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Brookhaven manager proposes sponsorship policy with $5,000 cap for eligible nonprofits
Summary
City management proposed a discretionary sponsorship policy to the council that would require applicants to be 501(c)(3) or c6 organizations serving at least 80% Brookhaven residents and sets a suggested maximum award of $5,000 per organization, to be reviewed during the 2027 budget cycle.
City management presented a proposed sponsorship policy at the March 24 work session to create consistent criteria and an annual application process for discretionary sponsorship funding.
"We're going to start with a maximum donation per organization at $5,000," the city manager (Steve) told the council, adding that applicants must generally be a 501(c)(3) or c6 organization and should be serving at least 80% of Brookhaven residents. He said the manager’s office will screen applications for compliance and submit qualified proposals to council during budget hearings for final decisions.
The proposal aims to restrict funding to groups that demonstrably serve Brookhaven residents and to exclude individuals, political campaigns, religious organizations promoting beliefs, and groups that discriminate. The manager also noted that professional memberships and training expenses (for example, memberships in the DeKalb Municipal Association or GMA) would not be handled through the sponsorship program but through usual budget lines.
Why it matters: council members said the policy will provide guardrails so staff can better answer constituent questions about sponsorship requests. One council member asked whether applicants should also be registered as a state-incorporated entity; staff said that requirement can be added to the application to ensure oversight by the Georgia Secretary of State.
Implementation and timing: staff recommended that applications open in July–August and that awards be included in the 2027 budget process; the city manager’s office will produce standard operating procedures and a web-friendly application form.
What the council will decide: the presentation included a resolution on the evening’s agenda to approve the policy; council will consider specific applications and any exceptions during budget deliberations.
