Community Engagement Partnership Grant

+ Why are we seeking community partner support?

In 2018, the City of San José conducted a community engagement process to gather feedback on the future of the Diridon Station Area, including a potential Google project. The process involved a range of engagement activities, including more than a dozen meetings of the Diridon Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG), public workshops, pop-up informational tables at community events, an online survey, and a project website. Outreach to inform the public about these engagement opportunities included email distribution list, social media, and community organization assistance. (For more information on the various projects and past engagement activities, please visit the project website at: diridonsj.org)

While many people have participated in the process to date, the project team wants to increase participation among segments of the population that are typically underrepresented in the City’s community engagement activities relative to their share of the overall population. These populations include: people of color, people with no or limited English proficiency, lower income households, renters, youth, and young adults. The City would like to partner with one or more local organizations to help meaningfully involve these target populations.

+ What type of engagement is needed?

The City is looking for both traditional and new, creative ways to engage community members in the process. The main role of the partner organizations is to assist City staff with conducting outreach for City-hosted events and/or organizing engagement activities with City oversight. Outreach involves informing community members about the process and opportunities to get involved and encouraging participation in planned events. More specifically, the outreach and engagement activities could include:

• Informing residents of planned public meetings and workshops through handing out flyers, door-to-door-canvassing, phone calls, social media, etc.
• Organizing and hosting neighborhood meetings, focus groups, pop-up workshops at community events, and/or other types of gatherings
• Developing alternative ways for community members to provide feedback such as through art or media
• Other activities as needed

City staff and its consultants would work with the organizations to develop a toolkit of outreach/engagement materials and methods for collecting and documenting input received. The project team and decision-makers (e.g., City Council) will consider community input as part of the planning process.

+ Will the organizations be paid?

Yes. The City has allocated $30,000 in grant funds for partnerships with community organizations to support engagement of target populations. The funding options are $2,500, $5,000, or $10,000 – depending on the scope of services to be provided by the organization. These funds may be used to cover staff time and direct costs of any engagement activities not hosted by the City. The City reserves the right to award less that the total budget allocated for the grants.

+ What are the timeframe and expectations for the work?

Partner organizations will work with the City on engagement from November 2019 through fall 2020. It is anticipated that the most time-intensive work will occur in the January-May 2020 timeframe. The process will include regular check-ins with Lori Severino, the Diridon Program Manager, and occasional meetings with the project team. At the start of the work, the project team and partner organizations will establish performance measures and communication protocols to help ensure a mutually beneficial and productive partnership. Partner organizations will be expected to serve as neutral conveners aimed at bringing people into the conversation, working with the City to achieve process goals rather than particular project outcomes.

+ Who is eligible to receive the grant?

Locally-based organizations that are either a 501 (c) or have a Tax Identification Number (TIN) and have worked with one or more of the target populations are eligible to receive a grant. Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG) members are not eligible to receive the grant, in order to increase opportunity for other groups to get involved. SAAG members, however, may provide assistance to the selected community organizations. Neighborhood associations are eligible. Having some knowledge of city planning and development review processes is helpful, but not required.

For more information on how to obtain a tax ID go to: www.irs.gov/FormSS4

+ How do we apply?

Complete and submit the Community Engagement Partnership Application Form below by December 9, 2019 at 11:59 PM. Hard copy, paper, faxed, or e-mailed proposals will NOT be accepted.

+ What is the application and selection process?

City staff will pre-screen all proposal proposals for eligibility. A panel of City staff will review the eligible applications and select the organization(s) to receive a grant based on the following criteria:

• Understanding of and ability to reach target populations and engage a substantial number of community members (applicants are not expected to be able to reach out to all the target audiences).
• Experience with leading or assisting with community engagement efforts (e.g., hosting meetings, conducting outreach, facilitating discussions, etc.).
• Capacity to work on this engagement work over the next year (Fall of 2019 through Fall 2020).
• Ability to serve as a neutral convener on a complex set of community development projects – demonstrating creativity, flexibility, and a willingness to learn.

In addition to the above evaluation criteria, the panel will select an overall mix of organizations that can together reach most or all of the targeted populations. The target for final selection of grant recipients is January 2020.

+ What happens if my organization is awarded the grant?

The selected organization(s) will need to provide proof of: a) organizational status, b) a bank account, and c) general liability insurance coverage (see Attachment A). The United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County offers insurance coverage for its Neighborhood Association members (visit here for more information: http://www.unscc.org/services.html). Nonprofit applicants will also need to demonstrate that they are in good standing with the IRS and the Secretary of State’s office.

Then, City staff will work with each organization to develop a Grant Agreement. The standard terms and conditions are detailed in this Grant Agreement Template. The term of this Grant Agreement will be effective through December 31, 2020.

+ What is the fine print?

All costs associated with responding to this request are to be borne by the applicant.

All applicants are expected to have read and understood City Council Policy 0-35 on Procurement and Contract Process Integrity and Conflict of Interest, adopted on February 6, 2007. A complete copy of the policy can be found at: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/35087. Any applicant who violates the Policy will be subject to disqualification.

All correspondence with the City, including responses to this Funding Opportunity, will become the exclusive property of the City and will become public record under the California Public Records Act (Cal. Government Code section 6250 et seq.). All documents that are sent to the City will be subject to disclosure if requested by a member of the public. There are a very limited number of narrow exceptions to this disclosure requirement. Therefore, any proposal which contains language purporting to render all or significant portions of their proposal “Confidential,” “Trade Secret” or “Proprietary,” or fails to provide the exemption information required, will be considered a public record in its entirety. Do not mark your entire proposal as “Confidential.” The City will not disclose any part of any proposal before it announces a recommendation for award, on the grounds that there is a substantial public interest in not disclosing proposals during the evaluation process.

Any objections as to the structure, content or distribution of this Grant Application must be submitted in writing prior to the grant application due date by e-mail to Lori Severino at lori.severino@sanjoseca.gov. Objections must be as specific as possible and provide a description and rationale for the objection.

Organizations or proposals that do not meet minimum eligibility will not be evaluated. The City reserves the right to interview applicants prior to making its selections, and to rely on information from sources other than the information provided by the respondents. The City reserves the right to accept a proposal in full or part and to reject all proposals.

There are no appeals for funding decisions for this grant program.

+ Who do I contact with questions about this grant opportunity?

Please contact Lori Severino at lori.severino@sanjoseca.gov or 408-535-3537 with any questions. We are happy to assist you in completing this form.