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South Dallas Opportunity Fund staff report brisk early interest in human development NOFA; two info sessions set
Summary
Office of Economic Development staff told the South Dallas Fair Park Opportunity Fund Board that the human development NOFA opened Feb. 18 and closes Mar. 21 at 5 p.m., that outreach has yielded roughly 60 RSVPs to two information sessions, and that applications may be emailed or dropped off in person at OED.
At its Feb. 24 meeting the South Dallas Fair Park Opportunity Fund Board heard that the human development Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) opened Tuesday, Feb. 18 and will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 21. Nicholas, an Office of Economic Development staff member, told the board applications “can be emailed to me directly or dropped off in person in the Office of Economic Development.”
The update said staff reissued a press release the day before the NOFA opened to a distribution list of more than 2,400 media contacts and promoted the NOFA on the city and South Dallas Fair Park Opportunity Fund web pages. The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News ran coverage after the release, and staff reported about 60 RSVPs to two scheduled information sessions: one the morning following the meeting at 10 a.m. at the South Dallas Cultural Center and a second on March 13 at the WE Creation Center at Saint Philip’s School. Staff said they will save time in the sessions for project-specific questions.
Why it matters: the NOFA is the city’s channel for awarding the Fund’s human development grants and for exposing potential nonprofit applicants to the Opportunity Fund’s programs. Board members asked about outreach to community partners and whether events should include evening options for people who cannot attend daytime sessions.
Staff described the outreach tactics: an OED website slider and a dedicated NOFA page, a council memo to all city council members, earned media placement, newsletter inclusion in the city’s Economy newsletter, and planned follow-up to philanthropy and grant networks, former applicants and nonprofit vendors. In response to a board question, staff confirmed the RSVP form collects applicants’ organizations and how people heard about the NOFA.
Board members suggested expanding social media and tabling at community events; the marketing subcommittee has been coordinating outreach and discussed potential partnerships with the Dallas Entrepreneurs Center (DEC) at Redbird to tabling at DEC events such as Amplify and Dallas Startup Week.
Staff said printed materials for the NOFA will be available in Spanish and that the website is currently accessible via Google Translate. For direct assistance, staff asked interested applicants to contact the Office of Economic Development via the contact information on the NOFA page.
The board did not vote on any NOFA awards at the meeting and was reminded that board members may speak publicly about the open NOFA but should stop communicating about it once the application window closes and the board begins formal consideration.
