By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council approved $132,000 in grant funding from the Non-Profit Community Support Fund program to be allocated to nine different non-profits.
The Non-Profit Community Support Fund program’s total annual available funding for the year was $150,000. The Quality of Life Committee reviewed 12 applications and recommended $132,000 in grant funding to be dispersed between nine non-profits.
The remaining funds will be available for use through various other grant programs under the Economic Development umbrella, such as the History and Arts grant program, neighborhood improvement partnership funding, and community projects grants.
Overall, $212,000 was requested from 12 non-profits, nine of which were awarded grant funding.
The Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team, who presented earlier in the evening and thanked the council for past years’ support, requested $30,000 and received $30,000 to go toward their rental assistance program. Citrus Heights HART president Irene Hronicek spoke earlier in the evening and reported that her nonprofit was able to help 20 households–which included 23 adults, 24 students and lots of pets–with rental assistance in an effort to help prevent homelessness.
Junior Achievement of Sacramento requested and received $5,500, which will go toward school programming and materials. The Art of Living Foundation requested and received $7,500, which will be used to hold a second annual Yoga Fest in Citrus Heights. The Sayonara Center, run by Campus Life Connection, requested and received $25,000, which will go toward operational expenses for the Sayonara Youth Center.
The International Association for Human Values requested and received $15,300 for the purposes of funding their Welcome Home Troop’s SKY Resilience Training program. A representative from International Association for Human Values told the City Council that the resilience training program has helped at least 50 veterans and law enforcement members to receive training in identifying and reducing stress related to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Citrus Heights Arts requested $40,000, which would be utilized to put on the annual Art Beat and help establish the new CH40 Arts District. However, Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa noted that the Quality of Life recommended an award of $12,000. Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber explained that the arts nonprofit will be able to request additional funding through an arts and culture committee, which is expected to convene soon.
The Citrus Heights Marching Band requested $20,000, half of which would go toward band operations, and the other half toward traffic controls needed for its annual parades. Huber said that through sponsorship of the upcoming annual Howl-o-ween parade, the city planned to contribute funds to help with traffic control, and the band was awarded a recommended $10,000 instead of the full $20,000.
Single Mom Strong requested almost $26,000, which is planned to go toward teacher salaries for the nonprofit’s preschool, according to Tara Taylor, the nonprofit’s director. Single Mom Strong was awarded $22,000.
Silver Wishes, which has operated in Placer County for the last four years and recently expanded into Sacramento County six months ago according to its director, requested and received $5,000. The funding will go toward granting wishes for seniors. The program doesn’t provide cash or pay for bills, the director said, but helps to pay for practical projects that make positive impacts in the lives of seniors.
Three non-profits, The Rooted Collective, San Juan Education Foundation, and The Purple Pageant, also requested funds but were not given any this year.
The City Council voted 3-0 to approve grant funding for Junior Achievement, with Vice Mayor Marijane Lopez-Taff recusing herself from voting as she is employed with Junior Achievement. The council together then voted 4-0 to approve allocating grant funding to the eight remaining non-profits.
