Roseville Grants Advisory Commission holds applicant workshop as available funds shrink to $284,710

The City of Roseville Grants Advisory Commission on Jan. 14 held an applicant workshop to review eligibility, documentation and deadlines for the 2025 Citizens Benefit Fund grant cycle, and to answer questions from nonprofit representatives. Commissioners and staff told applicants that available grant funds are smaller this cycle — $284,710 in the Citizens Benefit Fund — and reviewed application steps, scoring and documentation requirements.

The workshop was intended to help applicants understand what funds are available, how to apply through ZoomGrants, and what supporting documents are required to avoid disqualification. Chair Neva Parker noted the decrease in funds and said the commission would answer questions and provide guidance during the presentation.

Why it matters: The Citizens Benefit Fund (CBF) is a recurring local source of grants to Roseville nonprofits created from proceeds of the sale of the Roseville Community Hospital in 1993. With fewer supplemental funds available this year (ARPA and other temporary sources are no longer available), commissioners said the reduced pool will make funding decisions more competitive, and that applicants must be clear and accountable in applications so the limited funds go to programs that demonstrably benefit Roseville residents.

Key details from the workshop

- Available funds and history: Commissioners said the grants advisory commission has $284,710 in the Citizens Benefit Fund to distribute this grant cycle. Staff said the CBF has provided “over $17,000,000” to local nonprofits since the fund’s creation; with prior supplemental sources such as REACH and ARPA included, staff said the total granted has been $18,800,000 in past years.

- Application timeline and awards: The 2025 funding cycle opened Dec. 2, 2024. Applications must be submitted online via ZoomGrants by 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. Staff will review applications for completeness in February; commissioners will review and score applications in March; the commission plans to present funding recommendations to City Council in May or June; and grant checks are scheduled to be awarded by the commission on Aug. 12, 2025.

- Eligibility and policy constraints: Staff reviewed eligibility rules. The CBF grant is available to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits; private schools and school-based nonprofit associations may apply but are limited to one application per individual site and may only receive funding if any benefit to the private school is incidental and the primary benefit is to Roseville citizens. Presenters referenced California constitutional limits on using public funds to support sectarian or denominational schools and noted the Brown Act limits discussion on matters not on the agenda.

- Required documents and signatures: Staff outlined required attachments: board authorization form (signed by board president and secretary), assurances and certification (signed by executive director and board chair for nonprofits; principal and superintendent/trustee for private schools), Levine Act form (signed by an authorized representative), current RRF-1 (Attorney General annual registration renewal fee report), active Secretary of State registration, a current 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) determination letter, a list of board members, current agency fiscal-year budget and proposed program budget, a City of Roseville business license (or proof of payment/receipt pending issuance), and a list of key personnel for the proposed program. Staff stressed required signatures must be “wet” signatures or via DocuSign/Adobe Sign (typed signatures are not acceptable).

- Capital expenditures and vendor bids: For capital projects or property improvements, applicants must provide proof of ownership or a lease and, if the property is not owned by the applicant, a letter from the property owner authorizing the improvements. Projects with individual items costing $500–$3,999 require three documented telephone, online or written cost estimates; items or projects of $4,000 or more require three written bids. A quote summary form is required for each capital expenditure.

- Counseling services: Organizations proposing therapy or counseling services must attach copies of each provider’s California certification.

- Application review and disqualification risks: Staff said incomplete applications or missing required documents may be disqualified. There will be an eligibility-determination period roughly Feb. 10–21 to resolve inadvertent errors; applicants who fail to respond to staff requests during that period risk disqualification. Commissioners emphasized they rely solely on the written application materials for scoring and will not accept supplemental materials during scoring.

Public comment and applicant questions

Several nonprofit representatives asked questions during public comment and the workshop Q&A. Mary Testveil, executive director of Blue Line Arts, thanked the commission and asked whether the city has plans to grow the fund because “it is an unfortunate step back” to have less funding due to one-time state and federal sources no longer available. Staff member Toby responded that development fees are generally restricted for specific uses and cannot be repurposed without Council direction, but he said the suggestion to explore other revenue streams could be referred to the City Council for consideration: “development fees that we collect are restricted in the way that we can use them,” Toby said.

Other speakers included Barbara Hague (Sierra College patrons), Gary McDonald (executive director, Lighthouse Counseling and Family Resource Center; also serving Stand Up Placer), Tom Grayson (Golden Seer Life Skills, Father and Family Center), and Kathy Connor (board treasurer, Gigi’s Playhouse Sacramento). Youth Commissioner Daniel Zeman, who was introduced at the start of the meeting, said, “My name is Daniel Zeman. I’m a junior at Wood Creek High School. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”

Commission actions taken during the meeting

- Approval of minutes from the Nov. 12, 2024 meeting: motion made, seconded and adopted (vote recorded as “Aye”; mover/second not specified in the transcript).

- Approval of the final report questions for fiscal year 2024–25 CBF/REACH: the commission voted to approve (motion made, seconded; outcome approved; mover/second not specified). Staff said final reports for the FY24–25 cycle will open in January and be due Aug. 31, 2025.

- Approval of the post-application survey to be sent to applicants at the close of the application period: the commission voted to approve continuing the same three short survey questions used last cycle (motion made, seconded; outcome approved; mover/second not specified). Staff said the prior survey returned roughly a dozen responses from about 40–44 applicants.

What commissioners emphasized

Commissioners repeatedly urged applicants to make applications clear for readers unfamiliar with an organization’s work, to use plain text when pasting answers into ZoomGrants, and to prepare documents early (for example, confirming that the organization’s RRF-1 is current with the California Attorney General and that a City of Roseville business license is active). Commissioners noted the more limited pool of funds this year and encouraged applicants to carefully explain community impact and measurable outcomes.

Next steps and contact information

Applications are due Feb. 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. via ZoomGrants; staff indicated technical support is available from ZoomGrants (phone (866) 323-5404; email questions@zoomgrants.com) and that applicants may email staff (contact shown in presentation: TobyThomas@tth0masatroseville.ca.us) for questions about the local process. Commissioners will review applications in March; staff will prepare recommendations for the commission to forward to City Council in May or June; award checks are scheduled for Aug. 12, 2025.

Ending note

Chair Parker closed the workshop portion of the meeting by thanking applicants and noting the remainder of the agenda covered final report questions and the post-application survey. The commission adjourned after routine reports; the next Grants Advisory Commission meeting is scheduled for March 2025.