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Councilors move to fix micro‑grant process after nonprofits say application guidance confused applicants
Summary
After committee members described a mismatch between the original one‑year micro‑grant incubator and the multi‑year RFP that required no year‑one budget, staff and a nonprofit witness said many startups were told informally they would be disqualified; the committee approved clarifying amendments and the bill as amended.
The Rules Committee on Aug. 18 approved amendments to clarify eligibility and reporting rules for the city’s Public Service Grants (PSG) micro‑grant program after committee members and staff described a history of changes to the program that confused small nonprofits.
Office of General Counsel staff explained the amendment corrects a whereas clause and clarifies that organizations on the city’s noncompliance list are not eligible for certain Chapter 118 funding while noncompliance remains unresolved, and it specifies required annual financial reports rather than full audits based on award amounts.
Maribel Hernandez, grants and contract compliance, told the committee the RFP had been written as a multiyear incubator and that the year‑one component did not require a budget; as a result only one of eight organizations applied in the most recent round and that applicant was disqualified for multiple reasons, one of which related to the noncompliance list. Hernandez said scoring remains open until Sept. 17 and organizations will have an opportunity to be scored if the committee approves the change.
Della Sellers, founder of Girls of Virtue and one of the program’s “emerging leaders,” said small startup nonprofits were told informally—often via staff at partner agencies—that they would not qualify and thus many did not finish applications. “We were told that we would be declined for PSG,” Sellers said, explaining she stopped completing the application after being told they would likely be disqualified. She described the paperwork and appeals process as time consuming and burdensome for startups and said this program had been intended to help new organizations navigate the grant process.
Vice chair and other council members acknowledged the program’s intent as an incubator and said the committee must “clean up” the process to align the RFP and the legislation with that intent. With that context, the committee approved the amendment and then the bill as amended by recorded vote (5–0).
What happens next: Office of Grants and OGC will continue outreach to affected organizations and PSG scoring remains open through Sept. 17 per staff comments.
