SOLANA BEACH — Twelve local organizations were awarded over $50,000 in grants through the city of Solana Beach’s 2025-26 Community Grant Program, with allocations decided by the City Council on Wednesday.
This year’s grant program included $35,000 from the city in addition to $15,000 contributed by EDCO as part of its community enhancement efforts through its solid waste franchise agreement with the city, for a total of $50,000.
Nineteen applicants submitted funding requests totaling $107,500 — compared to around $80,000 last year — leaving the city council with difficult decisions about who to fund, and by how much.
“I just want to say that this was obviously quite challenging for all of us,” said Mayor Lesa Heebner. “There is great need in this community, and it’s growing all the time. There’s need for our underserved population, there’s need for our seniors, need for artistic expression, and they’re all valid needs, but we only have so much money.”
During the meeting, council members also requested a one-time increase of $500 for the program this year, bringing the total to $50,500, to enable the serving of more organizations. Councilmember Dave Zito stated that he was opposed to the last-minute increase and voted against the funding allocations.
“We’ve done this too often, of adjusting our budget at the meeting, and I really think we should stick to our guns,” Zito said.
Grant allocations are limited to $6,000 per organization. Most of the organizations that received funding are located in Solana Beach, as well as in Encinitas, San Diego, and other areas that serve Solana Beach residents.
Funding was granted to the following organizations under the Community Grant Program:
Assistance League Rancho San Dieguito — $2,000 for the Operation School Bell initiative, providing students with money for new shoes and clothes for back-to-school.
Boys and Girls Club of Northwest San Diego — $5,000 to support the Summer Scholars Program, providing nine weeks of educational programming for local youth, including local field trips.
California Western School of Law — $5,000 for the Community Law Project, providing free legal clinics related to housing, family immigration and employment assistance to Solana Beach residents.
Casa De Amistad — $5,000 for academic support services for low-income youth through the Kinder to College Study Program
Community Resource Center — $2,000 for the Holiday Baskets Program to provide a dignified shopping experience for low-income households, including Solana Beach residents.
La Colonia Community Foundation — $5,000 to facilitate community workshops in Spanish for Solana Beach residents, with various topics focused on supporting personal growth and community building.
Order of Malta Clinic of San Diego — $5,000 to continue providing medical care to underserved and uninsured residents at the clinic in Solana Beach, formerly St. Leo’s Medical Clinic.
Pathways to Citizenship — $5,000 to support the addition of another Department of Justice-accredited representative who can practice immigration law, helping to provide more immigration services for low-income residents in Solana Beach.
Solana Beach Backpacks for Kids Inc. — $5,000 to support the delivery of after-school snacks to the Boys and Girls Club to support Solana Beach families.
Solana Beach Civic & Historical Society — $5,000 to digitize archival records and hire professional website design, videography and video editing services for the society’s website and digital vault.
Solana Beach Community Connections — $5,000 for senior-serving programs in Solana Beach, including activity groups and workshops, lectures and projects.
Taking Inspired Action Solana — $1,500 for the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program, which provides food and personal products to Solana Beach residents experiencing food insecurity.
In addition, the City Council authorized $11,000 in funding from the Reserve Public Arts Account to go toward Jaliscience Folkloric Academy and North Coast Repertory Theatre.
Due to the high number of grant requests, Assistant City Manager Dan King said it may be worthwhile to consider growing the Community Grant Program to provide more funds and opportunities.
“The program has grown, and we get more and more applicants and more and more requests each year,” King said.
The city will also explore other ways to support organizations that have requested grant funds, such as the Sandpipers Square Dance Club, by including them in future parks and recreation programming.
For some organizations, the city council discussed establishing clearer conditions regarding how grant funds should be spent.
Council members noted that the grant money given to the Community Resource Center last year for its Holiday Baskets Program was ultimately used to pay for a consultant, and that the organization may need to submit a different type of application next year if it plans to use funding for other purposes.
“I wanted to give to holiday gift baskets; that’s where I thought our money was going. Our money went to administration,” said Councilmember Jewel Edson. “I’m willing to condition $2,000 on being used for our community … but it must be serving our people, and giving what we’re thinking we’re giving.”
Zito said he was not as bothered by how CRC used their city grant money for administration, noting that they were the only applicant focused on homelessness services, and administration is important to supporting these services.
The council also agreed to set a condition for the Assistance League of Rancho San Dieguito to spend its grant funds for the Operation School Bell program at the Marshalls in Solana Beach, rather than at Target in Encinitas, to ensure the funds are being used for local children.
