Santa Clara updates Wade Brummell scholarship rules; nonresident fee to rise in two steps

City staff and youth-sports representatives at a Parks & Recreation stakeholder meeting reviewed proposed revisions to the Wade Brummell scholarship program and reached consensus on several procedural changes, a two-step nonresident-fee increase and timelines for roster and scholarship submissions.

The revisions clarify that the scholarship program’s primary purpose is to provide financial assistance to qualifying City of Santa Clara youth (players 18 and under who live in the city or attend a school within the Santa Clara Unified School District). Nonresident participants who play in nonprofit youth sports organizations that use city facilities will trigger a contribution to the fund. City staff told attendees that the group’s recommendation is to collect the nonresident contribution once per athlete per year (unduplicated) and to phase the current $25 fee upward: to $35 effective July 1, 2025, and then to $50 on the following July 1, subject to final city approvals.

Why it matters: The Wade Brummell fund is intended to reduce financial barriers for Santa Clara youth to participate in organized sports. Changes to how nonresident fees are collected and how scholarships and any excess funds are distributed affect teams’ billing, parent payments and the pool of funds available for awards and small capital grants.

Key details agreed at the meeting:

- Residency and roster requirements: Organizations must submit team rosters that identify nonresident participants and provide proof of residency for qualifying Santa Clara participants. Staff asked that rosters include name, address, ZIP code and school for each participant.

- Timing and billing: Youth-sports organizations that use city facilities shall provide highlighted rosters (showing nonresident participants) to the Parks & Recreation Department no later than April 15 each year. City staff will determine the organization’s required contribution and mail an invoice; organizations must pay within 30 days of the invoice date.

- Scholarship application and decision schedule: Scholarship requests must be submitted at the same time as the roster and will be processed by July 1 each year.

- Per-athlete eligibility limit: The group affirmed an unduplicated, per-athlete scholarship eligibility once per year (the athlete may participate in multiple programs, but is eligible for one scholarship award per year under this policy).

- Non-eligible expenses: School-based youth athletic programs and field-use fees are not eligible expenses under the Wade Brummell scholarship program; school-based groups should pursue other community grants if eligible.

- Grants from excess funds: If a balance in excess of $15,000 remains in the fund at the end of the fiscal year, staff will carry that balance forward for a one-time, invitation-only round of grants available to organizations that contributed to the fund in the prior year. Eligible items for that round include relevant program costs, reimbursement for new equipment, field repairs, capital projects on publicly accessible city facilities, and case-by-case review of additional competition expenses (for example, travel). Receipts and itemized expenses are required. Individual grants will have a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $5,000.

- Approval limits: Staff recommended and the group agreed that director-level approval be raised to $2,500; requests above $2,500 would be forwarded to the Park and Recreation Commission for review and recommendation to the director. The commission retains authority to approve partial funding or to deny requests.

- Marketing and access: Staff will create a dedicated web page with the scholarship guidelines and application form; staff also agreed to provide translated materials for bilingual outreach. Meeting participants retained responsibility for promoting the program to their families and boards, but staff said the city will post the application and make quarterly notifications aligned with registration cycles.

- Application process improvements: Staff demonstrated an online application with dropdown fields for receipts and vendor information to reduce incomplete submissions.

Noted exceptions and follow-ups: Participants asked about special‑abilities or “Challenger” programs for athletes with disabilities. Staff said they will consult the city attorney about appropriate program language and possible exceptions that comply with legal requirements. Staff also noted that eligibility requires organizations to be current in their payments to the fund and to comply with applicable nondiscrimination law (Title IX was cited as a relevant federal standard for gender nondiscrimination in athletics).

What happens next: Staff said the revised policy would go to the Park and Rec Commission on November 18 and then to the City Council on December 3 for further review; the fee increase timeline proposed at the meeting would become effective only after formal approval. Staff asked stakeholders to attend the commission meeting to show that organizations participated in drafting the policy.

Quotes from the meeting:

"The intent is for a year," said Angelique Wilkin, Recreation Supervisor, when confirming that the nonresident fee should be collected once per athlete per year.

"At last month's meeting, the answer was no," said Lenny (staff), describing the group's prior decision not to use Wade Brummell funds to offset facility-use fees.

"We will put [the scholarship materials] on our website and make quarterly communications aligned with registration," said Kim Castro, Recreation Manager, describing the city’s outreach plan.

Ending: The new guidelines aim to streamline scholarship requests and increase transparency about how contributions are calculated and spent. Formal adoption and the effective dates for the fee increases remain subject to the Park and Rec Commission and City Council processes; stakeholders and organizations were invited to attend the November 18 commission meeting to show support and confirm the group’s input.