Advisory work group urges Montgomery County to create grants board, liaison and staggered three‑year awards

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee discussed recommendations from an advisory work group on strategic planning for Montgomery County’s community grants, including creating a community grants board, adding a nonprofit liaison in the county executive’s office, and moving legacy grants into a single community grants fund with staggered three‑year awards.

Clemens Johnson, staff to the committee, told members the advisory group was created by Resolution 27-80 and met six times over seven to eight months to craft recommendations covering the community grants NDA, legacy grants and cost‑sharing for capital improvement grants. The work group’s report, included in the committee packet, proposes preserving the Community Grants NDA as a flexible fund while folding legacy grant dollars into that pool under a phased transition.

Bridget Howe, executive director of nonprofit Montgomery, outlined the group's core proposals: establish a community grants board to set annual priorities and advise the Office of Grants Management (OGM); adopt a tiered funding structure so small and emerging nonprofits do not compete directly with large, professionalized organizations; and stagger grant competitions so one‑third of available funds are competed each year with three‑year terms. "The best solution ... would be to establish a community grants board that would be charged with identifying those priorities," Howe said.

Kim Jones, executive director of the Montgomery County Black Collective, urged a dedicated nonprofit liaison in the county executive’s office to improve outreach and navigation for small, new and underserved organizations, saying such a position would help break down cultural and linguistic barriers and make grant opportunities more accessible.

Rafael Culmerlihole Murphy, director of the Office of Grants Management, framed the proposals with context about the county’s overall grant landscape and cautions about overlap: "Grants ... are really actually a fraction, a small fraction, less than 10% of the money, the county's money that goes out to the nonprofit community," Murphy said, noting the bulk of county nonprofit funding is distributed through departmental contracts and department‑based NDAs. He warned the committee to avoid creating priorities that duplicate existing departmental strategies, citing examples such as the Office of Food System Resilience and environmental programs.

Members and agency directors repeatedly flagged capacity constraints. The director of the Department of Recreation said his department administers more than 588 contracts and over 24 grants with two full‑time staff members assigned to that workload, limiting the agency’s ability to monitor outcomes beyond basic contract compliance. "We don't have the opportunity to check outcomes ... we are simply just trying to make sure people are getting paid on time," the director said.

The work group recommended a transition plan for legacy grants that would notify grantees and provide a bridge allocation (the group suggested six months; the county executive included a 12‑month allocation in his recommended budget). Howe said the group preferred moving legacy funding into the community grants NDA rather than preserving a separate legacy fund so future priorities could remain nimble and responsive.

Council members generally praised the work group's recommendations while expressing concern about implementation timing during the county’s transition to a new executive. Several members backed the tiered approach and urged additional staffing and clearer criteria so OGM can publish a notice of funding opportunity with focused priorities. Committee staff noted the next formal decision point for legacy grants and the community grants NDA will be the FY27 budget deliberations.

The committee did not take votes on the recommendations. Members agreed to consider next steps including extending the advisory work group to help with implementation, coordinating outreach events such as nonprofit Montgomery’s planned "ask me anything" session, and reviewing the AWG resolution ahead of the FY27 budget cycle. The committee adjourned without formal action.