Human Services Commission Meeting Agenda Packet 10022024

Page 2 of 4 • $366,374 in City LIHF funds in account #12230700 • $257,864 from the City’s General Fund for Human Services Grants Housing and Human Services Grant Process Feedback In June 2024, staff administering the Housing and Human Services Grants initiated efforts to improve the grant application process for applicants by surveying agencies and gathering feedback on the time it takes to submit applications and complete the reporting. Agencies reported spending 20 to 170 hours annually submitting applications and reports, performing administrative tasks such as invoicing, and attending Pleasanton City meetings, including the commissions and City Council. DISCUSSION To make the application process more efficient for applicants, commissioners, and staff, the following administrative changes are planned for the FY 2025/26 grant cycle for the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton: 1. Single Grant Application Provide a single online grant application that would filter to the three cities of Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton, saving applicants’ time. 2. Shorter Grant Application (Attachment 2) Shorten the total number of grant application questions to approximately 2/3 fewer questions. 3. Fewer Required Documents Reduce the number of required documents for non-Federally funded applicants. 4. Minimum Grant Funding Level Set the minimum award amount at $5,000. In the past, when the requested amount exceeded the available funds, funding was spread out, so each agency got a smaller amount of funding. However, this results in underfunded projects with less community benefit than originally intended. The administrative costs for both applicants and staff (e.g., application and contract review, invoicing, etc.) remain high, no matter the funding amount. In planning for the upcoming Housing and Human Services Grant cycle, the FY 2024/25 Statement of Priorities and Evaluation Criteria is used as the basis for the discussion at the Human Services Commission Meeting on October 2, 2024. Statement of Priorities (Attachment 3) The commission is asked to review and approve a new FY 2025/26 Statement of Priorities before the ZoomGrants HHSG application release date in early December 2024. In the annual grant application, agencies are asked to identify how their proposal addresses at least one of the eight priority needs and one of the three service delivery areas of need identified in the Statement of Priorities. This enhancement has assisted the Human Services Commission in ensuring consistency in application review throughout the process. Statements of Priority are designed to be broad and accommodate the wide range of applications considered for funding through the HHSG program while also targeting funds for specific service areas. This has allowed activities that address emerging service needs to be funded in addition to the more traditional safety net services. The commission’s updated Statement of Priorities for FY 2025/26 will also be included in the grant application packet when the application cycle opens in December 2024. Page 7 of 557