirements. Among the changes: the review committee is defined as five members (three council volunteers plus two community members), community‑member terms end when replaced by council action and no community member may be appointed for a second consecutive term. The revised rules require applicants to submit required reporting for any prior Sofia Travis awards before being eligible to receive new funding.

During discussion county legal counsel Molly Turner King said the change was prompted by practical problems in administering collaborative grants; one 2024 applicant (My Sister’s Closet) had applied as a collaborative project but could not supply an executed memorandum of understanding with its original partner and asked permission to substitute Amethyst House as the collaborative partner instead. The Sofia Travis review committee recommended that the council allow that amendment and the council passed Resolution 2025‑25 to permit the substitution and to authorize staff to draft the MOU for commissioners’ signature. Turner King told council the revised ordinance brings prior resolutions and procedures into a single document and adds a clear requirement that applicants must be current with reporting requirements from any previously awarded grants before they can be eligible for new awards.

Why it matters: The Sofia Travis grants fund local social‑service providers and community programs using county allotments. The updated ordinance aims to reduce uncertainty about committee membership, set application timelines, require stricter reporting compliance from previously funded agencies and standardize the interview process when more than one community volunteer is needed to evaluate applicants.

Council action: The ordinance was read and received a vote (first reading) with council direction that the ordinance will require a second reading (statutory process for ordinances). Council also approved Resolution 2025‑25 allowing My Sister’s Closet to amend its 2024 collaborative application to name Amethyst House as the partner. Turner King said, if approved, staff would prepare a memorandum of understanding for commissioners’ signature so the project can proceed.

Ending: Councilors asked staff to circulate the revised ordinance, the interview and selection criteria, and any associated application forms to the public and to post application deadlines. Councilors also said they will appoint volunteers to the interview panel at a later meeting after the ordinance receives its required second reading.