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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-17-095 - Neighbourhood Matching Grant Revisions REPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: October 30, 2017 SUBMITTED BY:Josh Joseph, Supervisor, Neighbourhood Development Office, 519-741-2200 x 7082 PREPARED BY:Carrie Kozlowski, Executive Assistant, 519-741-2200 x 7395 Darren Kropf, Associate, Neighbourhood Strategy Engagement Associate, 519-741-2200 x 7083 WARD(S) INVOLVED:All DATE OF REPORT:October 16, 2017 REPORT NO.:CSD-17-095 SUBJECT:Neighbourhood Matching GrantRevisions _____________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: That the revised Neighbourhood Matching Grant guidelines, attached to report CSD-17-095 be approved; and, That the City’sDeputy Chief Administrative Officers beauthorized to execute agreements with recipients pertaining to Neighbourhood Matching Grants; said agreements to be to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and further, That the City’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officers be authorized to execute agreements with recipients pertaining to Placemaking Challenge Grants; said agreements to be to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. BACKGROUND: The Neighbourhood Matching Grant (NMG) was approved by Council on June 30, 2014 through report CSD-14-018. OnMarch 1, 2017 through report CSD-17-008,Council approved Love My Hood, Kitchener’s Neighbourhood Strategy, which included a recommendation to increase the City’s funding of theNeighbourhood Matching Grant from $10,000 to $50,000 per year, and to increase the maximum funding available for individual grantsfrom $5,000 to $15,000 per application. These increases weremade in response to significant community feedback received during the development of the Neighbourhood Strategy, indicating that the city has an important role to playinsupporting resident-led projects *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 5 - 1 that enable neighbours to work together.Along with United Way Waterloo Region Communities’ contribution, the total annual funding for the NMG is $60,000. REPORT: The vision of the ‘Love My Hood’ strategy is to help residents connect and work together to do great things in their neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood Matching Grant puts this vision into practice by leveraging resident-led projects with matching funds to realizeenhanced neighbourhood-initiated projects. Community labour and materials count towards the matching grant,so that groups with time, ideas and initiative--but no money--are eligible to apply,giving them an effective way to fund local improvement projectsin their neighbourhoods.As grant recipients have a substantial stake in their projects, they are motivated to see their projects tosuccessful completion. The NMG features an easy application process with no deadline, as the grants are availableuntil annual funding is exhausted. The purpose of the NMG is to: Renew or revitalize neighbourhood public and green spaces, contributing to neighbourhood beautification and celebration Foster neighbourhood pride and sense of belonging Build stronger relationships between neighbours and neighbourhood groups Improve safety, accessibility and/or mobility Entrust residents to become more actively involved in their neighbourhoods through working together as neighbours Neighbourhood Matching Grant at a glance # Projs Total $ YearProjects Funded Approvedawards 2014 Community art installation1 $5,000 (launched July 2014) 2015Cob oven, porch party, local food market3 $5,258 Winter carnival, porch party, community information 20166 $17,121 boards, mural, Diwali festival, seniors’ program Community chalkboards, dog event, porch party, Neighbours Day gift cards, park amenities, block party, 2017 * 12$58,755 (to Sept. 30) picnic shelter,movie night, BBQ, meet and greet, traffic calming project Totals(to Sept. 30, 2017)22$86,134 *The 2017 grant period is still open, so totals are not yet final. **The increase in total funding was approved on March 1, 2017 While Neighbourhood Matching Grant projects have occurred across the city (8 wards have been represented), one of the proposed enhancements to the grant guidelines will further assist in ensuring that the distribution of grants is equitable across the city. 5 - 2 eedback on NMG F A process to collect feedback from grant recipients was introduced in 2016.Grant recipients report that the projects funded by the Neighbourhood Matching Granthave succeeded in revitalizing spaces, fostering pride, contributing to neighbourhood identity, building relationships between neighbours and improving safety, which were goals expressed for the original grant. Participants recognize that the projects undertaken deliver both immediate and longer-term benefits to their neighbourhoods. In all cases, grant recipients indicate that they would recommend the grant to othersas a means of realizing neighbourhood projects. Although the overall response to the Neighbourhood Matching Grant has been positive, opportunities for improvement have been identified through the feedback process and the experience of staff administering the grant. Those improvements include: Clarifying the grant guidelines document in response to questionsmost often receivedabout grant eligibilityto help improve the grant acceptance rate. Developing a streamlined internal grant application review processthat is thorough,efficientand proactive in identifying and addressing potential project- related challengesand is coordinated in its response to applicants. This process allows city staff to navigate city hall on behalf of residents, making it easier for them to apply and to complete their projects. Providinga single point of contactfor residents to help them navigate and coordinate the various departments involved in project realization. Inaddition to the opportunities for improvement identified above, the need for other enhancements to the grant process have emerged in response to the recent increases to the maximum grant award and total grant funding. As funding requests for larger and more complex projects are now being received, consideration must be given to issues that go hand and hand with larger projects, so that the city can responsibly administer the grantprogramboth before and after a grant award is made. Summary of proposed changes An updated grant guidelines document that includes a number of changesis attached to this report as Appendix A. The chart, below, summarizes the proposed changes to the grant guidelines: Proposed changes to the Neighbourhood Rationale Matching Grant Changed name from ‘Neighbourhood For simplicity’s sake(plain language edits Matching Fund Grant’ to ‘Neighbourhood were also made to the guidelines document) Matching Grant’ Clarified the need for adequate To ensure neighbourhood support for neighbourhood support for proposed projects, proposed projects including at minimum, notifying all residents within 120 m of the project site 5 - 3 Proposed changes to the Neighbourhood Rationale Matching Grant Revised the ‘accessible public land’ Changed to better respond to types of requirement for events. Events may now take applications received. place on land that is accessible to the public, but not necessarily owned by the city. Strengthened the language around the With a tripling of the total grant funding eligibility of capital projectsavailable up to $15,000, resident groups are now able to fund larger capital projects. Set a maximum funding level for events at The one-time nature of the NMG is not $2,000 intended to support events in the long-term. A limit onevents encourages resident groups to secure other sources of funding and establish longer-term partnerships. Clarified that larger grant allocations may be With the possibility for larger grants, it is paid in installments, that groups that do not reasonable to pay for grants in installments as complete their projects will be expected to larger projects reach certain milestones. The return the funds, and that the intention of the intent is to complete projects within one-year NMG is to fund projects with a one-year so additional funds can become available to timeframe.other resident groups. Removed the requirement for a minimum of As a means of addressing a barrier to 25% of an applicant group’s matching participation, while still requiring matching contribution must come from the group itselfcontributions Provided an online application optionToimprove user experience and provide an additional submission method Streamlined the NMG review committee To ensure grant requestsare reviewed in a membership (6 members, maximum). timely manner Membership will continue to include community representation, representation of our funding partner, the United Way Waterloo Region Communities, and City staff. Committed to responding to applications as To allow staff adequate time to navigate city soon as possible, but typically within 4 to 6 hall on behalf of residents and determine next weeks of submissionsteps to make approved projects a reality Committed to assigning groups a single point To streamline the experience for grant of contact at the city to assist them with applicants and successful groups necessary processes or approvals required for project completion Outlined that priority will be given to new orTo ensure an equitable distribution of grants emerging neighbourhood groups, and that across the city. applications for new projects from previously- funded groups will be accepted, but no group will receive more than one NMG per calendar year Introduced the need for project agreements To outline roles and responsibilities related to between the city and grant recipients safety,liabilityinsurance, maintenance, and project ownership.Granting staff authority to enter into agreements with residents for NMG on behalf of the Corporation allows staff to be 5 - 4 Proposed changes to the Neighbourhood Rationale Matching Grant responsive and to address the unique needs of each project. Strengthened the need for grant recipients to To build awareness in the community of the acknowledge the City of Kitchener and UnitedCity’s and United Way partnership in the NMG Way Waterloo Region Communities throughout the project Placemaking Challenge project agreements Council approved the city’s Placemaking Challenge through report CSD-17-053 on June 26, 2017. At the time, project agreements were not included in the report as a recommendation. However, since the Neighbourhood Development Office has been fully staffed and operational, project agreements are now being recommended for any lovemyhood grants, including the Placemaking Challenge, the Neighbourhood Matching Grant and the Community Garden Grant. The agreements are meant to reduce red tape by allowing staff adequate time to navigate city hall on behalf of residents, and clearly define next steps to make approved projects a reality. Granting staff authority to enter into agreements allows staff to be responsive and to address the unique needs of each project. Project agreements will outline roles and responsibilities related to safety, liability insurance, maintenance and project ownership. For the Placemaking Challenge specifically, project agreements will apply for projects funded through the Large, Economic Development, Medium, Health, Sustainability and Small grants. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Priority:Safe & Thriving Neighbourhoods Strategy: 3.1 – Give citizens the tools and opportunities to play an active leadership role in creating great neighbourhoods and fostering a stronger sense of community belonging. Strategic Action: #NB45 Neighbourhood Strategy Implementation FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None at this time; however, staff estimate that funding for the NMG will be fully utilized over the next 3-4 years. Future consideration will need to be given to a more permanent source of funding for the NMG. 5 - 5 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Extensive community engagement was completed in 2016 as part of the development of Love My Hood, Kitchener’s Neighbourhood Strategy (CSD-17-008). Residents were very clear that they want to take the lead and work together on projects to enhance their neighbourhoods, with the City providing support along the way. Despite that residents might have the ideas, resourcefulness and time to undertake projects, lack of funding was identified as a significant barrier to project initiation. The Neighbourhood Matching Grant responds to residents’ identified needs. INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. CONSULT – In addition to consultation for Love my Hood, the draft guidelines were reviewed by our funding partner, the United Way Waterloo Region Communities, and pastgrant recipients provided input through the evaluation process. COLLABORATE – To date, 22Neighbourhood Matching Grantprojects have been funded, with community members working together to match the funds provided by the grant.Projects are led by citizens, and supported by the City. PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER: Council initially approved the Neighbourhood Matching Grant via report CSD-14-018. The City’s Neighbourhood Strategy (CSD-17-008) specifically recommendedthe increase in the City’s allocation to the NMGfrom $10,000 to $50,000, as well as the increase to the maximum grant increase award from $5,000 to $15,000. Council approved the city’s Placemaking Challenge through report CSD-17-053 on June 26, 2017. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO 5 - 6 CSD-17-095 2017Neighbourhood Matching Grant Revisions Appendix A: Revised Neighbourhood Matching Grant Guidelines 4 pages 5 - 7 Neighbourhood Matching Grant Residents take the lead, and the City supports them along the way. That’s the vision behind Love My Hood, Kitchener’s approach to making great neighbourhoods. In partnership with United Way Waterloo Region Communities (United Way WRC), the City of Kitchener offers a one-time Neighbourhood Matching Grant (NMG) to support resident-led neighbourhood and placemaking initiatives. City staff is here to help and will work behind the scenes to make it easy for you to make things happen in your neighbourhood. Have questions or need help with your application? Please contact city staff at lovemyhood@kitchener.ca. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2200 ext. 7083 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 1.PURPOSE The Neighbourhood Matching Grant is intended to: Renew or revitalize neighbourhood public and green spaces, contributing to neighbourhood beautification and celebration Foster neighbourhood pride and sense of belonging Build stronger relationships between neighbours and neighbourhood groups Improve safety, accessibility and/or mobility Entrust residents to become more actively involved in their neighbourhoods through working together as neighbours 2.WHO CAN APPLY Both formal and informal neighbourhood-based community groups in Kitchener are eligible to apply, whether the group is newly formed for the purpose of a specific project, or a pre-existing group undertaking a project. Applicants must demonstrate that their group: Involved neighbourhood residents in the planning of the project Is composed of a significant number of committed people who live and/or work in the neighbourhood Gathered their neighbourhood’s support for the project, including, at minimum, notifying all residents within 120 m of the project site 5 - 8 Has a project budget outlining how they propose to match the NMG funding with community resources (in-kind or in-cash) Has a bank account with at least two people named as ‘signatories’ Agrees to report back upon completion of the project, including an accounting of all revenues, expenses and proof of purchases. 3.PROJECT CRITERIA Applicants must demonstrate that their project: Will occur within Kitchener city limits, geographically defined within a neighbourhood on accessible public land (for example, land owned by the City of Kitchener). Events, however, may take place on land that is accessible to the public, but not necessarily owned by the City. Is a one-time neighbourhood project not intended for a City-wide audience/purpose. Is inclusive, encouraging diverse neighbourhood involvement and participation of residents, community members and volunteers in the project planning and process. Contributes to neighbourhood identity. Capital projects are eligible for this grant. 4.FUNDING REQUESTS a)Applicants may request amounts up to $15,000, with the exception of projects that are event-based, which have a maximum of $2,000. A maximum amount of $60,000 for all Neighbourhood Matching Grants is available per year. b)For larger grant amounts, funds may be distributed in installments. c)The applicant’s matching contribution must be appropriate to the needs of the proposed project, and may include: Cash donations Volunteer labour/time (valued at $20 per hour) Donated professional or contractor services, including services from artists & arts organizations (valued at the reasonable retail value of the product/service) Donated materials and supplies (valued at retail prices) Borrowed equipment (valued at the cost necessary if it were to be rented) d)The total value of the group’s entire contribution to the project must equal or exceed the dollar amount requested. While the match can include contributions from partnerships, including businesses and community organizations, a portion of the match must come from the applicant group itself. e)Funds from other City of Kitchener or United Way WRC sources cannot be counted as match. 5 - 9 f)The City’s matching contribution may include a combination of in-kind services (e.g. rental of space, city services, installation costs, etc.), and cash. g)Groups that do not complete their project as proposed will be required to return the funds. Of course, plans and timelines may be adjusted if you experience challenges, but please communicate with city staff. 5.HOW TO APPLY Applications are accepted anytime throughout the year. There are two ways to submit your application: 1.Submit an online application form at kitchener.ca/lovemyhoodgrant , or 2.Submit an application in writing or by email to Carrie Kozlowski, Neighbourhood Development Office th City of Kitchener, 200 King Street West, 7 Floor, PO Box 1118 Kitchener ON N2G 4G7 carrie.kozlowski@kitchener.ca 519-741-2200 x 7395 Your application should include: Organizational structure of the applicant group Key contact names, including a statement identifying the individual who will lead the project and ensure that the funds granted will be used solely for the purposes identified Project description, including how it reaches the goals of the grant outlined in section 1 (Purpose) Details of the project demonstrating that it meets the criteria set out in sections 2 (Who can Apply) and 3 (Project Criteria) Your plan to complete your project and proposed schedule (up to a 12 month time-frame) Budget, including any anticipated revenues, in kind contributions, and expenses 6.SELECTION PROCESS All grant requests will be reviewed and evaluated by the NMG committee. The committee consists of a maximum of six members, including representatives from the community, United Way WRC and City of Kitchener staff. Groups will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible, but typically within 4 to 6 weeks of application submission. This will give city staff time to navigate city hall on your behalf and determine the next steps to make approved projects a reality. Applicants will be assigned a single point of contact at the city to assist with any processes or approvals to complete their project. 5 - 10 Each NMG applicant and project is unique, and these guidelines cannot address every possible project scenario. If more information is needed, city staff will work with applicants to gather the information the NMG committee needs to make an informed decision. To ensure an equitable distribution of grants, priority is given to new or emerging neighbourhood groups who will benefit the most from funding support. Applications for new projects from previously-funded groups will be considered, but no group will receive more than one grant per calendar year. Groups receiving funds are advised that the grant being given is not to be regarded as a commitment to future grant assistance. 7.THINGS TO CONSIDER If approved for a grant, city staff will help you along the way and will navigate city hall on your behalf. As we review your application, we may identify potential approvals or conditions that may be necessary, including: Neighbourhood support: It is important to make sure that your neighbours support your project, including, at minimum, notifying all residents within 120 m of the project site. Depending on the type of project, you may need to take additional steps to demonstrate neighbourhood support. City staff can help you understand what steps are most appropriate, and how to involve your neighbours in a way that is fair, open and inclusive. Roles and responsibilities: To ensure your project can be enjoyed safely for many years to come, an agreement between your group and the city will be developed. It will clearly define roles, responsibilities and conditions related to the project, such as: Any safety measures that can be put in place to ensure the safety of all users and participants Adequate liability insurance, depending on the nature of the project Maintenance responsibilities, shared between the applicant and the City, determined on a case-by- case basis The City of Kitchener will assume ownership of any capital projects installed on public propery Acknowledgements: Applicants are expected to acknowledge the contributions of the City of Kitchener and United Way WRC on all promotional materials, and are encouraged to use #lovemyhood on social media. Recognition in the form of a plaque or other medium is expected for long-term capital projects. Feedback: Applicants are required to report back on the impact of their project and lessons learned and provide a financial accounting of all revenues and expenses (including receipts) upon completion of the project/event. For convenience, an evaluation form will be provided. A group’s eligibility for future grants may be impacted if the evaluation is not completed. The City of Kitchener and United Way WRC are extremely grateful that you are taking the initiative to make your neighbourhood even better! 5 - 11