2023 Community and Regional Organizations Grant Program (Virginia)

The City of Portsmouth is seeking applications for its 2023 Community and Regional Organizations (CRO) Grant Program.

Donor Name: City of Portsmouth

State: Virginia

City: Portsmouth

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/11/2022

Size of the Grant: $10,000

Details:

The City of Portsmouth (City) recognizes that nonprofit organizations play an important role in improving the quality of life for the community. To encourage nonprofit organizations to provide services that affect the welfare of Portsmouth residents, the City has established the following policy for awarding monetary support to qualified nonprofit organizations. These awards are intended to:

Provide incentive funding to nonprofit organizations serving Portsmouth, whose services are easily accessible to Portsmouth residents and whose service costs can be documented. A goal of the process is to encourage community support for programs so that the City’s funds can be replaced with funds from other sources. This will allow the City’s funds to be directed towards new programs in the future.
Provide funding for services or programs to meet the specific needs of Portsmouth residents and support the City Council’s Vision Principles. Each nonprofit organization will be divided into a program category based on the service they provide to the City. Specific programs or services may be subjected to term limitations.
Provide a systematic, impartial, and informed process through which nonprofit organizations may request funding from the City.

Funding Information

Grant amounts that are $10,000 or less can be requested.

Eligibility Criteria

An applicant is eligible to apply for an award from the City through the Community and Regional Organizations (CRO) program if it meets the following criteria:

The applicant must provide documentation showing that they have met the legal requirements to be a certified, 501(c)(3) organization meeting the legal requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the City of Portsmouth. Further, the applicant’s nonprofit status must be independent of the City of Portsmouth. No programs administered by the City of Portsmouth or its departments may apply for funding through CRO.
The applicant must provide documentation of significant, measurable direct services provided to the residents of Portsmouth. The organization must be able to provide an unduplicated count of the residents served.
If an applicant is located outside of the City’s limits, it must be able to show that Portsmouth’s residents utilize the majority of the direct service it provides.
Per Section 15.2-953 of the Code of Virginia, the applicant cannot be controlled in whole or in part by a church or sectarian society. Factors considered in deciding whether a particular organization is controlled by a church or sectarian society include the organization under which the tax-exempt status is obtained, who administers the organization, and the level of funding from a church or sectarian society.
The applicant may not have any permanent City of Portsmouth employees, or any elected or appointed City officials involved in the CRO application or reporting process.
The applicant may not receive grants from other City of Portsmouth resources. For example, the applicant cannot be eligible to apply for a grant while receiving a grant or funding through the Neighborhood Incentive Grant, Museum and Fine Arts Commission, or Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Contractual services that a grant applicant provides the City must be disclosed in grant applications. Payments for such services do not automatically exclude an applicant from grant eligibility. However, grant funds will not be provided to support the same services or costs which are provided under contract to the City.
The applicant must have fulfilled all service, reporting, auditing, and payment obligations for any previous loans or grants from the City.
Programs, activities, employment opportunities, and any other operations of the applicant, which may be funded totally or partially by the City of Portsmouth, must comply with local, state, and national legal requirements related to nondiscrimination.
The applicant cannot use CRO funding as a means to provide a grant or pass-through funding for other nonprofit organizations. No funds provided under this grant shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress or the Virginia General Assembly, except in presentation to the Congress or General Assembly itself. Nor shall grant funds be used to pay the salary or expense of any Grantee or agent acting for such Grantee related to any activity designed to influence legislation or appropriations pending before the Congress or the Virginia General Assembly.
All funds awarded through CRO are to remain local (Portsmouth) and are not to be used to fund national organizations (i.e., dues, etc.).
If awarded a grant, the City shall have the right to audit all books and records relating or pertaining to the agreement, kept by or under the control of Contractor, including, but not limited to those kept by Contractor, its employees, agents, assigns, successors, and subcontractors. The contractor shall maintain such books and records, together with such supporting or underlying documents and materials, for the duration of the Agreement and at least three years following the completion of the Agreement, including any and all renewals thereof.