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Twentynine Palms holds nonprofit grant workshop as 12 groups seek $196,890 against $75,000 fund
Summary
City staff described a dedicated $75,000 annual nonprofit grant program and heard three-minute presentations from 11 of 12 applicant organizations, which together requested $196,890; council members were invited to question applicants to inform an upcoming allocation decision.
City staff opened a nonprofit grant workshop by explaining that the city created a dedicated funding pathway after reallocating prior CDBG dollars to municipal construction. The staff presentation said the application window ran from March 2 through April 3 and produced 12 applications representing a combined request of $196,890 against an annual city allocation of $75,000.
Staff said it performed a compliance review of all applicants to verify nonprofit status and eligibility and attached verification results to each application in the staff report. Staff asked council members to engage applicants with questions about their programs, the people they serve, and exactly how city funds would be used.
Eleven organizations gave three-minute presentations. Kathy Storass, president of the 29 Palms Artist Guild, asked for support for three events (Fourth of July, a May fundraiser and a chili cook-off), payment for art teachers, repairs to outdoor lighting and landscaping, and improvements to the gallery’s office heating and cooling in the organization’s historic adobe building.
Lori Cosgriff of the 29 Palms Community Food Pantry requested $30,000, described a volunteer-run operation serving 150–200 families regularly, and reported the pantry spent about $57,000 on food last year while receiving 21,000 pounds of donated food; she thanked the city for donations of professional freezers and refrigerators at a new pantry address listed in the presentation.
Melody, director of Animal Action League, described a mobile low-cost spay/neuter program that performed roughly 5,535 surgeries in 2025 and requested funding for three clinics (staff and the presenter clarified the clinics cost $3,600 each; the staff report lists $10,800 total).
Basinwide Foundation’s executive director, Jamie Oahu, said the foundation provides fiscal sponsorship and training and initially referenced $15,000 in the presentation; staff clarified the staff report shows a $10,000 request to support workshops, compliance oversight, and administrative capacity-building.
Other presenters asked for sums sized to their programs: the First Assembly of God youth center requested an HVAC upgrade to keep its youth programming year-round (presenter Grace Leba); Girls on the Run Inland Empire asked for $15,500 to serve roughly 80 local girls (Molly Whitikome); the Joshua Tree National Park Council for the Arts requested $5,000 to co-sponsor the Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo (Vicky Wait); PALS of Palms and Paws requested $10,000 to run a voucher program for city residents; Project Sheba described theater and festival programming; Reach Out Morongo Basin asked for funding for transportation services and senior-center operations, reporting 15,000 trips and 104,000 miles in 2025.
The staff presentation reminded council that continuation and funding levels for the grant program remain at the council’s discretion and will be revisited during the annual budget process. Council did not make allocation decisions tonight; staff and applicants will remain available as the council considers how to distribute the $75,000 annual allocation.
The workshop ended at about 5:59 p.m., and those staying in the room continued into the regular council meeting.
