TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kelly Olivera, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cauley, MPA, Economic and Community Development Director
DATE: June 3, 2024
RE:
Title
Empowering Community Safety Micro-Grant Program Close Out Report
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
GOAL I: The City of Fayetteville will be a safe and secure community.
1.3: To ensure low incidents of property and violent crime.
1.4: To engage citizens in community watch and safety events.
GOAL IV: The City of Fayetteville will be a highly desirable place to live, work and recreate.
4.5: To ensure a place for people to live in great neighborhoods
GOAL VI: The City of Fayetteville will continue to have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base.
6.3: To inform and educate about local government by enhancing public outreach and increasing community dialog, collaboration, and empowerment.
Executive Summary:
The Economic and Community Development department (ECD) through a community-based review committee has provided micro-grants to organizations to fund, inspire, and boost community crime reduction activities. Grant awards are limited to the areas of the City that have high or recent spikes in violent crime. The program offered local groups and non-profits micro-grant opportunities, coupled with capacity-building training, to reduce crime and build community capacity. The micro-grant program operated for 24 months, and consisted of four grant cycles of six months each. During the fourth and final cycle, an emphasis was placed on the funding of video doorbell cameras. Over the course of the four funding cycles, the program funded 63 agencies and made 96 awards totaling $225,600.
Background:
In the fall of 2021, the Police Chief proposed a series of crime reduction strategies. The Fayetteville Police Department and the Economic and Community Development Department, under guidance from the City Manager’s Office, benchmarked other programs and reviewed best practices to develop a program that would improve communities while building capacity within the community for organizations to become nonprofits. Subsequently, City Council appropriated $250,000 to fund the Empowering Community Safety Micro-Grant program for two years consisting of four funding cycles.
The purpose of the Empowering Community Safety Micro-Grant initiative was to empower, encourage, and engage community members to create activities that promote crime reduction in Fayetteville. The program’s focus was to fund these efforts while investing in and creating sustainable local nonprofits. The initial goal was to award City residents, groups, or organizations funds that would be used for grass-roots efforts within redevelopment areas or communities with a recent spike in violent crime.
Issues/Analysis:
Throughout the two-year program the six major themes included: Addressing Upward Mobility, Community Crime Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Family Stability, Implicit Bias and Diversity, and Opportunities for Youth/Parents/Families. Funding was allocated to each theme based on the merit of the application and can be seen in the table below.
|
Major Themes |
Grant Amounts |
# of Grants |
|
Addressing Upward Mobility |
$12,000 |
6 |
|
Community Crime Prevention |
68,500 |
28 |
|
Conflict Resolution and Mediation |
29,500 |
11 |
|
Family Stability |
12,000 |
5 |
|
Implicit Bias and Diversity |
6,500 |
3 |
|
Opportunities for Youth/Parents/Families |
97,100 |
43 |
|
Total |
$225,600 |
96 |
The program was designed to fund different organizations that typically do not receive funding from the government because of audit requirements. However, the small sums of funding allocated to each awardee enabled the City to fund six different types of grant recipients including: Churches, Temples, or Mosques, Civic Associations, Community Groups, Community Watch, Individuals, and Non-Profit Organizations. Funding was allocated to each theme based on their application and can be seen in the table below.
|
Types of Organizations |
Grant Amounts |
# of Grants |
|
Churches, Temples, or Mosques |
$12,000 |
5 |
|
Civic Associations |
7,500 |
5 |
|
Community Group |
40,600 |
21 |
|
Community Watch |
39,500 |
18 |
|
Individuals |
76,000 |
37 |
|
Non-Profit Organizations |
50,000 |
10 |
|
Grand Total |
$225,600 |
96 |
In the fourth and final cycle, City Council directed staff to include doorbell cameras, specifically to senior citizens. All nine of the programs and projects requesting doorbell cameras were funded, totaling $27,000, including four community watch groups, three organizations, and two individuals. As a result, 39 doorbell cameras were installed, 52 dawn-to-dusk socket sensors were purchased and provided to community members and 144 dawn-to-dusk light bulbs were obtained and distributed.
The City invested $29,616 from the allocated $250,000 program budget to Nonprofit Capacity-Building Workshops through FTCC’s Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Small Business. Over the duration of the four cycles, there were a total of 12 two-hour workshops that informed awardees on several components involved in establishing, strengthening, and maintaining effective nonprofits. The workshops were designed to inform participants on “How to Start a Nonprofit”, “How to Operate a Nonprofit” and “Finding and Writing Grants”. The courses were facilitated by subject matter experts within the local nonprofit sector.
Of the agencies funded, 65% reported that the capacity-building workshops helped them form partnerships with other outside agencies and fellow program participants. During the program, seven agencies received their nonprofit certification and 60% of the remaining agencies said that the classes will lead to the formation of a nonprofit. Some of the participants stated that adding an additional workshop if approved for future funding would enhance the capacity of the workshops and that one-on-one sessions would further improve the effectiveness of the workshops. Several of the awardees suggested that they benefited from the in-person class options to increase relationship building.
The program awarded three different amounts of funding based on the experience and legal status of the applicant. These amounts were divided into three tiers and the amount of funding awarded for each cycle and each tier can be seen below:
|
Tier and Amount |
Cycle 1 |
Cycle 2 |
Cycle 3 |
Cycle 4 |
Grand Total |
|
Tier One - up to $1,500 |
$39,100 |
$12,000 |
$9,000 |
$18,000 |
$78,100 |
|
Tier Two - up to $2,500 |
0 |
26,500 |
11,500 |
6,500 |
44,500 |
|
Tier Three - up to $5,000 |
$10,000 |
21,500 |
35,000 |
36,500 |
103,000 |
|
Total |
$49,100 |
$60,000 |
$55,500 |
$61,000 |
$225,600 |
Multiple micro-grant recipients have been awarded funding through other Federal, State, and Local grant programs as well as fundraising due to initial efforts resourced by the micro grant program. Although other limited resources are available, there is a need for funding as 20,237 residents have participated in programs offered through the initiative. Through this program, positive behaviors have been nurtured, homeowners and residents have been able to create a sense of security, communities across the City have received financial literacy, conflict resolution, healthcare, and educational resources and grassroots nonprofits have been formed to increase community crime prevention. The 63 awardees funded through the program have stated that if it were not for the funding opportunity, they would otherwise not be able to provide necessary resources.
Budget Impact:
This program was funded with a one-time fund balance appropriation in the amount of $250,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 and has expended all funds within the budgeted four rounds. Due to the nature of the program, current Federal Funding is unlikely due to its inability to meet Uniform Administrative Requirements under the Code of Federal Regulations found at 2 CFR 200. While this program was viewed as financially risky when considering the advancement of funds and inability to guarantee recapture of funds, all funds awarded were accounted for by program participants and ECD staff.
Options:
This report is for information only.
Recommended Action:
This report is for information only.
Attachments:
Community Safety Microgrant Report 5.21.24