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Council approves $100,000 pilot grant to Epicenter to expand community events
Summary
The council approved a $100,000 pilot grant to Epicenter to underwrite roughly 37 free community events from Sept. 2025 through June 2026, with staff and Epicenter emphasizing local reach (72% of participants are low‑income East Palo Alto residents). One councilmember voted no, citing concerns about process fairness.
The City Council voted to approve a $100,000 pilot grant agreement with Epicenter to fund community events and expand public access to the 25,000‑square‑foot arts and cultural facility.
Community services staff described a roughly 10‑month program running from September 2025 through June 2026 with an estimated 37 events (an average subsidy of about $2,702 per event). Staff emphasized Epicenter’s local track record: the presenter said 72% of Epicenter participants live in low‑income households within the city and that Epicenter operates an indoor theater, outdoor amphitheater and studio spaces that can host arts, family and workforce events.
Epicenter executive director Nadine Rambo said the organization recently voted to expand its mission to serve all ages and described the grant as a way to keep programming free for residents while building the organization’s long‑term capacity. “We went back as an organization when we heard that feedback year after year and talked to our board about it… they voted to expand our mission so that we can serve all ages here in the city of East Palo Alto,” Rambo said.
Council members generally praised Epicenter’s work, though one councilmember raised process concerns that the city did not open a competitive application for the funding; that member voted against the motion. The motion to adopt the grant agreement passed 4–1.
