City staff report progress, spending and participation on Creating a Thriving Lawrence program

City planning and finance staff presented a status report April 28 on the Creating a Thriving Lawrence program, an initiative that distributed $4,445,000 in awards to nonprofit organizations through a request-for-proposals process funded from ARPA-derived free cash.

The presentation summarized dispersals, pending payments and program results: $2,514,555.55 dispersed so far, roughly $84,000 of payments pending, and about $1.85 million remaining to be expended by the June 30 program deadline. Staff said 33 organizations received awards to run programs in arts, youth services, workforce development, small-business support and direct services such as food and housing.

Program managers said the awards supported summer festivals, youth apprenticeships, tutoring and citizenship classes, and capital or operating support for local nonprofits. “We are very much satisfied in the program how it was executed and also our community partners how effective and efficient they have been,” the senior adviser said during the presentation.

Sue Fink, manager of financial and administrative services, described the overall award pool and reporting: “The amount that has been funded to the nonprofits is $4,445,000 through an RFP process,” she said. Staff provided a breakdown of individual awardees, reported service counts (for example, the International Book Fair reported 1,192 participants across events; Lazarus House reported tens of thousands of meals and pantry distributions) and noted pending reimbursements and unspent balances by grantee.

Council questions focused on implementation details: how reimbursements were handled for small organizations, whether grantees maintain documentation, and plans to measure short- and long-term impact. Staff described a flexible reimbursement approach tailored to each organization’s capacity—some organizations submitted one reimbursement request per year, others several—and said staff worked individually with groups that lacked cash flow. Staff also recommended additional internal capacity (for example, hiring a finance intern or an extra staffer) if a similar program runs again because administering dozens of contracts and matching receipts is labor-intensive.

Councilors raised several follow-ups they requested in the near term: documentation showing program expenditures and invoices; contact information for specific award winners (for example, the student who designed the Bread & Roses logo); clarifying how many Lawrence businesses benefited from a local financing partner formerly known as Mill City Investment; addresses for some grantees; and evidence that staff are maintaining a central file for each grantee’s documentation.

Staff agreed to provide additional documentation and to send a follow-up survey to participating nonprofits about lessons learned. The committee voted to forward the presentation to the full council as a committee report for review rather than re-presenting the full slide deck at council.

The presentation listed organizations and highlights of services funded, including music and arts apprenticeships, citizenship and ESOL classes, youth sports and leadership programs, food-business incubation, healthy-homes remediation, and veterans and reentry supports. Staff emphasized that some program awards included capital elements (for example, facility renovations), others covered staff time or programming, and some funds were used to expand outreach into historically underserved populations.

Staff said they would return with additional documentation, including itemized invoices and job descriptions for paid LRA–funded positions if requested, and that they would continue monitoring reimbursements and remaining fund balances through the June 30 deadline.

The committee accepted the report and voted to send it as a committee report to the full council.