Dupont Circle ANC Grants

Dupont Circle ANC Grants

Discussion Paper

1. Introduction

This is an attempt to provide some basic background and guidance on grants to help the Dupont Circle ANC determine if it wants to continue to make grants and if so, how. Most of the material is drawn from the grants guidelines of other District ANCs.

**Please note that has paper not been approved by anyone and is very much a draft intended to stimulate discussion.**

1. Should we do grants?

We have funds, and we are in a unique position to both anticipate needs and provide community leadership using tools such as grants.

In discussion at a public Community Involvement Committee meeting, we discussed that the threshold question – should we do grants – has three important parts:

Given that we currently spend close to 100% of the income we get from the D.C. Government each year, are we willing to spend down a portion of our ANC savings in order to make grants?

Are we willing to do the extra work entailed in making grants in an open and systematic process?

Will the ANC be providing real benefit to the community by making grants?

In answer to these questions, the consensus was that we should do grants, but:

Total annual funds for grants should be limited to ensure sufficient funds remain in reserve to meet high priority ANC contingencies (for example, hiring legal counsel or pursuing PUD benefits). There could be a per-year limitation, and also a minimum savings balance below which the ANC would not dip. It was estimated that this might allow between $3,000 and $5,000 per year for grants.

Given work schedules and other ANC priorities, the number of grants awarded should be limited – for example, to between three and five a year – with grant applications limited to twice a year. This could limit the amount of additional workload to a manageable level.

We should do grants only with a better understanding of the groups already “serving” the Dupont community. Who are they and what are they doing? Ours is, for the most part, is a fairly well-off community that has a number of very active, well managed not for profit organizations that appear fully capable of mounting and managing programs consistence with the District’s overall guidance for ANC grants. The Dupont Circle Citizens Association has for years mounted a community grants program. Other organizations and church groups appear to be doing a good job helping those most in need. Why duplicate their efforts? In subsequent conversations DCCA has agreed to work with us to compile an initial inventory of groups serving Dupont.

1. If we do grants, what criteria and procedures should we use?

The basic statutory guidance for ANC grant awards is contained in D.C. Code, Section 1-264, as amended by D.C. Law 13-135, which authorizes ANCs to award grants to organizations for public purposes.

This statutory guidance requires as follows:

A written grant application to the Commission that describe the proposed project for which the grant is requested; State the expected public benefits and the total cost of the project including other sources of funding.

A grant may not be awarded unless the grant is awarded pursuant to a vote of the Commission at a public meeting.

A grant request may be made by an organization proposing to provide services that are public in nature and benefit persons who reside or work within the Commission area.

The services proposed should not duplicate those that are already performed by the District government.

Expenditures for grant awards should be supported by documentation (e.g. vouchers, grant request letter and/or proposal, and minutes of the meeting in which the Commission approved the grant).

Grant disbursements and supporting documentation should be included in quarterly financial reports submitted to the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor.

Within 60 days after the grant award is disbursed to the grantee, the grant recipient shall forward to the Commission a statement as to the use of the funds. The use of the funds should be consistent with the grant application approved by the Commission.

Examples of Grants Which Are Allowed:

Parent-Teacher Associations to fund such activities as computer literacy programs, musical instruction programs, or local cultural education field trips.

Neighborhood civic associations for projects or activities of a public nature that benefit the Commission area.

Examples of Grants Which Are Prohibited:

Grant awards should not be made for non-public purposes or where services are provided for personal gain.

Grant awards should not be made conditional on a grantee’s political support or – support of a position taken by the Commission.

Grant awards should not be made to a District agency or program funded by the District Government.

Grant awards should not be made where the funds will be used to purchase food and/or entertainment, or to support festivals.

Grant awards should not be made to an individual in that they are deemed non-public purpose expenditure.

In addition, most ANCs that give grants have their own additional grant requirements which expand upon the statutory rules. These include items like the following:

The grant application be reviewed at public meeting of a committee similar to our Community Involvement Committee.

All grant applications must be submitted online.

No grantee shall receive more than one grant in a 24-month period.

No grant request should exceed $5,000.

All awarded funds will be paid directly to vendor.

All grantees must select an administrator and provide required contact information for said person.

All grantees must submit a statement of use, along with receipts reflecting how and when grant funds were used, and from whom services or products were purchased.

If a grant report does not contain the proper accounting of all funds, then the grantee will have breached the grant agreement. Having breached the agreement, the grantee will forfeit the grant award. That forfeiture will trigger any or all of the following penalties. First, the Commission shall not disburse any other funds to the grantee as may have been agreed to under the grant award. Second, the Commission shall, by certified mail, notify the recipient of the breach and demand that the recipient immediately return all unspent monies to the Commission. A copy of the demand letter will be sent at the same time to the appropriate single member district commissioner. Third, the grantee will be ineligible to apply for a new grant from the ANC for a period not exceeding two years.

Reporting: Within 30 days following the issuance of a grant, the grant recipient shall forward to the Commission, via the Community Involvement Committee Chair, a grant report including statement as to the use of the funds consistent with the grant application, complete with receipts, invoices, cancelled checks, vouchers, contracts, etc. The report should reflect the expenditures and indicate funds actually paid, the amount of the payment, when the amount was paid, to whom the amount was paid, and a description of the item or service for which the amount was paid. If a grant report does not contain the proper accounting of all funds, then it shall be deemed to be in breach of the grant agreement, at which time all unspent monies must be returned to the Commission immediately. The Commission shall consider this as forfeiture of the award and any future grant funds under the term of the grant and it may result in the Commission receding and and/or all funds under the grant award. Further, the penalty for noncompliance with the terms of the agreement will result in the forfeiture of any additional or future grant funds to said group, individual, or organization.

Criteria for evaluating Dupont grant proposals could include the following:

A clear statement of measurable goals and objectives;

Whether the grant funds would be used primarily to aid residents or organizations in the Dupont area;

Whether funding is available to the applicant from other sources;

Whether the applicant has sought funding from private sources;

Whether the persons served by the grant have limited income or opportunity to obtain the services or goods provided for in the grant as individuals;

The number of persons and the diversity of groups to be served by the grant;

Whether the grant will serve the population as a whole or a limited number of persons;

Whether the grant funds will be used to purchase items that will have a greater frequency of use or longevity of use or both;

Whether the applicant will use 2B and District of Columbia vendors and services to implement the purpose of the grant, unless those resources are unavailable in the neighborhood or District of Columbia;

Whether or not the grant funds will be used to purchase green products and services; and/or

Whether the grant will serve to better human well-being.

In discussion, the Community Involvement Committee agreed that:

Grant applications should include clear statements of overall goals and objectives.

Grants should be awarded like appropriations, where the ANC pays the relevant vendor directly, rather than providing money to a grantee organization and then requiring that organization to provide receipts.

The Committee should review all grant applications with public committee presentations and discussion, before bringing recommended action to the full ANC.

The Community Involvement Committee membership should included folks from the community with expertise in grants.

In general, the criteria and processes employed for grants could also be applied for PUD amenities packages.

1. Next Steps

It is suggested that:

Commissioners and community members review this draft and provide feedback to Mike Feldstein. Based on that feedback,the Community Involvement Committee can continue to refine these ideas and propose a process for ANC grants.

An inventory of not for profit organization serving the Dupont Circle community should be undertaken, possibly in cooperation with DCCA.

DRAFT – for discussion (last update 3/12/12)Page 1 of 6