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Legal Right for NCs to Issue Grants Approved |
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NC Watch
By Deanna Stevenson
The Neighborhood Purposes Grant Program has been approved by the City Council. The Council vote came after several years of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) involvement in helping to craft legislation that will allow Neighborhood Councils (NC’s) to issue grants to 501 (c) (3) organization and public schools.
“The Neighborhood Purposes Grant Program will give NC’s far greater flexibility in spending their allocated funds, and it will significantly enhance their ability to form partnerships with community-based organizations and schools in their communities,” BongHwan (B.H.) Kim, General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment said. “The Department is proud of the sustained work of our funding staff on this issue and our partners in the City Attorney’s Office for providing legal advice.”
Under the Provisions of the Neighborhood Purposes Grant Program Neighborhood Councils will have the legal authority to issue grants of public funds in amounts up to $5,000 without a written contract. For amounts above $5000, written contracts must be drafted in coordination with the Department in order to meet City contracting standards.
To assist Neighborhood Councils and potential grant recipients, the Department has created a Neighborhood Purposes Grant application form. After Mayoral approval and completion of the legally required publication period for new laws of the City, DONE will make the application forms available for Neighborhood Councils to use with organizations and schools in their areas.
All applications by 501 (c) (3) organizations and public schools must be considered by Neighborhood Councils in their public meetings. The grants that Neighborhood Councils make will be listed on the DONE website, and checks to grant recipients will be processed by the Department.
This is an exciting development in the evolution of the Neighborhood Council Funding Program. DONE will follow up with the Neighborhood Councils to provide them with the grant application form and the “good to go” date that will follow mayoral approval and completion of the legally required publication period. Consider it another win for the Neighborhood Councils! (This report was provided by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Deanna Stevenson is the Media/Communications Coordinator for DONE. For more information, contact: Kevin McNeely at the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment at Kevin.
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or by phone (213) 485-1360.) ◘
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 70
Pub: Aug 29, 2008
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