Organizations seeking public funds to support community projects or programs — or to waive special event fees — will now have to use the guidelines established under a new resolution adopted by the City of Moab on Sept. 10.
Existing procedures to provide support to community organizations and to waive fees for special events which benefit local nonprofit agencies have been problematic, the Moab City Council wrote in the resolution.
The Moab City Council requested a revision to the process by which the city may allocate funds to community organizations that provide special social services and cultural programs that benefit the residents of Moab.
The new guidelines and procedures for community contributions are outlined in the Community Contributions and Special Events Sponsorship Program Overview and Guidelines: 2018-19. The guidelines will be updated annually.
The two programs described in the guidelines are the 2018-19 Community Contributions Program and the Special Events Sponsorship Program. Total available funding for 2018-19 is $85,000.
The Community Contributions Program provides funds to eligible community organizations for initiatives that benefit the residents of Moab. These initiatives may include a broad range of social, cultural, recreational or scientific endeavors that the City of Moab does not provide.
The Special Events Sponsorship Program provides funds for those organizations which seek to defray expenses associated with locally hosted special events. In the past, the city council has voted to waive certain special event fees upon request; this sponsorship program replaces the fee waiver option with monetary awards that may be used for any expense related to producing special events within city limits.
Local businesses may qualify for the sponsorship programs if all the proceeds from its special event benefit a local nonprofit organization.
If an organization or business wants to participate in the programs, and meets the eligibility requirements for doing so, it must complete the application process.
Currently, completed application forms, along with any necessary supplemental documents, must be submitted by Oct. 15 for the Community Contributions Program; for the Special Events Sponsorship Program, submissions may be made between Nov. 1 and February 1, 2019.
Following the application deadline, the Community Contributions Ad-Hoc Committee will review and consider proposals from community organizations.
Applicants may be asked to attend a public meeting to address the committee, answer questions and clarify the use of the funds.
Factors to be considered include the organization’s responsiveness in clearly stating the benefits to be derived by the residents of Moab and the number of residents served by the organization.
For more information about the new guidelines, or to receive an application form, email contributions@moabcity.org.
Oct. 15 deadline for Community Contributions Program
