Task force reviews $140,000 grant cycle, approves multiple $5,000 sponsorships and delegates interim requests
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Summary
The African American Equity Restoration Task Force discussed disbursing a city-approved $140,000 grant cycle, approved several $5,000 sponsorships for local community events and voted to delegate any grant or sponsorship requests received before the June meeting to its investment committee.
The African American Equity Restoration Task Force on April 13 heard staff describe disbursement plans for the third grant cycle approved by city council and approved several $5,000 community sponsorships while delegating interim funding decisions to a smaller committee.
Dee, the task force staff member who presented the report, said the council-approved grant cycle is now being distributed to grantees and that an impact report would be posted to the task force website. "Now we are in the process of actually dispersing those funds, so they should receive those hopefully soon," she said.
Task force members noted a discrepancy between the committee's recommendation and the council's final number. A member said the committee had recommended $150,000 but "we were able to get a $140,000 in grants approved" after one organization withdrew following the council vote.
The task force considered multiple sponsorship requests, each generally for $5,000. Members discussed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission parade and festival, a community financial-literacy program centered in East Knoxville, a Shoes for School request (to purchase roughly 140 pairs of shoes from a wholesaler), a second sponsorship for the Educator Resource Center to fully fund an educator event at World's Fair Park, and a Real Talk Mentoring end-of-year banquet tied to a summer program.
On the Educator Resource Center request, staff said the organization had previously received $5,000 and presented a supplemental request so Sarah Moore Green school could be included. The task force approved the sponsorships by voice vote.
Members also debated whether sponsorships above $5,000 should be routed through the grant-review process. Several members said flexibility was needed for tangible, time-sensitive requests, while others urged more formal accountability. One member recommended that task force members attend some events to better assess future requests. "That would be very beneficial because then we can address those questions that come from other members," the member said.
To manage requests arriving before the task force meets again, the body voted to delegate any grant or sponsorship requests received between the April and June meetings to the investment committee for decision. Chair called the motion, it was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The meeting also included routine business: approval of the minutes, recognition of departing founding members, and nominations to leadership. The chair nominated Pastor Vincent Jones to serve as chair when current terms expire in June and nominated Janae Peterson to join the task force; members assented to the nominations.
