To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Board of Supervisors
Staff Name and Phone Number: Supervisor Lynda Hopkins 707-565-2241
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fifth
Title:
Title
Disbursement of Fiscal Year 25-26 Fifth District Community Investment Fund Grant Awards
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Approve Community Investment Fund grant awards and authorize the County Executive, or designee, to execute agreements with the following entities: 10,000 Degrees, $500; A Theater for Children (Inquiring Systems, Inc.), $500; Bodega Bay CERT, $1,500; Career Technical Education Foundation, $1,000; Centro Laboral de Graton, $1,500; Dinastia del Rio Ruso (Northern California Center for Well-Being), $3,000; Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County, $500; Food for Thought, $1,000; Latino Service Providers, $2,000; Lomi School Foundation, $500; Micah's Hugs, $1,500; North Bay Science Discovery Day (Buck Institute for Research on Aging), $500; Occidental Community Choir, $500; Occidental Community Farmers Market (Sonoma County Certified Farmers' Market Association), $500; On the Margins, Inc., $500; Raizes Collective, $500; Revolving Theatre Company, $500; Russian River Chamber of Commerce, $2,000; Russian River Pride (Sonoma County Pride), $4,000; Russian River Rotary Foundation, $1,000; Russian Riverkeeper, $2,500; Santa Rosa Quilt Guild, $500; Santa Rosa Symphony Association, $500; Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership (City of Santa Rosa), $500; School Garden Network Foundation, $500; Sebastopol Area Senior Center, $2,000; Sonoma County Pride, $500; Sonoma County Women in Law, $500; The LIME Foundation, $500; The Living Room, $1,000; Verity, $1,000; YWCA Sonoma County, $500; and
B) Authorize the County Executive, or designee, to amend these agreements to lengthen the time schedules and make minor modifications to the allowed uses that do not increase the amount awarded under the agreements. (Fifth District)
end
Executive Summary:
The Board established the Local Events, Organizations, and District Priorities category to fund local events and programs that will support businesses, culture, and organizations that provide a benefit to the community, or to award funding to County Departments to fulfill Supervisorial District priorities. Events and organizations may make requests throughout the year to one or
more Supervisorial Districts.
The Fifth District has reviewed the applications and recommends the following grant awards:
1.) 10,000 Degrees to support college access and success programming, grant award of $500;
2.) A Theater for Children (Inquiring Systems, Inc.) for advertising and production promotion, grant award of $500;
3.) Bodega Bay CERT for food, incentives, and promotion materials, grant award of $1,500;
4.) Career Technical Education Foundation for Path to Purpose student participation, funds to build a centralized internship application system, grant award of $1,000;
5.) Centro Laboral de Graton for domestic worker program, ALMAS, in advancing worker leadership, community resilience, and equitable economic opportunities, grant award of $1,500;
6.) Dinastia del Rio Ruso (Northern California Center for Well-Being) for Mesa Llena (Full Table), grant award of $3,000;
7.) Farm Bureau Foundation to support The Sonoma County Ag Summit, grant award of $500;
8.) Food For Thought to support Dining Out For Life fundraiser, grant award of $1,000;
9.) Latino Service Providers to support promotores program, grant award of $2,000;
10.) Lomi School Foundation to support Legacy Fund, grant award of $500;
11.) Micah's Hugs to support life-saving interventions, grant award of $1,500;
12.) North Bay Science Discovery Day (Buck Institute for Research on Aging) to support event promotion and marketing, grant award of $500;
13.) Occidental Community Choir support concert promotion, grant award of $500;
14.) Occidental Community Farmers Market (Sonoma County Certified Farmers' Market Association) to support marketing and promotion, grant award of $500;
15.) On the Margins, Inc. to support Healing Justice Clinics, grant award of $500;
16.) Raizes Collective to support Day of the Dead 2025, grant award of $500;
17.) Revolving Theatre Company to support marketing and promotion of performances, grant award of $500;
18.) Russian River Chamber of Commerce to support sanitization station for annual event, grant award of $2,000;
19.) Russian River Pride (Sonoma County Pride) to support annual Pride Week, grant award of $4,000;
20.) Russian River Rotary Foundation for event promotion and marketing, grant award of $1,000;
21.) Russian Riverkeeper to support annual watershed cleanup, grant award of $2,500;
22.) Santa Rosa Quilt Guild to support material purchases and venue rentals, grant award of $500;
23.) Santa Rosa Symphony Association to support Music For Our Schools programming, grant award of $500;
24.) Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership (City of Santa Rosa) to support Violence Prevention Seminar, grant award of $500;
25.) School Garden Network Foundation to support food education programming, grant award of $500;
26.) Sebastopol Area Senior Center to support programming fees for low-income seniors, grant award of $2,000;
27.) Sonoma County Pride to support annual parade and festival, grant award of $500;
28.) Sonoma County Women in Law to support scholarships, grant award of $500;
29.) The LIME Foundation to support marketing and programming, grant award of $500;
30.) The Living Room to support marketing and operation event costs, grant award of $1,000;
31.) Verity to support School-Based Sexual Assault Prevention Education Program, grant award of $1000; and
32.) YWCA Sonoma County to support Domestic Violence Awareness Month fundraising event, grant award of $500.
Activities performed utilizing Community Investment Program funds provide public benefits that serve important community needs under Government Code Section 26227.
Discussion:
Transient Occupancy Tax Funding
The Sonoma County Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT or Hotel Bed Tax) was established in 1965 and is authorized under State Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280. TOT, a general tax, is currently levied at a rate of 12%, a rate established in 2016 by the voter-approved Measure L. TOT revenue is allocated 25% to the General Fund; 50% to the Community Investment Fund; and 25% to the Measure L Fund.
Community Investment Fund Program and Policy
The Community Investment Fund Program, established in 1986 as the Advertising and Promotions Program, allocates a portion of the Transient Occupancy Tax to encourage economic development, community engagement, and culture in the County through a variety of grant award and funding avenues. The program provides grants to community-based organizations for a wide range of activities including economic development, community and countywide events, and advertising and promoting the county as a visitor destination with the goal of advancing economic growth through tourism. Additionally, the program provides grants to address impacts on safety due to tourism and to enhance community services throughout the county. The program provides funding to the Regional Parks Department, the Economic Development Collaborative, and additional county activities. Community Investment Funds are allocated per the Community Investment Fund Policy (Policy) (https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/community-investment-fund-program/community-investment-program-policy).
On September 16, 2025, the Board adopted revisions to the Policy, consolidating funding priorities into three funding categories: County Department Funding, District Priorities, and Community Funding. Staff are working on updating the application process to align with the new funding categories. In order to minimize impacts to the community, applications in process will continue to be processed based on the current Policy.
Revised District Priorities Category
The revised District Priorities funding category provides funds to events, organizations, and Supervisorial District priorities. Funding may be distributed through grants or assigned to County departments. The funds available in this category include $100,000 for each supervisorial district ($500,000 total) from the Community Investment Fund and 10% of Measure L revenue to be allocated to each supervisorial district proportionate to the amount of Transient Occupancy Tax collected within the district in the previous fiscal year. Unused funds will be accounted for and available for use in future years. Organizations may make their requests directly to each Supervisorial District.
Funds in this category may be used for activities such as safety improvements, environmental impact mitigation, public safety, and other tourism mitigation activities, such as parking enforcement. Funds may be used for projects that benefit the community, or to support organizations that coordinate community improvements, such as the Municipal Advisory Councils. The Board may award funding to County Departments or to Supervisorial Districts to complete priority projects. Funding may be used to cover salary and benefit costs associated with changed or additional staff, and other costs associated with added staffing such as office space.
Funds will be distributed upon approval of these award(s) by the Board of Supervisors and execution of the Community Investment Fund grant agreement by the entity. The agreement(s) will be executed by the County Executive, or designee. The agreements require the County seal on promotional materials produced using the grant award.
Because a project may require modification as the work/project may not be completed within the fiscal year, an extension of time or modification of allowed uses for the organization to complete the project may be necessary. Therefore, it is recommended that the County Executive, or designee, be authorized to amend the contracts to lengthen the time schedules and make minor modifications to the allowed uses that do not increase the amount awarded under the agreement.
Activities performed utilizing Community Investment Program funds provide public benefits that serve important community needs under Government Code Section 26227.
Strategic Plan:
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None for FY 25-26
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$34,000 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$34,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$34,000 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$34,000 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Community Investment Funds are included in the FY 25-26 budget.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Attachments:
Sample Local Events, Organizations, District Priorities Grant Agreement
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None