Yuba City approves $2,500 community sponsorship for Casa de Esperanza

YUBA CITY, Calif. — The Yuba City Council unanimously approved a $2,500 monetary sponsorship Sept. 2 for Casa de Esperanza to support the nonprofit’s upcoming fundraiser.

Chrissy Morales, presenting the request, described Casa de Esperanza as the region’s designated domestic violence and crisis center for the Yuba-Sutter area that provides support for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking and elder abuse. "Each year, Casa answers over 1,000 crisis calls, provides over 6,000 nights of safe shelter, and delivers thousands of hours of therapy and education," Morales said.

Morales told the council the monetary sponsorship would come from the city’s community events account, which has $10,000 budgeted annually for community contributions and $2,500 allocated per quarter. The staff report listed the fiscal impact as a $2,500 expenditure from the community events fund for the first quarter.

Council members asked for clarification on how the sponsorship funds would be used and on competing requests within the quarter. One council member asked that, in future requests, the organization include a brief accounting of how city funds would be used and an explanation of expected fundraising leverage. Council members also discussed whether a submission deadline for each quarter should be formalized so competing requests can be evaluated consistently.

A member of the council suggested inviting Casa de Esperanza to report back after their fundraiser to summarize outcomes; Morales said that would be welcome. No members of the public spoke on the item.

A motion to adopt the resolution approving the $2,500 sponsorship passed unanimously.