The Coronado City Council spent nearly four hours on June 16 working through its annual community grant program, ultimately allocating more than $1.1 million in taxpayer funds to dozens of local nonprofits, from the Coronado Flower Show to the Fourth of July celebration to a handful of brand-new applicants hoping to break into the program for the first time.
Most of the evening followed a familiar rhythm: an organization’s name was called, a council member offered a quick word of support, and the dais voted unanimously to approve.
But the routine broke down at times, most notably over Emerald Keepers, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, where a debate over whether the city should be funding an organization that also advocates for specific city policies turned into the night’s longest and tensest exchange.
Ultimately, the council approved just over $1 million in grants, coming in about $83,000 under the available allocation.
The community grant program and process
Every year since 2000, the city has allocated public funding to local organizations that support work in four broad areas: arts and culture, community pride and sense of place, economic development, and social services. This year, the city’s grant budget is $1.202 million, a figure that is set under Policy 28 at 1.35 percent of the city’s General Fund revenue.
This is the second year the city has used an expedited process designed to reduce the administrative burden on longtime grant recipients. Organizations that have received funding for the same program for at least two consecutive years may request renewal through a letter of intent and brief program update, rather than submitting a full application. Newer applicants and organizations seeking support for different programs may apply for mini-grants of up to $15,000.
City staff say the new approach has made funding more predictable and reduced work for both the city and nonprofit applicants, while preserving the council’s authority to increase, reduce or deny any award.
Policy 28 will come back before the council either later this year or early next year to discuss potential long-term updates, including a possible multi-year grant approval framework. No changes were up for a vote Tuesday; this year’s process ran under the expedited framework the council approved in February.
This year, city staff proposed $961,149 in renewal funding for 16 returning organizations, generally matching the amounts they received last year. Two returning organizations asked the council to depart from last year’s baseline. Emerald Keepers requested an additional $2,500 for expanded youth leadership and engagement programming. Musica Vitale asked that funding for its main stage and school program increase from $15,000 to $27,000, reversing a reduction made during last year’s allocation process.
The city also received 13 mini-grant applications totaling $184,170. Six applicants have previously received city support or otherwise have an established history within the program, while seven are new applicants. Unusually, the city had more funding than applicants this year, with a surplus $56,861 in available funding.
The council opted for a grant-by-grant walk through all 37 applications, taken largely in order, with public comment opened for each before the council voted.
The Emerald Keepers debate
The night’s most pointed exchange centered on Emerald Keepers, which was up for two renewal grants — $27,800 for community programs and education, and $42,300 for youth services and leadership development.
Before the council even reached that item on its list of grants, Councilmember Mark Fleming raised the subject of recusals generally, then made it specific.
“I absolutely feel that Council Member Steward is unable to be objective when it comes to Emerald Keepers, and should recuse herself,” Fleming said, adding he was “happy to go into more detail if needed.”
Steward, who founded Emerald Keepers but resigned her position after running for City Council, did not recuse. When the item came up, she said simply that she agreed with the staff-recommended award “as written,” and Mayor Duncan later clarified for the record that conflict-of-interest decisions at the council level aren’t legal determinations made by the city attorney, but ethical judgment calls each member makes individually.
Fleming then laid out his concerns with the organization directly, comparing it to membership-funded community groups like the Rotary Club and the Optimist Club rather than nonprofits the city should be subsidizing “in perpetuity.” His sharper point was about advocacy: “It feels very, very inappropriate for the city to be funding an organization that, in large part, is a lobbying organization that comes and lobbies the city council,” he said
Emerald Keepers President Dave Landon told the council that the organization currently has no paid staff, keeps city grant funds in a separate account from its other revenue, and has raised $80,974.66 from outside donors and fundraising this fiscal year. He also argued the grant was a bargain relative to the alternative: “You would not be able to find an FTE [full-time employee] with the level of expertise required to fill that role for the city for $70,000,” he said, noting Coronado has no dedicated sustainability department of its own.
Asked directly about the lobbying criticism, Landon pushed back: “Every one of us here tonight, we’re here for the organizations — we’re all lobbying you, and we all lobby for funds to support what we do within the organization. I don’t view those as being lobbying the City Council. I view that as supporting what this community is all about.”
That comparison led Duncan to ask city staff directly about the status of an in-house sustainability position. Staff confirmed the city has budgeted for a sustainability planner role and is “currently in the recruitment process,” with hopes of filling it “in the coming months.”
Councilmember Carrie Downey offered a different lens on the advocacy question, citing federal nonprofit tax rules that allow a 501(c)(3) to lobby in support of its own core mission.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with what they’re doing now,” she said, noting the group had never used a paid lobbyist and that its members were simply telling the council what the organization wanted.
Duncan said legality wasn’t the issue he was raising, saying that nobody was accusing Emerald Keepers of illegal lobbying, but rather, of whether it was appropriate for the city to fund a nonprofit that in turn advocated for or against policies that came before the council. Emerald Keepers was vocal about a recent single-use plastic ban as well as the city’s new restrictions on beach bonfires. Duncan also said he wanted more information about where within the organization grant money was spent.
Downey said that the community grants process was, essentially, an open invitation for local nonprofits to lobby the council for funding, telling Duncan the city had received “a lot of emails that were lobbying us” ahead of the meeting and that she didn’t see anything wrong with it. “That’s what today is — telling them, ‘Come lobby us,'” she said, adding with a laugh that some critics in the past had taken to calling the annual allocation meeting “the beg-a-thon.”
Both grants ultimately passed, at the staff-recommended $42,300 for youth services rather than the $44,800 Emerald Keepers had requested for added Climate Week programming, with Fleming the lone dissenting vote on each.
Other debates
The Emerald Keepers grant wasn’t the only area in which council members pushed back on each other or on applicants. A newly formed swim program called Making Waves, proposed by the Anchor Booster Club, drew a round of confused questioning from Downey and Steward trying to sort out how it related to a defunct predecessor club, before the council settled on funding it at half of its $15,000 request.
The same partial-funding approach was applied minutes later to Crown City Water Polo’s pool-fee request.
Coronado Hospital Foundation’s $15,000 mini grant request for its new wellness clinic almost didn’t survive a motion to deny from Fleming, who noted that the council had funded the foundation’s mini grant the prior year on the understanding it wouldn’t return seeking more.
Councilmember Purvis pushed back, saying the amount requested was small relative to the city’s grant budget.
“I’ll tell you a story,” she said. “A couple years ago, we didn’t approve a grant for a heart monitor in their ER. Two weeks later, I was in the ER, and they didn’t have a heart monitor that worked. Those are the kind of small purchases that maybe we can help out with and make a difference for the hospital, and it is the only (facility) on the island when we have a medical emergency.”
Downey, silent on the item until then, said Purvis’ story changed her mind.
“I suppose looking at it, it’s only $15,000,” she said. “At least it shows that we care about what they’re doing. So you convinced me.”
Steward agreed the grant was “very appropriate,” and with a majority now in favor, Fleming withdrew his denial motion and moved instead to approve it as presented. It passed unanimously.
Three first-time mini grant applicants were turned down outright: the Community Connection Center, which supports Ukrainian and Slavic immigrant families; the South County Economic Development Council’s mobile business outreach proposal, which several council members said duplicated work already funded through the city’s tourism district; and the Steps Foundation’s wellness program for Naval Special Warfare spouses, which Steward — herself a Navy SEAL spouse — voted against despite an emotional personal account of military spouse life, saying existing Navy and community programs already cover the need.
Near the close of the meeting, the council also approved two requests that arrived outside the normal process: a $30,000 renewal-level grant for the Coronado Junior Arts League, which had missed the application deadline during a leadership transition but was granted a one-time exception, and a separate $5,000 grant to help the Coronado School of the Arts Foundation replace a sound board shared by multiple community theater groups.
By night’s end, Duncan noted the city was on track to come in roughly $83,000 under the available allocation.
“I do think it’s amazing that Coronado is able to basically donate a million dollars back to nonprofits,” he said, thanking grant program administrator Kelli Maples, senior management analyst for the city, for what several council members called an enormous annual lift.
Downey, who has sat on the dais through several versions of the grant process, put the broader arc in perspective.
“We’ve come a long way,” she said. “We have a lot more transparency now into what people are doing with the funds.”
Renewal grants approved
Classics for Kids: $15,750. “This is a phenomenal program,” said Councilmember Kelly Purvis, who has attended the free youth performing-arts program’s events for years. “For the $15,750 that they asked for, I would highly recommend supporting this.”
Coronado Chamber of Commerce: $70,000 for business advocacy, $24,000 for the visitor center website, $15,000 for the holiday parade and tree lighting. “I support the Chamber’s efforts and their grant applications,” Downey said. “I think we get a bang for the buck that we give them.”
Coronado Community Band: $1,500 for the July 4th patriotic concert and $18,500 for general operating support, for a combined $20,000. “Talk about bang for the buck,” Downey said. “The band does so much with so little, and anytime we want them, they’re there.”
Coronado Floral Association: $95,600 toward the Coronado Flower Show’s tent costs. The group cut its rental contract costs by about 5 percent this year rather than request its usual increase. “I really appreciated that they cut their expenses and cut back a little bit,” Purvis said.
Coronado Fourth of July Celebration: $105,000. Downey, a volunteer organizer, recused herself from the vote. Duncan called it a program that benefits both “our patriotism” and the local business community.
Coronado Historical Association: $104,000 to keep the museum free. Fleming pressed the association on its reserve funds and a recently announced major gift before voting yes. “I do believe that the city of Coronado does have a role in helping to support the Coronado Historical Association,” he said.
Coronado Island Film Festival: $50,000 for the five-day festival, $50,000 for year-round programming and outreach. Council members tied their support to the festival’s economic return, with Duncan later noting that events like it “cause our sales tax to go up, and also, more importantly, our T.O.T. [transient occupancy tax] at the hotels.”
Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra: $50,543. “Even if they have a completely sold-out show, it doesn’t pay (for performance costs),” Downey said, citing conversations with the orchestra’s board chair. “They need additional funds to keep that kind of caliber of musicians playing for us.”
Coronado Schools Foundation: $24,850 for the Coronado Art & Wine Festival. Duncan framed the grant as a net positive for the city, citing the festival’s effect on sales and hotel tax revenue: “The net is actually lower than the grant amount when you look at the positive economic effect.”
Emerald Keepers: $27,800 and $42,300 for community programs and youth leadership. “Coronado does important sustainability work, but unlike all of our neighboring cities, we do not have a dedicated environmental department,” said Emerald Keepers President Dave Landon, defending the grants amid Fleming’s objections. Both passed 4-1, with Fleming opposed.
KMAC Foundation: $15,000 toward accessible sailing. “I’m very supportive of the KMAC Foundation,” Duncan said. “I think the grant and the small amount that’s requested way outweighs the benefit to the community.”
Lambs Players Theatre: $75,000. “It’s a great return on our investment,” Purvis said. “They make a big difference in our downtown, and we’d miss them if they weren’t there.”
Memorial Day Ceremony Planning Committee: $4,000. “It’s a very small amount,” Duncan said. “It’s stunning that they don’t ask for more, and it’s one of the most amazing events that we have in town.”
Musica Vitale: $15,000 toward Main Stage & School Program and $10,000 toward Crown City Choral/Coronado Choir. The council declined the group’s request to raise its main grant to $27,000. “I do appreciate the concerts, and a lot of people really, really enjoy them,” Downey said, “but I’m not sure I understand the need for the increase.”
Safe Harbor Coronado: $50,000 toward family support services and $75,000 toward healthy families programs. “I think it’s one of the most beneficial things we can work on in our community,” Duncan said, citing the organization’s work on youth mental health.
Villa Lobos Chamber Music Festival: $14,386 toward Coronado residency and $7,920 toward school outreach. “The quality is amazing,” said Purvis, a longtime attendee. “For that amount of money, it does serve a lot of our population at the library.”
Mini grants approved
Anchor Booster Club: $7,500 toward the Making Waves swim program (half of the $15,000 request). Anchor Booster Club supports competitive swimmers based at the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatic Center (BB&M). They already run a broader subsidy effort called “Sea to Desert Swim Assist.” Making Waves would be a new piece of that — not swim lessons, but a higher-level training program utilizing professional coaches, equipment, and meet access aimed specifically at getting kids who couldn’t otherwise afford competitive-level swimming into it: military families, immigrant families, junior guards, water polo kids.
The $15,000 grant request comprised most of the program’s budget of just $18,750. The council balked at this, saying they wanted to give the organization some money to get started without subsidizing the whole program. However, the council seemed amenable to more funding after a proof of concept first year. “I would propose that we fund half of what they’ve requested,” Fleming said, “and then if they want additional funding next year, let them come with more detailed requests.”
Camp Able at Coronado: $15,000 toward camperships. “It really is humbling for all of us,” Downey said of the nonprofit’s camps that empower the disabled community. “There’s quite a few Coronado folks, either children that are participating or volunteering.”
Community Connection Center: not funded. The group supports Ukrainian and Slavic immigrant families locally. “Certainly, I think all of our hearts go out to people from Ukraine,” Fleming said, before concluding the specific request — largely an appreciation event — wasn’t a fit for taxpayer dollars.
Coronado Community Theater (Coronado Playhouse): $15,000. “Another bang-for-your-buck community,” Downey said. “They let all the other nonprofits host fundraisers, so they really are doing what we want — (organizations) to work with each other.”
Coronado Hospital Foundation, wellness clinic: $15,000. A motion to deny the grant entirely was withdrawn after Purvis spoke up. “These are the kind of small purchases that maybe we can help out with and make a difference for the hospital,” she said.
Coronado School of the Arts Foundation: $15,000 toward Artistry in Action. “I’ll say I’m very impressed with CoSA overall as an entity,” Duncan said.
Crown City Water Polo: $7,500 toward BB&M Aquatic Center pool fees (half of the request). “Since we’ve given Anchor Booster Club half of what they’ve asked for, I would like to do the same for the Water Polo Club,” Steward said.
PAWS of Coronado: $15,000 toward its Ruff Run. “They do a great job, I think, with a small amount of money,” Duncan said. “The only bad thing about PAWS is they’re so good at what they do, it attracts animals from all over the place — but I love them.”
So Say We All: $4,170 toward a Coronado storytelling showcase. This San Diego-based storytelling nonprofit has a mission “to unite humanity through inclusive storytelling.” It’s produced the KPBS show “Incoming,” in which veterans write and perform their own stories; published hundreds of local authors through anthologies; and run more than 450 live storytelling showcases reaching over 5,000 audience members a year — but so far, all of that has been based in San Diego proper. This grant will fund a pilot of the nonprofit’s live, open-mic style show in which community members are encouraged to tell short, true stories based around a monthly theme. “I actually am impressed with the presentation,” Duncan said, “and I think we could give it a shot this year.”
South County Economic Development Council: not funded. Council members said the proposal for mobile business outreach overlapped with the city’s recently funded Orange Avenue information hub. “I’m happy to stay a member of SCEDC,” Downey said, “but I don’t think at this time that we need this.”
Steps Foundation: Â Steward, a Navy SEAL spouse herself, voted no despite the personal appeal. “I just think that there are other resources, whether it be in-town Safe [Harbor] or Navy programs that are already out there,” she said.
Storytellers of San Diego: $10,000. The organization has, in the past, received $5,000 in grant funding. This year, it requested $15,000. The council decided to split the difference. “I have heard good things about this program over the years,” Purvis said. “It is a big jump from five to 15 (thousand). Why don’t we go halfway and go 10?”
West Wind Brass: $15,000 toward the Coronado Brass Connections residency. Although this was a first-time applicant, the band has been busy around town: it played a Christ Church fundraiser, a free concert for seniors at the Spreckels Center, joined Coronado Community Band for a Memorial Day performance, played ceremonies at Miramar National Cemetery, and ran a school program at the Rec Center, all recently. “I think they are fantastic,” Downey said. “What I love about them is they just slip in with other things, and it makes everything better.”
Added outside the regular process
Coronado Junior Arts League: $30,000. The organization missed the April 19 grant application deadline during a leadership transition and was granted a one-time exception for an oral request. “I’d be willing to fund them,” Downey said, saying she was impressed that somebody new was willing to take over the organization.
Coronado School of the Arts Foundation: $5,000 toward a shared sound board. This wasn’t part of CoSA’s original mini grant application. During public comment, incoming CoSA Foundation president Arlene Ventimiglia told the council that after they’d already submitted their regular $15,000 “Artistry in Action” application, they discovered their theater’s sound board needs to be replaced, and asked the council to consider funding that separately, on top of the regular grant. Ventimiglia estimated the cost at $5,000 to $8,000. The board will be part of the permanent theater setup, so it benefits everyone who uses that space: CoSA itself, the school, the Coronado Philharmonia, and any other group that rents or performs there. “It seems to me that’s a little amount, and almost half the people in here would benefit from that,” Downey said.
