Thornton committee recommends $314,264 for local nonprofits; council to vote next week

A Thornton city advisory committee recommended allocating $314,264 to local nonprofit organizations through the Thornton Assistance Fund, and the City Council agreed to move the recommendations to a formal vote next week.

Sarah Tiguel, chair of the TAF committee and a Ward 2 representative, told council the panel reviewed 41 applications and found 38 eligible for the 2026 grant cycle. "There were 41 applications submitted for the Thornton Assistance Fund this year. 38 of those applications were found eligible to move forward to the 2026 TAF grant cycle," Tiguel said, and the committee recommended funding 22 organizations out of those applicants.

The committee recommended distributing the $314,264 across four priority areas the council set: housing and homelessness; food; human services; and health and medical. Lisa Permboa, the Ward 4 representative handling housing and homelessness, said six nonprofits applied in that category; four met eligibility criteria and the committee recommended $77,298 in awards there, with three funded at 100% and Almost Home recommended at $30,000.

Council members pressed staff on allocation choices, particularly the level of funding for housing and homelessness. One council member said council had designated that area as the top priority and asked why its funding did not reflect that. Permboa and other committee members said their recommendation reflected application volume and organization budgets submitted to the committee.

Permboa cited specific data used in the committee's deliberations when addressing Catholic Charities, which a council member had asked be considered for a larger award. "They received $18,000 last year, and they were only able to serve 42 Thornton residents," Permboa said, and committee members noted roughly 74% of that organization's reported operating costs went to personnel in the submitted budget. That information shaped the committee's recommendation not to fully fund the $40,000 request from Catholic Charities this cycle.

Council members asked staff to provide comparative overhead and direct‑service breakdowns for each applicant and to supply more detail on how the 42 residents were served last year, which the committee said it would follow up on. Councilmember questions also prompted discussion of holding funds and seeking other providers if needed to meet the housing priority.

After the discussion, Mayor (speaker 1) said there was consensus to move the committee recommendations forward for a vote next week. Staff said they would include requested evaluation details in the packet ahead of the formal meeting.

What comes next: Council will consider the TAF committee's recommendations at the next formal council meeting, where members will have the opportunity to vote after reviewing additional materials staff promised to provide.