ENCINITAS — The city has distributed $150,000 in grants to more than 40 local organizations as part of a 26-year-old annual program that puts taxpayer dollars back into the community.
Since its inception in 1998, the Community Grant Program has provided nearly $2 million in general fund dollars to support numerous projects and programs. The program’s shared goal is to enrich each of the city’s five communities.
Dozens of community groups apply for a portion of this grant money each year to fund their respective missions.
The Encinitas City Council recently revised the program’s eligibility criteria and guidelines for allocating grant funds in February. The funds are split into two categories: arts and civic. Applicants must submit documentation of a current Encinitas business registration and the organization’s Letter of Determination from the Internal Revenue Service demonstrating 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
Additionally, the proposed project or program must occur in Encinitas, benefit Encinitas residents community-wide, and/or meet an identified need during the next fiscal year. Organizations without nonprofit status or projects that assist religious, fraternal or political purposes are ineligible.
The policy also allows the City Council to allocate 20% of the annual program budget to applicants of their choosing.
Of the 57 applicants, only 43 were qualified, 10 were incomplete, and four were ineligible. The qualified applicants split an initial $120,000, each receiving $2,790.
On April 10, council members issued the remaining $30,000. They each had $6,000 to split amongst their preferred applicants.
Exposure Skate, an annual event that empowers women, transgender, and non-binary individuals through skateboarding, received an additional $2,790 from Mayor Tony Kranz, Deputy Mayor Allison Blackwell and council members Joy Lyndes and Kellie Hinze.
The Encinitas Friends of the Arts also received an additional $2,500 for its annual Dia de los Muertos event, with $500 from Councilmember Bruce Ehlers and the other council members.
The Encinitas Historical Society received the largest additional sum of $4,000 with portions from each council member, including $2,000 from Lyndes, for its initiative to place informational plaques on historic sites around the city.
Carolyn Cope, president of the historical society, said the plaques would be bronze and have QR codes that direct readers to more information about the site on their phones.
“These are beautiful, and they’re going to stay forever unless you tear down buildings,” Cope said. The more money we have, the more plaques we can create.”
The Assistance League of Rancho San Dieguito also received an additional $2,500 for its Operation School Bell project, which provides school clothing for children.
The following organizations received at least $1,000 or more: the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation’s textile recycling project, the Friends of the Encinitas Library’s jazz concert series, the Encinitas Ecofest, the San Dieguito Heritage Museum’s Small Town Fair, the San Dieguito Alliance for Drug-Free Youth’s study buddy program, the International Contemporary Art Institute of San Diego’s C You Saturday! event, and the La Costa Canyon Marching Band.
Several other organizations also received additional funding. Village Encinitas, a newer nonprofit organization whose application was deemed incomplete, was granted $500 from Lyndes and $1,000 from Hinze.
Jesse Hanwit of Village Encinitas said she attached the wrong tax document to the application, which is why it was deemed incomplete. The new organization helps provide seniors assistance with transportation, technology, social connections and several other services.
“We all make mistakes,” Hinze said.
