To: Honorable Mayor and Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Kristin Read, Assistant Town Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Nonprofit Grant Programs
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
When awarding the third quarter Council Community Grants on September 16, Council requested that staff bring back information on ways the program’s criteria could be tightened up, to be discussed before the fourth quarter awards are deliberated on December 16. The purpose of this item is to follow up on that direction.
Council has several options to consider for changes to the Council Community Grant program, as staff outlines in this memo. Staff has also included information relative to the Philip S. Miller Resource Grant program, for which Council is considering 2026 awards this evening.
Discussion
Council Community Grant history/current criteria
The Council Community Grant program has existed since at least 2011, when funding was established at $8,000 per year, or $2,000 per quarter, for grants of up to $500 per request. Initial criteria for the program were set out as follows:
• Community-based, benefitting Castle Rock residents
• For specific nonprofit community-based projects as opposed to general support of such organizations
• Eligible projects contribute to Castle Rock’s quality of life, with special emphasis on:
o Youth programs and activities
o Senior programs and activities
o Community-based environmental and sustainability programs and activities
o Community-based performing and visual arts programs and activities
In 2013, Council amended the criteria to include the following additions:
• Unused quarterly funds may be used in subsequent quarters, not to exceed $8,000 per year
• Town Council will evaluate each application individually
• Preference will be given to applicants who have not received grants previously
• Nonprofit organizations may receive only one grant per year
In 2023, Council increased the program’s annual budget to $16,000, with quarterly disbursements up to $4,000 and up to $1,000 awarded per organization.
Applications are submitted as needed, the Finance Department complies requests and presents them to Town Council quarterly for consideration. View Attachment A for recent award history information.
Philip S. Miller Resource Grant history/criteria
In reviewing potential criteria adjustments, staff also thought it appropriate to share the criteria for the Philp S. Miller Resource grant, which has existed in some form since at least 1995 and which has an annual budget of $45,000, providing up to five grants annually:
• 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organizations operating for a minimum of five years
• Funding requests musts include provisions for the necessities of life as listed below:
o Water
o Energy
o Food
o OR shelter assistance
Detailed provisions related to this program are outlined in Municipal Code 3.20 (Attachment B).
Other communities
Staff further believed it might be beneficial to Council to understand how peer communities address these types of funding requests. Staff queried other cities and towns - specifically reaching out to other Douglas County entities and similar-sized communities. For comparative purposes, Castle Rock’s population is 83,213 in this 2024 U.S. Census dataset.
|
Community |
Population |
Grant information |
|
Broomfield (city and county) |
78,323 |
Nonprofit grants relate to human service needs; three tiers - up to $50k, $50-$200k and $200k+ - $1.9 million program in 2025 |
|
Commerce City |
70,245 |
Community grants funded at $140,000; administered through foundation for program/project grants (up to $7,500) and general operating grants (up to $5,000) to support housing, seniors, mental health, food assistance and more |
|
Cortez |
9,151 |
Registered nonprofit/civic groups may request up to $5,000 “Community Support Grant” per year - $45,000 program |
|
Crested Butte |
1,643 |
General Fund grants up to $5,000 per round to nonprofits - $100,000 program; grants for substance abuse prevention/treatment, mental health and youth funded using nicotine tax revenue |
|
Douglas County |
393,995 |
Culture (SCFD), IDD, older adults (one-time in 2025), “low-income” (via Douglas County Community Foundation) and transportation (via DRCOG) grants |
|
Estes Park |
5,795 |
Community initiative funding to support strategic plan outcomes - $20,000 program in 2025 (also have “base funding” similar to our service contracts) |
|
Lone Tree |
14,061 |
No such program |
|
Longmont |
99,818 |
Human Services Agency Funding for housing stability, self-sufficiency and resilience, food and nutrition, health and well-being, education and skill building, and safety and justice - $591,336 in 2025 funding to 61 nonprofit and other agencies |
|
Loveland |
81,102 |
CDBG health/safety services ($56,500) and “brick and mortar” public facilities/housing ($395,000) grants |
|
Mountain Village |
1,240 |
Community services grants ranging from $1,000 to $27,500, with a total program budget of $229,500 |
|
Parker |
65,473 |
No such program but contributes to organizations similar to our service contracts |
|
Victor |
363 |
Nonprofit grants up to $2,500 with annual funding up to $12,500 |
|
Wheat Ridge |
31,999 |
“Community partners” health and wellness grants of $1,000 to $12,000 ($5,000 median) - $200,000 program for 2026 |
It should be noted that the Town contributed a total of $1,045,788 in 2025 to these nine nonprofit and governmental organizations through its service contract program:
• Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce
• Castle Rock Downtown Development Authority
• Castle Rock Downtown Merchants Association
• Castle Rock Economic Development Council
• Castle Rock Historical Society/Museum
• Castle Rock Senior Center
• Douglas County Community Foundation
• Douglas County Housing Partnership
• Douglas County Youth Initiative
As evidenced by the wide range of approaches to these types of funding requests, it is Council’s discretion as to what funding levels and criteria for these programs work best for Castle Rock.
Options to consider
As Council considers ways to potentially tighten up the Council Community Grant Program’s criteria, these items might be of interest:
1. Increase the annual program budget to $20,000, with quarterly disbursements up to $5,000.
2. Collect information on the nonprofit organization’s total revenues and expenditures, and how the requested grant would be leveraged with other dollars and volunteer resources (this is part of the Town’s service contract process)
3. Give preference to Castle Rock-based organizations (under current criteria, organizations based outside of Castle Rock are eligible as long as they serve Castle Rock residents)
4. Lower the per grant cap from its current $1,000 to allow for funding more requests - potentially allowing organizations to receive more than one award per year if funds are available
5. Redirect performing and visual arts applicants to the Art and Culture Grant program that was established this year
6. Work with a nonprofit group such as the Douglas County Community Foundation to administer the grants, like Douglas County does with its Philip S. Miller Grant
7. Establish reporting requirements for recipients and ensure compliance for ongoing eligibility
8. Once criteria are updated and eligibility is verified, fund quarterly grants by lottery, so awardees are randomly selected
9. Require grantees cycle out of applying for a certain time period after an award
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council review the current criteria, information from other communities and the list of options to consider and provide direction regarding any adjustments Council would like to implement to the Town’s grant program criteria - including whether to apply changes to the upcoming fourth quarter awards or to awards beginning in 2026.
Attachments
Attachment A: Recent Council Community Grant Award History
Attachment B: Municipal Code 3.20