Budget & Finance working group approves one‑page guide to help nonprofits seek Metro funding

The Metro Budget & Finance working group approved a one‑page guidance document this meeting to help nonprofit organizations understand how to pursue city funding, and directed staff to post the guide on Hub Nashville and send it to nonprofits that spoke at the recent budget hearing.

The guidance emphasizes that nonprofits should identify and work through the appropriate Metro department, prepare a detailed budget and measurable outcomes, and be prepared for financial reporting and eligibility checks under Metro code. The working group also instructed Councilmember Spang to compile edits to the draft, asked Margaret Darby to perform final formatting, and voted to publish the document to the hub and distribute it to organizations that raised budget requests during the public comment period.

Members told nonprofit participants that Metro does not operate a single annual grant cycle like a foundation. Instead, departments budget for needs and, if they plan to outsource work, typically use a request‑for‑proposals (RFP) process or direct appropriations. The document’s key guidance is to: identify the Metro department that would oversee the work; prepare a clear purpose statement, a detailed budget and proposed outcomes; and disclose past experience with Metro funding. Finance staff reiterated that departments and subject‑matter experts must define scope and evaluation rubrics; the Grants Coordination Division in Finance handles contract processing and later monitoring and audits.

The group discussed common barriers nonprofits face. Participants were told that if an organization or council member places funding in a department’s budget late in the cycle, the department will still generally need to run procurement or RFP steps before the nonprofit receives funds. Finance staff noted audit and financial reporting requirements appear in Metro Code (section 5.04) and in the nonprofit grants manual; the working group recommended linking those materials from the one‑pager so groups know what documentation to prepare.

Representatives from small nonprofits who recently received or sought direct appropriations described navigating eligibility checks, audits and contract steps at the last minute. A representative of Choosing Justice Initiative said, “we didn’t really know what we were doing,” describing how the audit and contracting steps delayed work that entered the budget late in the process.

The working group agreed to a set of next steps: (1) Councilmember Spang will incorporate specified edits (eligibility/financial language, a line asking about past Metro funding, and clearer placement of “work through the Metro department” near the top of the page); (2) staff (Margaret Darby and finance staff) will finalize formatting and post the guide to Hub Nashville; (3) the guide will be emailed to nonprofit speakers from the recent budget public hearing; and (4) the chair will schedule outreach to the Budget & Finance Committee and council caucuses to brief them on the process. The committee set a tentative next meeting to discuss the National Needs Fund and further implementation details.