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BACKGROUND In 1992, City Council established the City Grant Program. This program offers funding to community-based non-profit organizations that provide needed human services assistance and arts/cultural activities to Pleasanton residents. In Fiscal Year 1995/96, the City recognized the need to address youth services, and a youth category was added. The arts/culture and youth components of the former City Grant Program were combined to form the current Community Grant Program. The mission of the program is to enhance the quality of life in Pleasanton. Eligible non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply for either the Civic Arts or Youth category, and in some instances, groups could qualify and apply for both. For many grant cycles, the City Council has annually allocated $40,000 in General Fund dollars each to the arts/cultural activity projects and to youth projects. DISCUSSION On October 11, 2023, the Civic Arts and Youth Commissions held a joint meeting to discuss the Community Grant Program. The commissions discussed and provided feedback regarding the mandatory grant meeting, midterm reports, required documents, application packets and questions. Both commissions recommended that in lieu of the mandatory December meeting, staff post a video on the City's website detailing grant requirements and deadlines. Viewing this video would be informational and optional for returning applicants and mandatory for new applicants. The commissions also recommended that staff separate the Community Grant Program into two application packets — one each for youth and arts/culture. This is intended to allow each commission to make future recommendations on application question changes individually through a singular commission process. In discussion of the midterm reports, both commissions recommended the submittal deadline be moved to a later date to provide the applicants more time to submit. Commissioners also discussed the application questions and required documents, and requested staff consider removing the requirement for providing the current annual budget (including revenue) for the entire agency and the most recent agency audit or tax return form the list of necessary documentation. The commissions also recommended replacing the requirement of providing Articles of Incorporation/Bylaws with a Non-Profit Affirmation Letter. To ensure thorough evaluation of grant applications, staff liaisons worked with the City Attorney's office and the Finance Department to review the practice of requiring certain documents for Community Grant Program applications. It was determined that the existing documentation requested is important to ensure each organization provides adequate information to validate its operation and active status as a non-profit agency and evaluate its candidacy and need for grant funding. The required information helps support the City's decisions regarding which organizations receive City funds through the Community Grant Program. Budget, tax return and audit reports also provide valuable information about an organization's financial situation as one of the criteria Page 2 of 3