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Bend subgroup weighs multiyear grants and contingency planning as CDBG and federal rules shift
Summary
AHEC members discussed offering multiyear grants to stabilize nonprofit services and reduce administrative burden, but flagged legal and funding uncertainty after staff warned of a federal eligibility directive and possible CDBG reductions; members proposed trial periods and contingency criteria.
The subgroup spent substantial time on whether to offer multiyear grants and how to protect flexibility amid potential federal changes to eligibility rules.
Isabel Nokovich and others described multiyear awards as a way to provide stability and reduce application burden: "I love to do multi year grants, as a way to provide stability for nonprofits," Isabel said. Members debated guaranteed renewals versus contingent multi‑year awards tied to fund availability and recommended trialing a two‑year award period with annual check‑ins rather than permanent multi‑year commitments.
A staff member (speaker 7) warned that a recent federal direction would require verification that beneficiaries of federally funded programs be U.S. citizens or have legal status and that the city is preparing for litigation and possible changes in applicant pools. "We are not gonna have the same kind of applicants that we have had in the past because of this," the speaker said, predicting that programs subject to beneficiary verification may see fewer community service applicants and more infrastructure requests (for example, sidewalk projects) that are easier to document without beneficiary eligibility checks.
Melissa Kimonya and Rachel Baker said the city has other local funds — an affordable housing fund and CICT dollars — that could be options if CDBG funding is restricted; however, speakers did not provide definitive budget amounts in the meeting. Staff emphasized contingency planning (targeted CDBG cycles, pre‑application vetting, or focusing CDBG on specified activities) while cautioning that multiyear awards risk locking funds and could reduce opportunities for new organizations.
The subgroup did not adopt formal rules but asked members to draft eligibility criteria and scenarios (e.g., organizational longevity and service continuity) to guide multiyear award decisions and recommended revisiting any multiyear pilot after a trial period.
