HomeMy WebLinkAbout(2026, 02/24) - A-12 - AmendedA-12
DISCRETIONARY GRANTS
It shall be the policy of the City Council that the City of Newport Beach's ("City") budget specifically
allows the City Council to, at any time during the year, direct revenue towards worthy projects or programs
which the City Council deems beneficial to Newport Beach's resident's quality of life. The City Council
notes that it has multiple tools at its discretion to assist non-profit agencies, community groups, community
events, or enhancement projects within the city. These tools are:
A. Community Programs Grants from the General Fund;
B. Special Event Grants from the General Fund;
C. "District Discretionary Grant Accounts" from the General Fund;
D. Culture and Arts Grants pursuant to Council Policy I-10; and
E. Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Social Service Funds.
These funds shall be provided in the following manner:
CDBG Social Services funds shall be allocated according to standards set by the federal government and
appropriated at least once each year. The level of funding offered for social services in Newport Beach shall
be based upon federal formulas and the specific amount of CDBG revenue allocated to the City in any one
fiscal year. The Community Development Department shall administer these funds after City Council
approval of the funds' expenditure.
Community Programs Grants shall be expended from the General Fund in an amount up to $75,000 each
fiscal year. The City Manager's Office shall review all requests for Community Programs Grants and shall
forward recommendations for funding to the City Council for final approval. At the time of the City
Manager's presentation of any Community Programs Grant award proposals to the City Council, the City
Manager shall show which entities, if any, have received funds from the Community Programs Grant,
Special Event Grant, District Discretionary Grant, Culture and Arts Grant, or CDBG Social Services Fund
during the same fiscal year.
The City Manager or his/her designee shall follow these priorities when recommending Community
Programs Grants:
A. Local groups located within the city and offering programs to Newport Beach residents;
B. Regional groups located in Orange County and offering programs to Newport Beach residents; and
C. Groups located in California and offering programs to Newport Beach resident.
A-12
Groups not offering programs or services to local residents shall not be eligible for support from the City.
Special Events Grants are intended to allow meritorious community, social or athletic event organizers to
offset some or all of their City fees for their event. Doing so should decrease costs to the event organizer so
that beneficiaries can see even greater benefit from any fundraising associated with the events. The City
Manager or his/her designee shall, in consultation with the City Council, establish a threshold amount for
the proposed City budget that reflects adequate support for these events. The City Manager shall establish
an administrative policy for these grants. The City Manager may divide the funding into more than one
category to ensure that different types of events are fairly measured with peer events. The City Council
shall consider and approve the Special Event Grant allocations by recipient.
District Discretionary Grant Accounts. At the start of the fiscal year, the City Manager shall provide an
account for each Council District within the City Council's budget known as the District Discretionary
Grant Accounts. The City Council shall set a funding level of these accounts during the budget process
preceding the June adoption of the City's budget. Each City Council Member shall have, at his or her
discretion, the ability to allocate their District's funding to uses, projects, or community entities that benefit
the City as a whole or the City Council Member's district specifically. Any expenditure from these accounts
must have an identifiable public benefit.
Requests to expend these funds should be directed by each City Council Member to the Finance Director.
Expenditures will be reported to the City Council annually. The report will include a brief description and
the public benefit associated with each expenditure.
At the conclusion of the fiscal year in which the District Discretionary Grant Accounts received
appropriation, all unencumbered funds in the accounts shall be deposited in the City's General Fund
Reserve Account.
History
Adopted F-22 —
7-8-1985
Amended F-22
— 10-28-1991
Amended F-22
— 1-24-1994 (changed to A-12)
Amended A-12
— 5-22-2001
Amended A-12
— 6-22-2010
Amended A-12
— 9-27-2011
Amended A-12
— 5-12-2015
Amended A-12
— 4-9-2019
Amended A-12
— 12-9-2025
Amended A-12
— 2-24-2026
PJ