Coronado allocates about $1 million in grants to local nonprofits that benefit the community each year in a program that has been running since 2000.
This year, the city allocated about $1,068,000 to various programs, leaving a $93,002 surplus in its community grant fund. The fund is calculated at 1.4 percent of the city’s general fund each year.
Two nonprofits were not funded, and instead will be invited to discuss with the City Council its programming later this year. Potentially, a public hearing could then allocate funding. Those nonprofits were Coronado MainStreet and the Coronado Community Theater.
The council wanted more information on the Coronado Community Theater, noting that no representative from the organization attended its allocation meeting (most nonprofits sent a representative). Last year, the sitting council questioned MainStreet’s economic impact, and the new council also said it would like to learn more about the organization and how it is using its funding. It received $20,000 last year, and was recommended for $18,001 this year in the city’s one-time expedited grant process.
In February, the City Council voted unanimously to allocate its community grants on an expedited timeline this year. The move will save an estimated 140 hours of city staff time during a season with several key vacancies and is meant to act as a pilot for refining the grant process in future years.
Under the expedited timeline, the city identified recurring grants, major event grants, and mini grants. Recurring grants were for organizations that have been awarded grants for the same program for at least three consecutive years, and staff recommended 90 percent allocations of the previous year’s funding for most organizations, leaving about $162,000 in surplus funding. The council at its June 17 meeting increased the funding to 100 percent for several organizations.
Five major events were recommended for full allocations: the Coronado Chamber of Commerce’s holiday parade and tree lighting, the Coronado Floral Association’s grant for the Coronado Flower Show, the Coronado Fourth of July, the Coronado Island Film Festival, and the Coronado Schools Foundation’s grant for the annual Art and Wine Festival.
Finally, the city awarded $15,000 mini grants for new organizations and for those who had been awarded grants in the past but did not receive funding last year.
City Councilmember Amy Steward refrained from commenting on or voting for Emerald Keepers, a nonprofit that she founded. She stepped away after winning a council seat, and did not have a legal conflict of interest, but opted not to vote regardless. Similarly, Councilmember Carrie Downey did not vote in funding for Safe Harbor Coronado due to her daughter’s involvement.
A common concern among council members this year was whether community grant funding was “funding a fundraiser,” as members quipped. For that reason, A Taste of Coronado, a program by the Coronado Junior Woman’s Club, did not receive funding; nor did FOCUS. The council opted to fund Coronado Cheer to purchase safety mats, which can be used by other programs when not in use, but clarified that they did not want to be funding teams for items more appropriate for fundraising.
This year’s grant allocations are as follows:
Automatic renewal grants
- Coronado Chamber of Commerce (for the holiday parade and tree lighting): $15,000
- Coronado Floral Association: $95,600
- Coronado Fourth of July: $105,000
- Coronado Island Film Festival: $50,000
- Coronado Schools Foundation (for the Art and Wine Festival): $24,850
- Classics 4 Kids: $15,750
- Coronado Chamber of Commerce (to advocate for the business community): $70,000
- Coronado Chamber of Commerce (for the Discover Coronado website): $24,000
- Coronado Community Band (operations support): $18,500
- Coronado Community Band (Fourth of July concert): $1,500
- Coronado Community Theater: 0
- Coronado Historical Association (keeping the Coronado Museum free): $77,000
- Coronado Historical Association (cross-border architecture exhibit): $15,000
- Coronado Historical Association (Hotel Del restoration): $12,000
- Coronado Island Film Festival (year-round production and outreach): $50,000
- Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra: $50,543
- Emerald Keepers (community programs, events, education): $27,800
- Lamb’s Players Theatre: $75,000
- MainStreet Coronado (community enhancement): $0
- MainStreet Coronado (economic vitality): $0
- Memorial Day Planning Committee: $4,000
- Musica Vitale: $15,000
- Safe Harbor Coronado (healthy families program): $75,000
- Safe Harbor Coronado (family support services): $50,000
- Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Festival (Coronado residency): $14,386
- Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Festival (school outreach): $7,920
- Emerald Keepers (youth services, leadership development, engagement): $42,300
- Musica Vitale (Crown City Chorale Coronado Choir): $10,000
Mini grants
- Coronado School of the Arts Foundation (CoSA): $15,000
- Coronado Junior Arts League: $30,000
- KMAC Foundation: $15,000
- Pacific Animal Welfare Society (PAWS): $15,000
- Friends of Children United Society (FOCUS): $0
- The Cancer Cartel: $0
- Coronado Hospital Foundation: $15,000
- Storytellers of San Diego: $5,000
- Coronado Junior Woman’s Club (A Taste of Coronado): $0
- SDSU Research Foundation (Camp Able): $13,750
- Coronado Cheer: $13,099
- Island Yoga Cares: $0
