By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga City Council agreed to set aside $40,000 for its community event grant program for next year.
The community event grant program is a formal funding allocation process that allows organizers to request grant money for events that are held in Saratoga and are open to the public. At its Dec. 20 meeting, the Saratoga City Council voted to allocate grants for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Organizers can use the grant money to cover the cost of event materials, supplies, contract services, permits and city-related fees such as park rental or permit costs.
Similar to last year, a number of events will be exempt from the application process, including the Blossom Festival, Chamber of Commerce events, Fourth of July Celebration, Memorial Day Observance, Saratoga Community Band events and Saratoga Village Development Council events. The council will be awarding these events a total of $19,500 in secured funding.
The remaining $15,500 is up for grabs, which means organizers can apply for a piece of the pie starting Jan. 17 and until the March 7 deadline. Applications will be brought before the council for consideration on March 21.
In addition to the community event grant program, the council also approved the allocation of $22,000—a few thousand dollars more than last year—in street closure grant funding to help local groups pay for the cost of closing down Big Basin Way for their events. Among other things, that money will go toward paying for traffic control and public safety officers. The street closure grant follows the same noticing and timeline guidelines as the community event grant program.
In making its decision, the council typically gives highest priority to Saratoga-based nonprofits planning an event in the city intended to bring the community together and establish an identity for the city. Organizers are required to demonstrate that they can produce an event for which they can manage the costs, attract attendees and obtain any necessary permits and other authorizations in a timely manner.
The program was formally developed in 2012 to support local, volunteer-run events that promote a sense of community in the city. The city allocated the same amount to the program last year. The council had initially agreed to allocate $35,000 from the general fund for the community event grant program in next year’s budget, but an off-cycle $5,000 grant request that was approved by the council in August drove up the program budget to $40,000.
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