The City of Goleta is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020-2021 City Grant Program and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Since 2014, the City Council has authorized up to $100,000 annually for grant funding. This year, the City will support the largest amount of grant funds ever, awarding a combined $113,000 to 36 nonprofits between the two grant programs and then allocating an additional $20,000 to spend on nonprofit organizational support, such as grant writing workshops, and for events taking place throughout the year that were not planned at the time of the grant application period. The City will also include funding for the Juneteenth Santa Barbara event.

The Goleta City Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 each for non-profit organizations involved in providing public services, educational and cultural activities such as music, art, dance, and recreation, and Goleta-oriented special events and regional projects that enhance and support the quality of life in Goleta. However, due to changing community needs caused by the current public health pandemic, the Grant Funding Review Committee honed its focus for this grant cycle. The focus was to support essential services that met the requirements of the City Grant program. In addition, the Committee considered other programs that were certain (using best-known knowledge) to take place in the upcoming fiscal year. The Committee expressed how difficult finalizing award recommendations was given the extreme need at this time. Staff appreciates their careful deliberation and thoughtfulness throughout the process.

The City Council’s Grant Funding Review Standing Committee reviews both CDBG and Goleta City Grant applications and is composed of Mayor Paula Perotte and Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards as well as two Goleta citizens. This year the citizen advisors are Marian Cohen and Arlene Raphael. The City would like to thank the Committee for their dedication to the City’s grant programs.

For more information on the City’s grant programs, please visit www.tinyurl.com/goletagrant.

Pictured: July 7, 2020, virtual City Council meeting